HORTICULTURE.

Manawatu Times, Volume XLII, Issue 1735, 10 February 1921, Page 7

HORTICULTURE.

VEGETABLE GARDEN. , I Watering and mulching are very requisite in the garden just now. A loose tilth should be maintained amongst all growing crops. A small sowing of carrots and onions should be made, as also lettuce, turnips, silver beet, and cauliflower. Plant leeks, celery. Brussels sprouts, cabbage and savoys. Matte a special effort to get these latter in whilst the soil is moist. Melons, vegetable marrows, cucumbers and pumpkins need watching. Don’t let runners go too far; pinch off ends. Cucumbers, especially, like a lot of water. Tomatoes need both water and the hoe, the latter for preference. Keep shoots down and spray to prevent blight. Potatoes have done well. They should be watched and as soon as they are ripe enough it will be safer to dig them. The recent rain has started a second growth and unless the tubers are lifted they will be spoiled. Inter-planted varieties are all right yet; they, are still growing, and there is sufficient moisture to continue the growth of the shaws for some time, but the early-planted crops which are showing signs of ripening are the ones which will have to be watched. Celery should be earthed up at intervals as growth progresses, and not loft until the plants grow to some size, and then earthed up heavily. The' earthing up should not be higher that the lower portion of the outside leaves until growth is completed and the plants are earthed up finally. Even with the most careful planting out some of the young’ plants of broccoli or cabbage will fail to come on. The vacant places should be filled up at once so that the newly-put-in plants will tend to overgrow their backward neighbours. On no account allow celery to want for water, but keep them regulaily supplied. A check in the growth, especially at this period of the year, will make all the difference between success and failure. If sufficiently ripened, garlic and shallotg may bo lifted and dried. Most kitchen gardens at this time of the year have many crops coming to maturity, the result of energetic labours in the spring of the year; therefore the principal work will be to encourage satisfactory growth by hoeing and weeding the ground, and preventing overcrowding.Do not leave potato tops, and other rubbish lying about, but either have a spare plot with a trench in it, where all such refuse can be buried; or, falling such a desirable place, commence to make a heap in some out-of-the-way corner, A good way to dispose of the rub* blsh, and at the some time to convert it into plant food for a future occasion, is to first of all place a layer of turf face downwards, then a layer of garden rubbish, then perhaps a layer of soil on top to keep down any smells, then follow with a layer of manure (if obtainable), soil or turf can follow, then more rubbish. Keep your stack growing till late in the autumn, and then, ■when digging time comes round you will find that the heap when chopped down

will just be first rate as a manure for the base of a trench. THE FLOWER, GARDEN, Keep the flower garden border free from weeds and the soil about and between the plants loose on the surface with the hoe. The generous rains we have experienced lately have lightened the watering work in the garden, and this period will be extended if the moisture now in the soil is retained by the use of the hoe wherever the surface soil is exposed to wind and sunshine. As soon as the carnation has finished blooming, where it is intended to propagate the plant by layering, this should be taken in hand without delay, as the sooner the layers are put down the stronger and better-rooted they will be to plant out in the autumn. Even where it is not intended to make further beds, it is still a good plan to layer some of the shoots of selected varieties, as If left where layered they will form the foundation of a strong plant, and often when the original plant succumbs during the winter the layers will carry on. Prepare the ground for anemones and sweet peas. Watch the violets, and keep clear of dying or any way, affected foliage, and water if necessary. Prepare the ground for anemones and daffodils. Dahlias should be staked, tied up and thinned. Mulch rhododendrons. Sow wallflowers for spring flowering. j'repare by digging the land for new lawns. HINTS ON RAISING FLOWER SEEDS. For sowing seeds there is nothing better than shallow wooden boxes, to four inches deep, A few holes should be made in the bottom and half an inch of manure placed In the box for drainage. The boxes should be filled to withing a half inch of the top with a fine, rich sandy soil. Then the soil should be pressed rather firmly with a flat piece of board, and watered from a can with a fine rose. The boxes should stand for an hour or two until the surplus water has drained off, then sprinkle the seed evenly and thinly over the surface so that the will have enough light and space, and will not make a spindly, weak growth. A thin layer of soil should then be sprinkled over the seed, using a mixture of one-half sandy soil, and one-half well-rotted horse manure. A common mistake is to cover the seeds too deeply. It is a safe rule to cover, a depth equal to twice the dlameter of the seed. Very fine seed need only be pressed into the soil. After covering the seed, compact the soil about the seed by pressing with the flat board again. This Will bring the seed into close contact with the moisture In the soil, and enable the seed coat to absorb the water and commence germlnatipn. The box should then be covered with a pane of glass or a sheet of paper. As soon as the seedlings appear to be breaking through the ground the shade should be removed during the day, but, of course; the tender plants should not be exposed to scorching sunshine nor to heavy rains, Watering should always be done with a very fine rose. When the seedlings are in their

fourth leaf they should bo transplanted into other boxes or specially prepared beds, so as to stand two inches apart. This transplanting will greatly strengthen the plants, and when the time comes to set them out in their flowering quarters you will be able to lift them with their mhmh be able to lift them with a mass of fibrous roots and soil. THE ORCHARD. Now is the time to go amongst the fruit trees to see if any young shoots have been allowed to grow too quickly. If such a thing has occurred lose no time in shortening some of them to three or four eyes, and if the shoots are too numerous, remove some of them altogether. This will allow those left to mature properly and the wood to ripen. If any of the main shoots grow too strongly and out of proportion to the remainder, It is advisable to remove the point of the shoot, as by so doing the sap is diverted into other channels, and a more even growth is encouraged over the whole tree. Attention should still bo given to the stopping, and if necessary the removing of surplus shoots on fruit trees growing on walls. ’ Be careful to tie, with shreds of cloth for preference, the lending shoots, as by doing so early it is easier to place them in the desired position, and there Is less likelihood of a loss through breakage. Those desiring to extend their plantation of strawberries should pay attention to the runners on the plants. Go round the plants and select the strongest runners, and with little hooks, twigs of wood, or bent wire like a fair-sized staple will do, peg the runners into the ground. A little friable soil around and over the peg will assist the rooting operation, and a watering occasionally will be beneficial.