THE GARDEN.

Otago Witness, Issue 3099, 6 August 1913, Page 12

THE GARDEN.

OPERATIONS FOR THE WEEK. FRUIT GARDEN.—Any person who contemplates planting out fruit trees should at once decide, as the season is now getting advanced. Apples and pears may be planted with safety right through August; but in view of a possible dry summer the earlier this is done the better chance they will have of succeeding. All the earlierplanted trees should now be pruned; they will not require much cutting the first season beyond pruning back into the strong, well-ripened wood, and removing entirely all small twigs that cannot be expected to produce strong leading shoots. A supply of manure should !>e obtained and stacked so that it may ho ready when required for mulching the newly-planted trees in spring. This should not be overlooked, for mulching will be found of very groat benefit to all newly-p’antcd trees, as it enables them to continue growing for a much longer period than they otherwise could. All bush fruits, if the pruning is not already finished, should bo at once attended to, particularly red currants and gooseberries, as these start into growth very early in the season. Strawberries which wore planted out early in the season must have the surface frequently hoed with the Dutch hoe to keep the soil open, and at the same time free from weeds. KITCHEN GARDEN. —The increased amount of sunlight and warmth is making itself felt upon cabbage, cauliflower, and other crops, which are growing freely and looking remarkably well where they have been well treated. A sharp lookout must be kept for slugs among newly-planted cabbages. etc., and tender peas, or they arc soon damaged if neglected. The transplanting of onions shou’d be gone on with while the weather is favourable, and where the seed of these have been sown to remain for a crop instead of transplanting the rows must bo thinned out as soon as the plants are st 'ong enough to handle, for overcrowding prevents the young seedlings from making such strong growth as they otherwise would do. The sowing of celery may be made for earliest use, it being as yet too early for sowing in open ground. A box should be prepared to receive the seed, ■which should bo placed in a sheltered position. with a few sheets of glass to cover it and protect it from heavy rains, etc. An endeavour should be made to use up all autumn-sown turnips that are at all fir for use, as these will all bolt to seed during the present month, and be rendered useless. These remarks also apply to savovs, which should be used as soon- a,s they have anything worth cutting. A small sowing of tomatoes should bo made where grown. The first sowing often fails, as the seed does not germinate freely unless kept in a warmplace at this time of the year. As soon as they arc well up above the soil they must have plenty of air given them during the warmest part of the day. or they will become drawn and weak, and give much trouble later on, as they become too tail.

and are broken off by tbo wind. Lettuce plants of the cabbage varieties should bo transplanted as soon as the seedlings are strong enough for putting out. These do better if planted in beds close together than if planted in single rows. Potatoplanting should now be gone on with more freely, as this is the best month in which to plant for earliest crops. In many gardens those planted earlier run the risk of getting the plants very much cut by late spring frosts. FLOWER GARDEN.—Roses should now be pruned, commencing upon all the hybrid perpetuals first, leaving the most tender varieties, such as the teas and Bourbons, a little later. The matter of pruning requires more careful attention than_ is often given by amateur growers, who in the majority of cases do not prune severely enough if good blooms are wanted, and the aim of every true lover of roses should be to produce the best possible results. The growth must be cut hard back, leaving at the meet three or four buds on each shoot. All thin and weakly shoots should be removed entirely. After the work of pruning is completed the cuttings shou’d be picked up and a heavy dressing of manure should bo given all over the bed or border, and should be dug well in. Nothing better than welldecayed stable manure can be given; but where this cannot be obtained a liberal dressing of bonedust should be substituted. This also should be given before digging, so that the whole may bo covered. Hyacinths are now commencing to throw up for flower, and a sharp lookout must bo kept for slugs, which are very destructive among thorn at this stage of their growth, often completely spoiling the spikes of the flowers. Brorapton and East Lothian stocks, candytuft, Clarkia, diunthus, and other autumnsown annuals and biennials should now be transplanted into their flowering quarters. The great advantage of these plants is their early flowering, as they come into b'oom at a time when there are very few flowers. They should be planted out in as warm a position as is available with a view to these places being planted again later on after they arc past their best. GREENHOUSE, Etc.—A few of the tuberous-rooted begonias should bo brought out of their winter quarters and placed in a warm part of the greenhouse, and a little water given them to endeavour to get them to start into growth early; but there must be no attempt to force them into growth, they being very impatient of heat. As soon as the crowns are fairly on the move they should be shaken clean out of the soil and repotted into small pots just large enough to allow about lin of soil all round the tuber. They succeed better if treated thus than if potted into larger pots at once, as this admits of their being potted on as the roots advance, which prevents the roots from becoming sour. All young plants that are starting mto_ growth should bo examined and repotted if required. Autumn-struck cuttings of fuchsias should bo potted into small pots and pushed on, but thev must have air given on all favourable days to keep them dwarf.