OPERATIONS FOR THE WEEK.

Otago Witness, Issue 2401, 8 March 1900, Page 8

OPERATIONS FOR THE WEEK.

- KITCHEN GARDEN.— The various sowings of lettuce, radishes, cairots, onions, spinach, and cauliflowers essential to ensuring a seasonable supply oi ttlese vegetables having been completed," the attention of the cultivator can be directed to other matters. The preparation of the ground by digging and trenching and the eradication of weeds can be pursued with vigour, fes the soil is now in a favourable condition. Borders having a northern exposiire are the naosi, suitable for planting lettuces for early use, and the beds shsuld be formed so as to allow the surface water to pass off fresly. The soil for both lettuce and spring cabbage crops cannot bs made .too rich, a.3 they will meed all the assistance manure can afford lo enable them to make a growth during the period when vegetation is leeble. Push forward the ripening of toinatoas by fully exposing the fruit to the sun and by withholding ' FLOWER GARDEN.— Where extensive alterations are contemplated in the shrubberies it will soon be time to begin the work. At all events let the plan be perfected of the improvements dearred, so that when operations are ,con>menced there will be no delay on that score. •The advantage of beginning early is considert>"blQ. The soil being in workable condition, ',tho work can be done better and in less time (than when the winter rains have set in. Shrubs and trees transplanted before the autumn growth has commenced will strike root at once iand establish themselves before winter. Not ,tha least advantage of autumn planting is thai •it does not interfere with the work in spring, a, time when the hands of the gardener are •generally ful 1 with the operations incidental to -•the season. Sow hardy annuals for spring 'Vblooming. Plant hyacinths, narcissi, scillas, Tsnowdrops, and other early bulbs. One of ..':the most frequent errors in regard to hardy [bulb culture is that of keeping them out o£ ahe coil too late in the season, wlierby they 'are greatly weakened. Bulbs that have been 'left in the soil all the summer *are often in -iull root-growth in February, and by March Qiave made quite a mass of loots. Those that are taken up, in many cases, have the life clried out of them, for however carefully they imaj be kept, they niust of necessity lose strength ; while those in the soil are laying up ;a store of vigour ready for a start os soon as sine proper time for the top growth arrives. As a general rule bulbs for open-air beds cannot be planted until the stimmer bedders are cleareJl ;«fi and the soil has been dug and manurea; consequently, quite two months are taken from Jihe period during which' the bulbs ought to be tn the soil gathering up, in place of losing, their strength. GREENHOUSE AND FRAMES.—Cyclamens should be repotted and placed in a shady -irame, and will need to be carefully watiied ,-until the roots are running freely. As soon ias the early pelargoniums are beginning to grow, after the repotting, more air and light must be given to them, but care must bo taken not to leave the lights off during heavy rain, or the pots becoming water-logged causes the soil to become sour, and the plants will fall into bad health. Fuchsias having part nov/ering can be pla-ced outsido in exposed positions, Tjut must be regularly watered. At this time of the year an effort should be made to clean the. inside of all greenhouses, frames, etc., in oi-dei to destroy ' any insects that may be se- : creted, -before the winter comes on and the ' various places are full of plants, thus preventing a. thorough overhaul.'

GREENHOUSE — The time is fast appioaching when "the -whole of the halfliardy plants now oat-of-doors will have to be Ijrough-t in. They are now ripening off their wood to stand the winter, and it all depends upon the 'amount of exposure they have had whether they will do so successfully. Mniry ol these plants should also have been prepared for winter blooming. This is the crucial test of a gardener's capability — to fill his house with plants in bloom during the winter months. But ihi.3 cannot be done without exercising a considerable amount of forethought, a knowledge of the capabilities of certain plants, and the expenditure of labour at a time when many other things demand a gardener's attention. Frosts may soon be expected, end it is therefore advisable to have the houses thoroughly overhauled, painted where necessary, and the glass cleaned for the reception of the plants, attend to the propagation of bedding plants.