OPERATIONS FOR THE WEEK.

Otago Witness, Issue 2253, 6 May 1897, Page 8

OPERATIONS FOR THE WEEK.

Kitchen Garden.— The fine open, although cold and frosty, weather we are now having is most favourable for pushing on with all autumn work, •which should be kept well in hand, as wet weather may be expected, necessarily preventiup nutdoor woik to a great extent, and after the soil Bnce becomes thoroughly soaked it cannot be ■worked in such a satisfactory manner a3 at the present time. Therefore every vacant piece of soil should, as"far as possible, bo dug and turned up to the weather. If it is not required for immediate cropping, it will pay to thus expose the soil, even at (he expense of an extra digging. Where this has already been done the sowing and planting out of the various crops as recommended in our late issues should be attended to, as such crops make rapid progress at this soaton, before the soil becomes cold. If not already sown, broad beans should be sown at once, pr the principal point in their culture will be lost— viz,, earliness. These should be given the heaviest soil in tho garden, as they succeed much better upon a some* ■what clayey soil than on one of a sandy nature. The planting out of the various kinds of cabbage, cauliflower, and lettuce should be continued according to the requirements of each family. Lettuces of the cos variety only should now be planted out, as the. rabbage Varieties do" not grow freely during the wet and cold months of winter ; a further sowing of seed of these should now be made/ A warm and dry border should be selected , and the young plants must be kept free from ■weeds as they grow, in order to make them as hardy as possible. Late trenches of celery should "be earthed up as neessary as the growth proceeds. Onions should be Bown as required for transplanting in early spring. All small seedlings as soon as they are large enough to handle should be thinned out, and tbe hoe must be frequently used between tbe drills.

FlowerGarden.— Theplaßtingof spring-flower- i ing bulbs should be pushed on, as the earliest batch should have no%y been all planted, and later on a successional planting should take place. Chrysanthemums being now at their best, notes should bemadeofthevarieties.asthereare few gardens that do not require newer varieties added. .There are other sorts tbat are unsuited to the purposes for which they are grown , but if a little time is devoted to them while they are in flower they can often be much improved ; if neglected now they soon go out of flower, and it is difficult then to identify the colours. Dahlias are in many gardens already severely cut from frosts. If, however, we are favoured with a continuation of the preseut fine weather they will be quite worth picking over again for tbe value of the i-emaining bloom. Hoses should be planted o\it as soon as convenient. "When it is intended to plant out roses in any quantity, the ground should be deeply trenched and a heavy dressing of stable manure worked in as each trench is opened ; soil of a heavy or clayish natureis best suited to the rose, andit must be borne in mind that the rose requires plenty of manure to grow it well, and this should be given as much as is possible at the time of preparing the soil ; at no later period can it be added to the roots to such advantage as at the time of trenching. This completed, the rotes as far as possible should be upon their own roots, as we have frequently pointed out the great advantage these have over such as are worked upon the brier or manetti. There are a few of the delicate varieties that are difficult to obtain upon .their own roots, but the majority can be procured, if the trouble is taken in ordering to specify this point- The planting out of box for edging may now be commenced. The dwarf Dutch box is much superior to the box, as being dwarfer in growth and of smaller foliage. The price ift usually a trifle ■higher, but it is much more valuable for tbe puvrcose. as 'unless cut very frequently and closely the English hnx soon becomes too large for small borders. Violets make a very useful border for larger beds in the kitchen garden, and the present time is aleo favourable for dividing the3o and planting out. The best sorts to grow are the Czar and Lee's Odoratissima (the two best Eingle dark blues), and two good doubles are Count Brazza (white), Neapolitan (mauve). To have these to flower freely they require a liberal treatment. They should be yearly manured and dug around, and they will then produce their flowers in abundance. Too often they are plantei in some out-of-the-way place and neglected year after year. Sucb plants cannot fail to be disappointing. Hardy and half-hardy annuals may still be sown as advised in our recent issues. A sharp look-out must be kept up among the seed beds for slugs, which, if allowed to increase, will prove very destructive at this time of the year.