THE HOME GARDEN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20252, 11 May 1929, Page 4 (Supplement)

THE HOME GARDEN.

THE FLOWER GARDEN. To free the surface of weeds at this season they must be lightly dug in. Hoeing must be discontinued, but fork any sorrel and docks out by the roots. Seedling sweet peas and others in the seedling stage must be protected from slugs, otherwise they will soon disappear. A ring of sawdust around the clumps and rows keeps slugs away if occasionally renewed. Perennial asters, sunflowers, and phloxes, should have the old flower stems cut off to the surface. Cannas may also be trimmed up; later they may be taken up and placed in winter quarters. Chrysanthemums that have done flowering should have old flower stems cut off. Carefully weed around the stools to preserve the suckers, otherwise lift the clumps and plant them closely together in a separate bed. " Still continue to plant another batch of anemones and ranunculi for late flowering; those planted usually 'do well and come in when the worst of the winter is past. , ~ , Clumps of lilies that are left in the ground should be labelled or marked with a stick to denote their whereabouts when digging the borders. The summer flowering arum or calla lilies, that are dormant, must also be labelled. Prepare for the planting of trees, shrubs, hedge plants, and other permanent subjects. Citrus trees should either be planted early in the season or deferred until the spring. . , . _ _ Cinerarias, pansies, beauty stocks, antirrhinums, Iceland poppies, penstemons, calendulas, wallflowers, primula malacoides, linararis, polyanthus, and primrose are all sufficiently hardy for present planting.

PROGRAMME OF WORK.

THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. In sowing seed at this season the warmest and driest position should be selected, it is then even better to lorm thfe ground into raised beds. In sowing small seeds, they should be only lightly covered, while even larger'seeds require much less covering than earlier sowings. Attend to the weeding and thinning out of seedling crops, and hoeing or light digging between the rows. At this time slugs are one ol the most difficult pests to deal with. Young seedling crops especially, soon fall a prey to their ravages. Keeping the ground well stirred and frequent dusting with lime will do much to protect the crop. Plant out cabbage, cauliflower, and other colworts, whilo any of the more advanced plants should be assisted by an occasional application ol superphosphate or nitrate of soda. The planting out of potato onions, is best done during the present month. At this time bulbs are procurable that are practically dormant, and succeed better than when planted after they have started into growth. Shallots, too, may now be planted. Plant in rows lzin. apart, arranging the bulbs Bin, apart in the rows. In planting, press the bulbs into the soil until about three parts of the bulb is covered. Both the potato onion and shallot succeed best when planted in ground that has been well worked and manured for a previous crop. Every inch of ground not occupied with crops should be deeply dug and sown down in green crop. The digging in of weeds, grass, fallen leaves, or other vegetable matter, assists to improve the soil.