THE HOME GARDEN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19833, 31 December 1927, Page 5 (Supplement)

THE HOME GARDEN.

the flowes PARSES. *£? &L° V H OaCB 01 ,>lTy w<Mlthar and the forbidden fj 7 wator tb ® Btufac« soil must; be freHassw* 11 ioom m bita * >*£ a at "° Und dahllas » chrysanthemums, hydrangeas, After toe holidays the garden and grounds should receive a thorough overhaul; weeds are easily controlled. Spent flowers should be picked and the clipping o£ hedges completed. Early-flowering annual that have finished blooming should ty dug under; bury them deeply and loosen up tea break then* &nd apply ft liberal dressing of newlyslaked lime. The present is a good time to start any permanent improvements, such as the mating of c:*w lawns, also the format! in of new fioweir bads and walks, drainage, etc. The earlier fihis work in commenced the better. Jffulch thii surface soil around chrysanthemums with stable manure or spent hcss. In growing for exhibition, train to three stems, keeping all the side shoots pinched off, also the tops oi any suckers that appear above the surisee. Alwaysi urain dahlias to a single stem. Apply a surface au)M?. v jilso a timely spraying with a nfcotine solution w compound for thrips, that frequently «:tio plants in feetr early stagea oi growth.

PROGRAMME QE .WORK,

THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. In spraying tomatoes as a preventive from disease. ad£ a little arsenate of lead to the mixture to protect the fruit from caterpillars. Keep the hoe going between kuraeras, marrow, mi&lev»s, encumbers, etc., until the runners will no longeir permit of this operation being performed. Any recently-planted celery must in no case ba allowed to suSer lor the want o| moisture. To keep up a supply of summer lettuce a rich noil, a shady position and plenty of moisture are essential. Asparagus should no longer be cut. Thoroughly slaau the bed of weeds and apply a good dressing of some stimulating manure. Deep tillage and mulching between vegetables and other crops axe at this time most essential, for it is when watering is most required that its use for garden purposes is forbidden. Keep a close watch upon melons, cucumbers and similar plants and upon the least sign of apliia spray with black leaf 40. ' The value of beans as a vegetable food is not as well recognised aa it deserves to be. If sown in succession and picked regularly a supply can be maintained from early spring until Will into the autumn. Vegetable marrows should be kept cut as they attain a useful size. Allowing the fruit to accumulate is a groat drain upon the plants and results if their soon ceasing to bear. Mulching or an occasional application of manure water will prolong their fruiting.