GARDENING FOR THE WEEK

Evening Star, Issue 14308, 5 March 1910, Page 10

GARDENING FOR THE WEEK

[We have completed arrangements with a well-known gardener to conduct a weekly letter- Our contributor will bo glad to answer questions, which must be received not later than Tuesday of each week.] —The Kitchen Garden.— All arrangements not already completed for a winter supply, and also lor early spring use. should now bo done witliout delay. The growth of what is already planted should ho encouraged by hoeing and stirring tho ground. Whore slugs are troublesome a good sprinkling of soot or lime will bo found helpful to tho plants, and at the same time destructive to tho slugs. Finish plantings of broccoli, cauliflower, savoys, and all kinds of winter greens. Earth up early-sown celery as it becomes full-grown. As earthing is only for bleaching purposes, this should not bo done until tho plants arc nearly full-grown; hut care should bo taken, whenever this is done, to remove all side shoots that may bo growing around the base of tho plants, and be careful always to close in the tops, to prevent the soil getting into tho heart of the plants. For convenience it is a good plan to tin tho tops with small pieces of raffia tape. When this is done it • is ranch easier to earth shorn up. Broccoli may bo sown to stand the winter and to come in for lato spring use; also cabbage for early use. Lettuce should be sown on rich “round at this time of the year. Spinach should ho sown for succession. Onions may now he sown for transplanting in tho spring. Carrots should ho sown now or early this month in an open situation and on light, well-worked soil. Tho Early Horn carrots are best for this sowing. —The Emit Garden.— The early kinds of apples should ho gathered and stored two or three deep. Early pears should he gathered and stored,' and put in single layers. The proper time for picking is a day or so before they are ripe. If they are picked green they shrivel, and if left on the trees until they are quite ripe they lose a lot of flavor and are much more likely to get bruised in handling. Beaches, apricots, and nectarines on walls require to have their future hearing shoots nailed in closely, and all laterals not required removed, so that tho fruit may nave the full benefit of , the sun and get the young growth thoroughly ripened for future cropping. Tho ground for strawberries should ho well manured and trenched, and all preparations made for receiving the plants immediately they are _ strong enough and the weather is suitable—that is, when it is moist and cool, and not too hot and dry. A good portion of burnt soil and wood ashes, well worked in on the surface, will he found very beneficial. Tlie budding of nearly all kinds of fruit trees may now he done. 'Trees of healthy growth hut hearing indifferent fruit may now become tho stocks of a fruit of superior quality by this process, but old trees with hard and rough hark would he hotter left until early spring and grafted. With stone fruits budding is the most successful plan. The buds must he put on young and hj gal thy wood. This is very interesting work, and cannot be too highly recommended where one has a lot of trees of poor quality and well established, as it is quite possible to get a good supply of fruit the second year after grafting old-established trees'. Tho budding is done in a similar way as for budding roses, which I explained a few weeks ago. —The Flower Carden.— Cactus dahlias—in fact, dahlias of all kinds—will require a considerable amount of attention just iiow, where they are required for exhibition purposes, by attending to watering, feeding with liquid manure, shading some to retard them and protect them from being damaged, and exposing younger ones, to bring them forward for the : show that is to ho held in Burns Hall i on the llth. Those, who think of showing must pay strict attention to disbudding and watering. Finish layering carnations, as it is 1 getting late for tills work, if good, strong plants are wanted. The budding of roses will soon he over, and those who have them to hud . should lose no time in doing this whilst 1 the sap runs freely. —Answers.— “ A.B.”—Your note reached me too lute for last week’s issue. (1) The leaf enclosed is Anthuricum folia varigata, and the way to propagate it is by seed or divided plants. The seed may bo sown as soon as ripe. Tho seed you refer to 1 think should be quite good, and may he sown at once in any good loam, loaf mould, and sand, covering the pot or box with a square of glass to retain the moisture until tho plants arc through, which will be some time, as they are very slow in germinating. (2) They may bo increased by dividing or taking off young side shoots with small pieces of roots at- ] taehed, and potted up. (3) The way I to make loaf mould- is to gather all dry fallen leaves in the autumn, and store them away in any largo bin or bricked pit, and trodden down firmly as they are added to during tho winter to prevent blowing away. 'They will take nearly a year to rot and make mould. Do not use green vegetable leaves—--1 only dry or dead autumn leaves. “ Marrow.”—Arrived too late for last week’s issue. Your marrows rotting off whilst quite young may he caused through several ways: firstly, too much water overhead whilst quite young before fertilisation is effected, thus causing damping; secondly, ex--1 trenio drought through want of proper nourishment; or if ouo or two largo fruits aio allowed to grow away to a great size, this will prevent others from maturing, as tho big ouo takes all the 7 nourishment. Planting on mounds is 3 not a good plan. It is belter to open < out a trench and fill in with hotbed 1 manure, cover with soil, sow tho seed, ‘ and let them grow at will. Watering * overhead docs more harm than good. [ unless they are on a very high and : dry place. Always out tho first few 1 marrows before they got too large, so • that they may set a good crop. I never ’ water mine, and always have plenty. 5 “ A.P.S.”—Tho pears forwarded arc ’ badly affected with pear scab, and nothing but winter or spring spraying ■■ will effect a euro; but the variety is not ] worth much trouble. 1 should recom--1 mend cutting back in the spring and 1 grafting good varieties on. If yon dc- ® cide on this course lot me know, and I will tell you how and when to do it. ; I cut down a row of that variety, i grafted them, and had them in crop ' tho second year. e “ Z. Thurgarland.”—The tomato leaf e enclosed is badly affected with Dactylimn '® lycopcrsici, a fungus or tomato loaf f blight similar to the ono that affects tho potatoes. It may have come indirectly from them. You have no possible chance of curing this season. You should cut off all tho leaves and burn them, and leave the tomatoes to I ripen on their stems, which they will n do quite well, though they will not n grow very much larger after the foliage .is all off. Next season clear out your 0 frames,.whitewash them with hot lime, l“ and put in quite now soil. “Vine.”—You ivish to know how to j. make grape wine. To make ten gal- ; lons, procure a ten-gallon barrel (spirit II bar.-cl preferred) and a wooden tub that will Jiokl, say, twelve gallons. In this

tub thoroughly smash or pound fifty pounds of grapes. Ho this a few at a time, so that every grape is smashed. Pour into this two gallons of cold water. Cover with a blanket for from twelve to twenty-four hours, then strain off all the liquid as clear as possible. Add to this thirty-six pounds of white sugar, and add more water to make the whole abo.ut ten and a-hulf to eleven gallons. Before doing this, clean out the tub and put the whole liquid and sugar in, stirring briskly to dissolve the sugar. Waco the tub in a clean, fresh, and warm room, cover with the blanket, end leave it until it starts to ferment, which it should do in a day or two You will see when this takes place. It will form a little froth around the edges of the tub. Place your ‘jarrel on its side and fill to the bung, and in a short time it will soon work out at the hung. Keep it filled to the bung every day with the extra gallon of liquid until it has nearly done fermenting. Then bung up tightly and put a spile in, loosely at first. Use this spile occasionally to let out the excessive gas until it has done working, then drive in the hung and spile quite firmly and bottle off in spring on a clear day. Keep the temperature whilst working ns near 65deg as possible. II.C.