THE GARDEN.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 18141, 5 July 1919, Page 10

THE GARDEN.

WDRK FOR THE WEEK. KITCHEN GARDEN. .Seeds to sow.—Broad beans, cnbbago, cauliflower, cucumber (in heat), onions (for salad), peas, radish, spinach, toniato (in heat). What to plant.—Cabbage, horseradish, lettuce. iu . All garden work roust bo carried on ■with due regard to weather conditions. When the ground h very wet keep ott it as much as possible, especially that part that has been dug or trenched. There is plenty of work to do without treading on the loose soil when, it is full of water. Don't be in a hurry to sow or plant seeds. These should be put in, according to the condition of the wsather and soil, rather than the date of the month. There is nothing to gain from putting seeds into wet, oold soil. A small proportion of the ? seeds would germinate, and those that ! did, would produce weak, sorry seecl- : lines that could never develop into strong robust plants. Of course, early eupplies of vegetables are very deferable, but to obtain them one must hove the necessary conveniences, such as garden and temporary frames, shelter fences, warm borders, etc—and judgment. Those who work by date and rule of thumb are more often wrong than right because do what we may we cannot alter the weather. We Siould do all we can to prepare for !evere frosts There are not many durffian average winter, but they come when least expected, therefore we %tingE Pa month I advised how to prepare a border for early crops. If &SSi raised a few Inches the seedling wiH suffo less during a spell of wet, Sid weather, and it is marvellous what Protection a few stray Ranches of rnaerocarptt, manuka, or a little scrim ' Ss to young crops. If glass ights JfSt available make some substitute X hessian. Put some rough boards Jack and front and at the ends, and the hessian covers on during ( tho fght,removing them in the morning Where there is plenty of hessian, or old woolpacks available to cover the JamTafnigbt, early, potatoes in quantity- could be raised in these rougti ettuce, radishes Sard and oress-in fact anv crops Sat one desires. The one thing■ to avoid is overcrowding. This VE «« when forcing. Each plant should havo Sple space to make a strong growth. Potatoes for early crops should be sprouting before they are planted. Put the seed tubers in shallow boxes 5? eyS protruding upwards and put the boxes in a light, warm place away from «sk of frost. The tubers will boo? push out strong, sturdy purple Sts Seed tubers treated in this way wfflproduce potatoes fit for use in Sghtto ton weeks after they are put m &eSsh'Bhonld be planted and cuttings of sea kale and rhubarb got ia as soon os possible. _,«-«, August is the great seedsowing month nnd as then time will prove too short Cordinary routine work get all roots that are hardy planted as soon as post? The reduced railway service will seriously interfere with many gardeners. Srdists and nurserymen owing to 3? fart tot Plants, trees and shrub, will not be carried on the trains during the period of the. reduced service. the following reasons: (1) The season for transplanting trees and shrubs is limited to four months, May, June, jSv and August. All transplanting .in &ntorburylould be finished before the end t)f August, to ensure success. Some lines may be planted a htUe later, but at considerable Hflk. W These tree* and shrubs are perishable, and unloss they can bo planted at the proper time, many become valueless. Others, that is plants of slow growth, could be held over for another season, at considerable expense to the grower, and great disappointment to those who are furnishing new gardens. W) Most trees and shrubs are purchased, or ordered, during the summer for delivery in the winter, when they can be transplanted with safety. Therefore they are different to ordinary goods that ean be transferred from the producer to the purchaser at any time. Take manure for an example. This is not perishable, but the authorities will j carry manure, while they shut out perishable trees and shrubs. If it is nucessary to make such drastic, reduction* in the carriage of goods, this necessity cannot have developed suddenly and the authorities should have given tho public earlier notice of the proposed restriction, so that these perishable goods might havo been forwarded earlier. There are more trees and plants forwarded by rail in July than during any other month, and to refuse to carry this class of goods during tho month at such short notice reflects very little credit on those who are responsible for the act I think that the authorities could not have known what loss this prohibition will bring to many a struggling nurseryman, and dozens of landscape gardeners who have been hard hit by the war. The last five have been very lean years to these men, but they have carried on, in the hope of better days. Many havo contracts, out m the country. They have been busy preparing the' ground, and are ready to plant the trees, and now the authorities decide that for a time these cannot be carried by train. I would suggest that during July trees and shrubs should be accepted, and manures prohibited. The manure will not deteriorate, and this change would enable most of the planters to get their trees Vn the ground in time for planting in August. Unless something is done in this direction, I fear that many men will be thrown out of work at a time when full wages are necessary to provide for the wives and children during the winter months.