WORK FOR THE WEEK.

Otago Witness, 14 December 1893, Page 4

WORK FOR THE WEEK.

Fruit Garden. — Notwithstanding the exceedingly wet season fruit prospects remaingood. There has until last week been quite the average heat, and the consequence is that fruit of all descriptions looks well. It has been a capital strawberry year, and black currants are already beginning to ripen in Dunedin. Remove all runners from strawberry plants as soon as they appear, except such as are required for replanting, in which case the yourig runners should be encouraged to make root by pegsing them down ; in the case of old worn-out beds, as soon as the fruit is gathered the plants should be dug up and destroyed, and the bed dug over to sweeten prior to receiving an autumn crop of vegetables. Newly-planted trees of all kinds should be looked over and kept secured to the stakes. The stormy wet weather of last week necessitates particular attention being paid in this respect.

Kitchen Garden.— Sow a successional crop of beans upon land from which the early potatoes have been removed ; sow also turnips upon the damp soil available. A large planting of celery should be made now as soon as the land is prepared, as when once started this crop is more independent of rain than many other vegetables, as from tho fact of the plants being planted in trenches the soil, when once well soaked, does not dry up like surface soils. Prepare the quarters for planting out the earliest crops of autumn cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, savoys. &c. A good dressing of decayed manure should be dviK into the soil, which must be dug deep, and should be held in readiness for planting until the weather is favourable. In the warmer districts, and special localities where cucumbers are grown, they may still be sown, as the3e plants grow very rapidly when sown after the soil is warm, if given plenty of moisture. Tomatoes, iv localities where they can be grown outside, must be kept free from weeds, removing the Uteral shoots from tho

centre of the plants in order to expose the fruit to the sun and air.

Flowkr Gakdi:n. — In consequence of the damp summer the rose season this year is a prolonged one. All dead and faded flowers should be removed from the plants. Carnations may now be layered, selecting the earliest and strongest shoots for the purpose ; some old * spent potting soil should be introduced around the base of the plant, to encourage the growth of new roots. Tie up ali young stems of penstemons, phloxes, &c, and peg down the growths of all trailing plants such as Phlox Drummondi, &c Box and other hedges should now be clipped. Fill up all vacancies in the borders, which should now be filled with the summer occupants, and the soil must be kept moist by frequent watering.

Greenhouse and Frames.— Plants growing now will require constant attention in watering, &c, as the pots soon become full of roots, especially in the case of soft-wooded plants, which must be kept growing. These will be greatly helped by the free use of liquid manure, taking care not to give it too strong at first. Pelargoniums should now be about at their best, and should be shielded from the hot sun or the flowers will not last in beauty many days. A light coating of a green tinted wash painted on the inside of the roof so that rain cannot wash it off is the simplest summer shade for the greenhouse. Camellias that have finished their growth should be removed from the greenhouse and placed in shady and sheltered positions before being exposed fully to the weather. Azaleas should be kept growing freely until they set their buds ; these plants should be well syringed night and morning, which will help to keep down the thrip to which these are very liable. Tuberous rooted begonias for late summer flowering should receive another shift into larger pots and be placed in a shaded airy part of the greenhouse to prevent them becoming drawn up. Ferns will require a considerable amount of moisture now, and should have water sprinkled about the floor and stages once or twice during hot days and syringed frtely overhead ; they require to be kept cool, but the ventilators must be regulated during high winds, which often debtroy the tender fronds.