The Ctardea, the Orchard, and Farm. .

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VI, Issue 663, 29 March 1879, Page 2

The Ctardea, the Orchard, and Farm. .

FOR APRIL. -,.., (Compiled specially for the P. B. Herald.) '■■ • Flower Garden. Remove annuals, and cut down all plants past flowering. Collect seeds. Attend closely to all matters, of routine.' Prepare beds for tulips, ranunculuses, and anemones. Continue to propagate pansies, double wall-flowers, .&c. The eai-ly layers of pinks and carnations will now be rooted, and should be detached from the parent plants, when they may be kept in pots, or bedded out at once. In suiuly soils, the addition of a soil of quite an opposite character is of much advantage. Propagate verbenas, fuchsias, pelargoniums, heliotropes, petunias, &c Keep chrysanthemums well tied up to withstand winds ; also dahlias. Plant out early spring flowering bulbs, such as narcissus, jonquils, gladioli, liliums, &c. Still continue to propagate bedding and herbaceous plants, and keep hoe going ; wage war on weeds in paths, &c* Kitchen Garden. Prepare soils and composts ; destroy all rubbish by fermenting and rotting, rather than burning ; dig and trench ground. Where bits of waste ground cannot be occupied with crops, either turn it up roughly for the ameliorating influence of the weather, or sow rape, vetches, oats, or maize, to be dug in. Earth up celery, leeks, and kumeras where necessary. Make occasional sowings of salad herbs. Take up beet, and store in a dry airy place. Plant out cauliflowers, celery when required, and cabbages largely in good soil. Give plenty of room. The Orchard. Apples and pears should be gathered as they ripen, and stored in a dry airy place, taking care not to lay them too thick. Figa should . be closely looked after, especially if the weather is at all bright. Peaches, nectarines, and plums, except in a few rare instances, will all have been gathered. Grapes will be maturing freely ; the old black Hamburg and similar kinds may be kept two or three weeks after. they are cut from the vine, if the bunches are cut within.a few inches cf the wood and hung in a dry airy place. Now will be the. time to prepare all ground for new orchard, if required. Where the soil is wet let it be well .drained and trenched at once. This kind of work should always be done in dry weather. The pruning of gooseberry and currants should now be done at the end of the month, as they generally break bud very early, consequently the plants require as much rest as possible. . THE FARM. Do all you have to do in sowing grass seed this month. Sow rape and turnip seed for your sheep ; and by all means sow rape seed with your grass, as, besides giving a bite for your sheep, it rather does good to the growth of the grass, and keeps it moist. Sow oats also for green crops, about 3 bushels to the acre. Plough up your potato land for grain crops, and bear in mind that early sowing had better, be thin, bui; later sowing may be pretty thick. Potatoes should, be all stored and well covered. ; If rams have been put to the ewes early in March, they may be taken away by" the end of April, six or seven wdeks being long enough in general, although in some cases it may be necessary to let them remain, longer, or even to put them to fresh rams after an interval of a few days. GOLDEN RULES FOR GARDENING. 'Let the draining of the ground be your first care. It is impossible to succeed to any extent with vegetables or flowers where the water is stagnant in the soil. — Gather fruit in dry weather when the sun is shining, and place them as carefully in the basket as if they were glass. The smallest bruise commences a decay. —Unless you want seed, remove the flower stems as soon as the bloom decays. The swelling of the seed pods checks the further growth ! and blossom, of most plants. — Never grow the same crops, nor crops of the same family, twice on the spot, without an intervening crop of a different nature. Never transplant trees _or shrubs in a growing state. However carefully it may be done, the check is dangerous, if not fatal. —Never tie up lettuces or endive, or earth up celery, except when perfectly dry. They are sure to spoil if you do. — Never allow the surface of the soil, in a pot or in the ground to be long without stirring, unless it be naturally very open, as is the case with peat . earth. — Never grow a plant too fast ; it is no credit to you, because anybody can do it, and it spoils the plant to a certainty. Rapid growth makes a mild flavour, slow growth a strong one. Therefore, grow vegetales quick, and fruit moderately. The exceptions are where size is valued more than flavour.