THE GARDEN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2545, 24 December 1902, Page 10

THE GARDEN.

. OPERATIONS FOR THE WEEK. • KITCHEN GARDEN.— planting out the early autumn crops of cauliflower, cabbage, savoy, and broccoli should be proceeded with as occasion presents itself, and- if the work of the soil has be'en attended to, much labour will be saved in watering, as the plants rapidly establish themselves after rain. No delay, should take place in planting out th» early trenches of celery, which should now l>e growing freely. Provision should also Be maSe ior later supplies of all the winter vegetables. Small sowings of each of the same varieties Vecommended-for.previous sowings will still be found statable. Where there is likely to be a. scarcity- 'of "'"carrots a further sowing, if -made at. once, will- come iirasf a most valuable late .yhnter supply, as if these once start' -to grow cven-a-fejKiachtesi.iiie.idQr •season 'lias only the effect' ;of retarding ttli-e growth, v.-hick 'iSXea- • ;pTace with' "rapidity' Jafsor\tha i a idiiran grains Xi in. Pickling, onions- should .ha"c"the tops yvell bent ,down, and. as sooft as they appear yellow they", snoulct. bV'pulled. up" to^prevent 'any danger of second growth taking place. In gardens .where- there* is -a' good supply of water a late sowing of Yorkshire/ hero peas may beanade. If aowii in sunken trenches the mois•ture will be better conservt-d than if sown in ■the ordinary manner. Keeping up a good supply" of salads will entail a little extra labour, ois this can" only be accomplished by frequently Bowing small lots of seed, and transplanting .•tile same .from time io time as the plants are Sarge'- enough. This", with due attention to •watering, will ensure a full supply even in the hottest weather. • .GARDEN—Roses .should have all fadcervflov/ers aud' seed pods picked off .ihein; and as aphis are still very numerous Mipon the tender points o! the growrnt? sboota, insecticide ">f some approved form should be applied early. Where mildew is prevalent, a dusting of sulphur should be given early in 'the morning. Rhododendrons will be much benefited by a heavy; mulching of well decayed cow manure, or & good coat of green gras3 cut • from the lawn, as it is not manure ihat is required so much as a- covering to prevent the fioil becoming: too iry. thus keeping the roots ■cool tnd moist. The # root 3 are very fine and fibrous, and do not penetrate the subsoil in search of moisture a3 in the case of most plaa-ts — any serious drought, therefore, soon affects the- health of the plants All late-sown annuals should iiow be planted out, and where sown in .clumps the seedlings should be well thinned nit. filling up all spaces rendered vacant by the removal of bulbs and spring flowers. Climbing roses should now receive attention by cutting vway a-11 the old giowths that can be safely spared. Where there are young and vigorous shoots which con be trained in" to take their" places, they are much to be preferred to old shoots which have been pruned year after year, as the old sr-urs do not produce such fine flowers a3 the young shoots. In the same manner a good niacy of the ordinary climbers can be much improved and regulated during their senson of growth, as it is a waste of plant lif.i and energy to allow a superabundance of gTO,wto i» b« nvwle i# no duxbcm

■i'**-tf<\,t - _^ ; - ■ ' throughout' the , season, 'merely to be cut away afc.'pjtuniKg whereas ff a little attention Tis paid^trom "time fb lime 'during ''the season" .in regulating and thinning out the growths, the •wood, which remains will be better ripened "and stronger, consequently the quality of the flowers will be touch finer than'if left to theineelves. As growth upon dahlias acd chrysanthemums will now be rapid, all shoots should be securely tied to stakes. All plants of chrysanthemums grown for border decorations should be kept well pinched back, as dwarf, compact, well-flowered bushes have a much better effect than tall straggling plants, which are always a source of trouble on aocount of damage from wind. Where these plants are being grown for ! exhibition purposes, no check of any kind must j be given, but almost vigorous growth kept up ' } during the present month by giving the surface a good mulching of decayed stable inaimre. This, however, should not bo given the plants until they are growing freely and have made fair progress. The shoots should be thinned out and all lateral growths kept pinched off. FRUIT GARDEN.— Much lo S3 and damage is done to the strawberry crop in.-a moist season by slugs, which, on aedbunt of the cover j afforded by the leaves, are difficult to kill. The i best plan to destroy them is lo Isy down smaJl I handfuls of fresh dry bran here and there over j the bed, and late at night to examine these, I and either kill the slugs, which will collect 1 upon the heaps of bran, by scaiding them with .; boiling water "or "nandpicking. ' If' this" is re- ■ pea ted for two or three nights, if is surprising , thfe quantity that can t>Gi trapped.' Grapfe vines? f will require frequent stopping of lateral' growths, which if allowed to grow, unchecked will prevent the fruit swelling . to advantage. Raspberry canes should be given a good soak- ! ing of water eveiy week, 'which will cause all. 5 the later fruits to swell, as these perish if the , roots are not supplfed with moisture.' "If the , young trees planted' during the past season J have not yet been mulched, this should be done at once, so that the roots may receive the fullest benefit of the rains: the difference this simple method make 3to the growth is very considerable, and more than pav-3 for any expense mcuired. •