Garden Notes

Manawatu Times, Volume XL, Issue 13949, 30 July 1918, Page 2

Garden Notes

A BATCH OF ODDS AND ENDS. Tho odds arc all against ns to-day. The cold weather has got hold of everything, and for the present is doing almost as it pleases. All we can do is to wait an opportunity for playing our trump cards, and, in the meantime, remain content. Tho extreme cold will not reign long. By the middle of August it will have run its course. Good enough. An an executioner of the plaguey insect pests snow and hail may bo of some service, and as a sweetener of newly turned land it may be able to earn an honest penny. Beyond these two services they do no good that we can call to mind at the moment. However, we will hang on, and wait for better days, hoping that when tho spring does appear the weather gods will have granted us something approaching a good, satisfactory season. By way of keeping our “hands in" let us set about turning any patch of land that requires a dig over. A little spading or forking on a cold afternoon helps to shift the blood round. Do no lawn making or mending for tho present. Tho grasses arc resting over the cold season, and had better not be disturbed. About September will do for the top dressings and the mauur-izig-s. Plant passion fruit anywhere you desire to have a vino for shading an outhouse or shed. Vines arc good for hiding ugly corners and should be encouraged. If your sweet peas are not doing well got in among tho rows and stamp the ground until you make it fairly firm. Sometimes a light soil puts the plants out of sorts, and calls for a little attention. Packing the ground alters the outlook, and the peas do better. You might prune your grape vines now, while tho things have no chance of complaining. Left until tho end of August there is always a chance of losing a lot of energy through the sapping, a folly which it is best to prevent. Take all the last year canes back to tho last two eyes, and you will have given the vines the. sort of pruning they like best. All the stake or trellis plants had better be treated the same way. Grapes are as hard as’ nails, and stand almost anything. Have you room for planting a row of asparagus roots? Try to get a place ready. This fine plant is worth having in any homo garden. It makes rapid growth and gives returns largo enough to pay for the keep. Make the land as rich as possible, and place the roots 30 inches apart, just covering the crown of the root clump. VEGETABLES. Seeds that may be sown in the open this week, weather and soil permitting, are: Peas, broad beans, and carrots. Seeds that may be sown in pans are: Cabbage, cauliflower, and lettuce. Where bottom heat can be supplied, tomato and Cape gooseberry may be sown. Plants of cabbage, cauliflower, and lettuce may be put in provided tho soil is in suitable condition. Plant out autumn-sown onions, leeks, and celery plants. A small planting of potatoes may be made. If the tubers can be surrounded in the trenches with some dry potting soil, or dry soil from a compost heap, they will have a better chance than is surrounded with the cold soil of the vegetable garden. Plants of parsley, thyme, sage, and mint may be put in now. Roots of rhubarb, horse radish, shallots, and garlic may all be planted. The ground for rhubarb should bo well dug and richly manured. If stable manure cannot be procured, dig into the soil some well decayed vegetable rubbish, decayed leaves, and a good handful of bonedust for each root. The plants should be three feet apart each 'W’ay, and should have tho crowns just below the surface of tho soil. FLOWER GARDEN. Very little work can bo done this month. Hedges should be cut and ditches cleaned out. Dig beds and borders, rake up leave* in shrubberies, and cover with soil to prevent them scattering when the ground is sufficiently dry. Rosos should bo planted when the ground is in good condition. Better wait a week than plant in saturated soil. Bulb beds should be cleaned. Handweeding is tho only possible method this wet weather. Carnations, the border varieties, should bo kept free of diseased foliage. Cuttings of chrysanthemums can bo put in as they become available. Clean labels and sticks, wash flowrpots, and the making of seed boxes is work that can be done during bad weather.