THE GARDEN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVI, Issue 9325, 30 March 1889, Page 4 (Supplement)

THE GARDEN.

OPERATIONS FOR THE WEEKEND- ,, ' ING APRIL 6. '.; . ; • • KITCHEN GARDEN. • The recent showers and cool weather have had a refreshing'effect in this department, and although it .has not been . sufficient, to thoroughly soak the soil, every opportunity should bo taken for making-sowings' of-late crops for winter supply. ' Carrots, turnips, and spinach should bo sown at once in warm parts of tho garden. : Plant out cabbages and cauliflowers. ■ Enfield Market-is' abo 1 "as "useful cabbage as can »be grown p and Veibch's Autumn* Giant cauliflower is the best for autumn planting. - • It» is.very difficult to procure plants' free from fly,' but so j long as the contres are sound they> will soon recover if planted in rich 'soil. A good plan before planting is to mix l soot and dime in' water until it is quitoiithieky-and' dip the plants. This • has ' a & effect <in checking /the "fly, as fchossoofc:and"lime'adhere to tho under *partstof,»thoJeaf, aiid tho rains do nob easily wash it off. i r Sow a small bed of cabbage > and" cauliflower > for i succeasional planting. Late '.crops JS,of, peas and .beans are looking (exceptionally f>hoalth.y, giving promise of a good" supply.of. late •fruit. Continue to;earth-up celery-as the .plants . advance in I growth,-.-being. careful not to allow the soil/ to -get between the leaves. The .best plan, is-to tie each plantbefore placing tho soil * around, removing the tie as soon as' this is done., .Now is the best'? time for /renewing or making fresh strawberry borders, * choosing! strong.young .runners of this' season's growth. 4 If planted at'once they*become well-established,-before •.winter, and give a good- return oflfruib the following spring. Tomatoes are-jiow ripenling very, slowly, and require hard.trimming. Tho plants should be well-thinned, .'taking off all?lateral growth, and-well thin out the leaves, exposing the (fruit as -much ;as possible to the sun. As soon. as ; the. fruit commences to,change colour they can bo picked off and-placed on a dry shelf,, where. they will soon ripen. • By this,means the plants .are strengthened, and are better enabled to . mature the fruit that remains. . Pick off and destroy all fruit affected with caterpillers.

THE GREENHOUSE. Early-sown primulas will now bo well advanced in growth. Those that were pricked out last month will now require .potting. Small pots should, be; used, and soil composed of two.parts turfy loam and one leaf , mould (or decayed hops), and one well-rotted manure ana a.little sand—sea sand I find the best.. Place the ; pots in a cool shady situation near fcho glass. , Cineraria :' As soon as the seedlings are large .enough- to .handle prick .off into - pans .and place in cool moist atmosphere. Never allow .the pan to become-dry, for. if once allowed to become dry all chance -fyf making good plants is at an' end. '• Herbaceous calceolaria should be treated in same manner. Old plants, of primula, that have stood over 'from last year should bo shaken out of .their pots, repotted in fresh soil,, and placed .in a cool frame shaded from the sun during . the , hottest part of the day. ' Cuttings of pelargoniums, fuchsias, • heliotrope, and .other useful winter and , spring-flowering ,plants should now be put in. : Repot shrubby! .begonia,- these* are moat useful .winter-flowing.plants, some varieties being ,nearly always v in flower... Achimines are now in full flower and make a fine display. Gesnerias and ..itydeas are also showing flowers. Separate arid repot . eucadonias ; these are. now- starting ' into . growth and make most useful autumn-flowering plants. Any, bulbous or tuberous plants showing signs of decay should bo watered sparingly, gradually giving less until the bulbs are ripened, when water should be withheld 'altogether. Ferns are still growing rapidly; and .require .'abundance of water. These are about the Itnost useful plants of the greenhouse.j.,. The graceful habits of many .varieties, and the various tints of colour .obtained at all seasons, add quite a charm to the house. Tuberous begonias still continue 1 to give a good display of bloom. ,The£e require to be carefully watered, watering only when .the plants show signs of dryness. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. " Amateur," Thames :—Espalier Training ; There are many modes of training

espalier trees; baf,', 'presume,' from your not#, that the plaLi horizoptfal training'is' tha» mode you wan*: to adopt. It , is- so simple that scarcely any skill is required to form the most perfect trees, and thi/si advantages, too, are so great as to many times counterbalance the, amount of labour rev q'dired in training. ' Th&space they .olicup/,is so small compared!with standard ; trees 'that the whole groined . between tho rows can be cultivated; with'ordinary crops with.out any inconvenience ; *in fact, the- trees are "continually being benefited . By the cultivation. , Again, the trees are much more easily kept under control, ' the fruit is ljiore easily gathered and more easily pro■tected from birds,' and as pests'are now be- * coming so troublesome^tney can, be better attended, to, and preventive measures more easily applied than on standard trees. The trees should be planted in rows running the "whole length of the garden. >t r The distance from row to row should be regulated by the size df the garden and the space required between each for cultivation. The trees in the row will only occupy two feet space that is, about one foot (or very little more) on each side of the supports. The trees in the row should be planted about fifteen feet) apart. The best plan is to strain four wires the length of each row, and on these train the trees. Say, the first 'is strained, jit eighteen inches from tho ground, and' the highest four feet six inches ; that will allcjw one foot space between the branches; The "best trees' to procure are maidens that is, one-year-old trees having no side branches. These should be cut back to whore the first two branches are required. > In cutting bock choose three strong, sound budsthat is, two to form side branches, and one to form another leader. When this is grown sufficiently strong, head that back also, and in a short time the trees will be formed?

' C.T.," Parnell : In answer to your query re truavas, I should imagine the position in which your trees are growing must be the cause of failure in fruit, or they ■ should not continue , unfruitful for-, that length of time.. My experience of the ,-guavas is that they,.are most uncertain croppers. I have seen healthy trees, for some reason for which I could not account, fail to produce any fruit for one or two seasons, and then fruit abundantly for a season or two. The trees always bear more freely when growing vigorously. As soon as the trees cease to make plenty of healthy growth they become unfruitful, or the frir •• If produced at all, are small and rarely i You did not state if your trees are leaking good, healthy growth. I think you would obtain better and more satisfactory results by planting , a , few young plants in a good position, clear from any large trees whatever. Kepos. ,