Working Guide for the Week

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23618, 30 March 1940, Page 8 (Supplement)

Working Guide for the Week

By KEPOS

FLOWERS Plant out Iceland poppies for winter flower, choosing showery weather. Continue the planting of bulbs, anemones and ranunculus. Lift the gladioli and dry well before storing; any badly-diseased corms are better burned at once. 4 Chrysanthemums for cut flowers should be well disbudded to obtain the best flowers. Sow down new lawns now that the soil is moist and germination will be rapid. Plant out the carnations from layers if they are well rooted. Winter sweet peas making good growth should be well tied up to the stakes; remove the side shoots as they appear. The Orchard Insert any cuttings of the bush fruits where it is desired to increase the stock. A few extra bushes are always handy to replace worn-out or exhausted plants. Any trees that are too vigorous and fail to fruit should be marked down for root pruning in April. The autumn is a good season to attend to the liming of the fruit trees, especially the stone fruits. Owing to the lime content, basic slag is a good manure for autumn application to fruit trees. The white oil spray for scale insects should have been applied by this date, as the young scales are now on the move.

VEGETABLES Sow winter or prickly spinach, cabbage and cauliflower, short carrots and onions. Plant out cabbage and cauliflower from the earlier sowings in well-manured ground. Plant out silver beet for winter supply; this is a useful vegetable. Earth-up the celery and leeks as required, choosing a time when the soil is dry. Do not leave the debris of exhausted crops on the ground; they are just a harbour for pests. If the debris is not suitable for the compost heap, burn it and use the ashes. The Greenhouse The summer occupants of the greenhouse will be going to rest, so give less water. Insert cuttings of choice varieties of coleus as stock for next season; this will be easier than keeping the old plants through the winter. The winter-flowering begonias should be shifted on to larger sizes of pots as soon as more root room is needed; do not allow to become potbound.

Geraniums for winter flowering should not be allowed to flower yet; keep all the flower buds picked off for another month. Poinsettias for pot work should be exposed to the full sunlight to ripen the wood; feed once a week with manure water. Keep a watch for greenfly and fumigate on its first appearance.