IN THE GARDEN

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 27 May 1927, Page 7

IN THE GARDEN

DRAWING NEAR WINTER

THE KITCHEN CROPS

1 It, fookiJ Mi fllOtlfltl UIC- VWj> JM-«>l0ll(T(vi •spell of di> weather has envied JlV> continued dryness ha« interfered i goo! deal with preparations for spring and early summer. Indeed, the winter programme has .suffered. Onion seed sown earlier will have germinated, and the beds need Hie hoe through them. Any weeds in the rows should he pulled out by hand. Cabbage and cauliflower plants will respond to a dose of nitrate of soda. If the plants .suffered very badly from fly, get rid of them and replant. A sowing of turnips can be made; in warm ground; also spinach. These are quickly maturing crops, apd can be sown to till up odd spaces. Make a sowing of broad beans. These like a fairly stiff soil, and if the soil is not ton rich the plants will crop better. I'arsiev seed sown now will not be 100 late' Many gardeners forget about such things as'parsley, inarjorum, sage, lavender, and thyme! Seed of all of these can be sown now. Any seedling crops of carrots, etc.. should be thinned as soon as possible so as to give the crop every chance to mature. o Any grccen crops .already up should he turned in now to rot. 'I hey will not grow any more. Oats should be forked well in or the birds will gel the most of them. As stable manure for asparagus beds is very often difficult to get, all the green stuff that accumulates in Hie garden and the, spent tops of (lowers and vegetables should be used to fll the bottom of the bed. The older the asparagus roots, the quicker they will come into bearing. No kitchen garden should be without shallots and garlic. These bulbs are obtainable now and should be planted dining June. Leeks can still be planted. The earlier planted that are growing well, .should have some soil drawn up to the stems. Lettuce may be sown. Select as warm n position as possible and if tha soil is, hi.i'.y put two or three inches of sand .;. top. The seed will come up almost I ii'-l 'ely. The soil must be well : : . mi i and well manured. Lettuce it'..' fresh manure and respond readily to generous treatment. A raised bed is best. 'MIDST THE FLOWERS All summer flowering annuals should now be cleared from the borders, and the ground, wherever there is open spaces, forked over and some well-rotted manui'e or leaf mould worked in, adding about two ounces of bone-dust to cacti square yard. The ground should be prepared for shrub-planting. Daffodils are coming through the ground, and care must bo taken not to injure the young growths. On poor soils daffodils will be benefited by a dressing of either basic slag or bonedust round about the clumps or along tlio rows, mixing it well ini.o the sail. F'otir ounces of the former or two ounces of the latter will be quite sufficient. Basic slag is best for heavy soils, and hone-dust for light soils. When planting roses, pui thsni in firmly. They should first be pruned. The mild autumn has delayed tl e ripening of the wood of the plants, ai'd where this is so the young wood will rlirivel when lifted if allowed to get i'ue least dry after lifting, but af:«r the first good rain tho earlier the planting is done the better. When planti.ig rose;; take- out a hole sufficient, to aliow 'he roots to spread out horizontally with a slight' downward inclination at the extremities. Plant, firmly and when the roots are well covered, shake in a handful of boncdust before quite filling up the hole. Chrysanthemums are getting over, and once the (lowers are spent, tho tops should be cut down lo about six inches fiom the soil. Clear away till weeds and rubbish from the base of the plants to encourage the suckers to make strong growth. Make careful note of any dahlias or chrysanthemums that, are wrongly named. and either label them correctly, or mark Ihem so as to know exactly what they are. and to prevent them getting mixed with other named sorts. Storks suffered during the past- spell of fine, weather from aphis and green fly. A spraying with black leaf 40 is the best insecticide to use. The change in the weather will check tho insects somewhat. Bulbs are now showing in most cases, and the work' of hoeing and weeding between the rows should oe done as soon as iho bulbs show. If left till the foliage of the bulbs is well up. it i.s almost iniposstbjc to do the work without damage. Dahlias are just about on their last legs. Use the plants while there arc any flowers worth cutting, and after that shorten hack the big stalks in readiness for an early shift into winter quarters. Dahlias should not be allowed to stay too long in land that can be used for tfio growing of sweet peas, snapdragons, Iceland poppies, leptasyne, blue delphiniums, dianthus, giant marigolds, or nemesias. Once th>! root tubers are well formed and as big as they are. likely to be this season, a shift lo new quarters will not do the dahlia clumps very much inJ ll »y. Daphnes arc sometimes affected with a disease which causes the leaves to turn yellow. In such cases pick off and burn all affected leaves. On no account allow any leaves to lie about on the ground. Oct some vermonite from a seed merchant and spray the bush with ;> solution of it. Take care that the spray reaches the undersides of the leaves. The syringe should be used gently but thoroughly. Spray again when tho new leaves are appearing, ft may take some time to get the plant quite free from the disease. Plenty of water should be applied to the plant during the summer, as daphnes like a I c '' v.'oi run. ■ o'i-'l-'P.KURIES" (Richmond): You :'! iind the information you want, ..rid n ureal deal of other helpful advice, in Lucas's Almanac for 1927. The Garden Calendar was compiled specially for this district by an expert of many years' experience of our climatic arid soil conditions.