CALENDAR.

Otago Witness, Issue 1823, 29 October 1886, Page 8

CALENDAR.

Kitchen Garden. — Crops are making good progress as a consequence of the genial weather we have evperienced duringjthe past feew weeks, and it is needless to say that weeds are doing likewise. Every endeavour should be made to prevent the latter getting the mastery, and care taken not to allow them to seed, or endless trouble will be the result for the remainder of the year. Thin out onions, lettace, turaips, carrot, &c. where overcrowding is observable. Keep cabbages constantly growing by watering with the soapsuds from the washtub, which serve the double purpose of checking the blight and acting as a readily available fertiliser. Among the crops little known in Otago are lentils. Seeds of haricot beans are obtainable from Messrs Nimmo and Blair, and we should recommend a trial being given to this crop. Lentils are capable of being marie into many attractive dishes, and are especially valuable for children, as they contain more nutriment than any other vegetable. Slugs are becoming very troublesome, and should be kept down by every possible means. Lay pieces of board, stones, &c, in the neighbourhood of their devastation, under which they will take refuge and pick them up in the morning. Destroy any eggs that may be seen, as they rapidly develop. A dusting of lime at night will assist materially in destroying both slugs and eggs. A seagull or ducks will also be found of great service, but the latter are apt to make shorfc work of peas, cabbages, and lettuces if not watched. Strawberry plants will be benefited t by a good mulching of stable manure. The rains will wash the mulching clean before the fruit has matured sufficiently to rest upon it.

Fruit Garden. — The blossom is now almost gone, and disbudding and pinching back young growth will soon have to be attended to. If it is possible to give the trees and bushes a watering with liquid manure from time to time, the labour will be amply repaid by the firmness of the fruit when picked and the healthiness of the tree during the whole year. Blight on apple and other large fruit trees would not be nearly so troublesome if this plan were adopted more frequently than it is. The labour can be minimised if a barrel is sunk in some out-of-the-way corner of the garden and the house drain connected with it. Fowl droppings, soot, &c. can be put into the barrel, the contents of which should be frequently stirred to induce disintegration. Flower Garden. — Amateurs are frequently thoroughly disheartened by the failure in germinating of the seeds they purchase. This is due in many cases to the fact of the previous season's seeds being sold to the unwary, but in others the fault lies with the sower. The seed bed is carelessly prepared and left loose and lumpy, instead of the soil being finely pulverised and firmly pressed down in order to give the roots of the seedlings a chance to take a firm hold of the soil, and thus be enabled to resist the withering influence of a scorching summer sun. Before sowing the seed the bed should be thoroughly saturated and a little finely-pulver-ised soil scattered over it to prevent the moisture from evaporating so quickly as it otherwise would do. This difficulty is, however, really a thing of the past so far as townspeople are concerned, as the different seedsmen now expose seedlings of the various summer annuals for sale in their shops, thus enabling amateurs who have found seed-so wing 'an unsatisfactory operation to stock their beds at a minimum of trouble and at a moderate outlay. Heliotropes and all other soft-wooded border plants may be planted out in mild localities. There are a great many plants that are commonly supposed to belong exclusively to the greenhouse, but which will really do very well in the open borders, and more especially in sheltered situations. Such plants as Cinerarias, Chinese Primulas, Begonias, &c. make remarkably good border plants in localities where they are not exposed to bleak winds or frosts. The flowering Begonias are a very useful and beautiful class of plants for the conservatory and the ornamentation of rooms, and they should be well represented in every collection. There are now an immense number of varieties and species under cultivation, and if a judicious selection is made and careful treatment given, a good supply of flowers may be obtained. The tuberous-rooted kinds are especially valuable, as their flowers are large, brilliant in colour, and are produced in succession as long as the shoots are making headway. Many of the old-fashioned species, though to a great extent superseded by newer kinds, are also worthy of some attention. While making their growth, Begonias should be kept moderately warm, and liquid manure may be used with advantage once or twice a week.