THE GARDEN.

Otago Witness, Issue 3596, 13 February 1923, Page 9

THE GARDEN.

NOTES BY

D. TANNOCK. F.R.H.S.

WORK FOR THE WEEK. THE GREENHOUSE AND NURSERY. Prick out the second batch of seedling primulas as soon as the nlants are large enough to handle, and pot the first lot into 3in pots. See that the pots are quite clean both inside and outside, use a nice light mixture composed of loam two parts, leafmould one part, sand half a part, wellrotted manure half a part, with a dusting of bone meal and powdered charcoal. Do not pot too firmly, and stand on a bed of ashes in the coolest part of the greenhouse and shade during sunny weather for a few days until the roots take hold of the new soil. Continue to line out wallflower and sweet william seedlings, layer carnations, put in cuttings of pelargoniums and greenhouse geraniums, and complete the budding of roses as soon as possible. Keep the fuchsias and other climbers on the roof of the greenhouse thinned out to allow light to get into the plants below, and pot up cyclamen. Freesias are very useful for the greenhouse in early spring, and a number of corms can be potted now. Use sin or 6in pots and a soil mixture composed of loam two parts, leaf mould one part, sand and lime rubble one part, and a good dusting of basic phosphate or bone meal. Fill the pots to within two inches of the top, making the soil fairly firm, put in nine to 12 bulbs in a 6in pot, and six to nine in a sin one, cover with an inch of soil, and give one good watering and stand in a cold frame with the sashes on to keep out excessive wet. It is not necessary to plunge freesias in ashes like . the other bulbs. forms which were forced last year, if carefully ripened olf, will do for netting again, but if they were neglected after flowering it will be better to purchase new corms which are sure to flower. Hippeastrums will have completed their growth and started to ripen off. Watering can be stopped, and thorough ripening encouraged THE FLOWER GARDEN. Keep the dahlias and herbaceous plants staked up, scuffle and weed all beds and borders, and keep the lawns and grass verges tidy. Sweet peas which are flowering freely will require a little weak liquid manure once a week, and all seed pods should be picked oi. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. Early and second early potatoes can be dug now. There is little disease about, and there is little use leaving the tubers in the ground after the stems have been cut over or the leaves destroyed by the blight. Sort them out into sizes as digging proceeds, the small ones to he used for feeding pigs, the second size when of good shape and free from disease being left on the surface to green for seed, and the table size stored away in a c-00l dark airy shed or cellar either in bags or flat boxes. If not required for some time, they are better pitted or clamped in a dry part of the vegetable garden. Build them up into a neat pyramid with the sides as steep as possible, thatch with about two inches of clean straw or grass, and cover with about six inches of soil which is dug from round the base of the pit. Beat down the soil with the hack of the spade, making it as firm and smooth as possible,' and put a twisted wisp of straw in the ridge to serve as a ventilator. The late varieties, if not too badly cut back with the disease, aro better left in the ground for a little longer POPPIES. Poppies are among the most useful and hardy of garden plants, some being particularly useful for garden decoration, and others for providing cut flowers for house decoiation, end os all aro perfectly hardy and easily grown fiom seed they ought to be found in every garden. They are suitable for ail conditions, some being quite

small alpine for the rock garden, while others like the driest part of the garden, and some are bog plants. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. “Potato.”—The tubers forwarded appear to be Arran Chief, which is a strong grower, a good cropper, and a good keeper. They are a very nice sample. “Legume,” Waitahuna.—The plant sent is Galega orientals (Goats Rue), a native of the Caucases. I do not think it will be any good as a fockler plant. I am sorry I cannot name your plant from the description.