WORK FOR THE WEEK.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5760, 2 January 1897, Page 2

WORK FOR THE WEEK.

TO GARDENERS

Kitchen Gauden.— A supply of wellgrown, perfectly blanched endive proves very serviceable in February and March, especially when lettuces are either scarce or not very good. Now is the timo to sow for the main crop, another month or six weeks later on being quite soon enough to raise plauls for wintering in frames. °The ground being at liberty, the simplest plan is to sow the seeds in drills where the plants are to grow, but if this is not possible the requisite number of plants may be raised on a border aud transplanted when largo enough. Tho moss curled is of neat habit and blanches early, but keeps badly. A good strain of green curled is the best for succossional supplies, and tbe improved broad-leaved Batavian is very fine late in the season. All delight in a fairly rich, wellpulverised soil ; in fact, unless grown strongly and quickly, the quality is apt to be inferior. The first-named may be sown or planted in drills nine inches arart, a distance of six inches dividing them in the row. The others should be in drills twelve inches apart, and on good ground, not less than nine inches from plant to plant. When drills are opened for seed in dry weather they ought to be watered before the seed is sown, the moisture enclosed when tho seed is covered with tho rather dry soil ensuring a quick and even germination of the seed. in tho hottest weather. Endive raised early, or which later on may be transplanted either from borders or rows of plants, succeeds remarkably well in drills. Those should be drawii about four inches deep, and the plants, if taken from, a seed bed, dibbled in, but if previously pricked out, they must bo moved and replanted with a trowel. Being in drills, watnr or liquid manure may be quickly and effectively given at any timo, and the plants are also more easily blanched either with tho aid of boards, slates, hay, or by tying up in a similar way to lettuces. Parsley is really indispensiblo at nearly all times. The evonest and best beds are obtained by raising a number of plants in a frame. Parsley raised early in the open ground should be freely thinned out, and, if need bo, a few hundreds of the thinnings may be dibbled out elsewhere. Given good room, all should form handsome plants. A-ceording as early cauliflowers, peas, potatoes, spinach, and other crops aro cleared off the ground, it has to bo decided what next shall bo done, or whether to dig it or not. Much depends upon circumstances. Somo soils may be dug and worked almost at any time, and in nearly all weathers^ others aro much move difficult to deal with. Where the soil is of a rather stiff or clayey nature, it is 'apt to become hard and unworkable a short time after it is dug, and not till heavy rains have fallen is it easily got into a suitable condition for seed sowing. If wanted at once for eeods of any kind, we would prefer not to dig such land at all, tho surface being merely cleaned and well stirred with the hoe. Thus treated, it will grow better crops than will roughly broken loose land. If plants are to be put out, dig and plant before the ground becomes thy. Land clomwl of potatoes merely requires cleaning : - <\ levelling, ancl is then fit for almost any crop. If the potatoes are lifted as wanted, the ground should be levelled as the work goes on, all large lumps being broken before they become baked. Any ground that has been manured and dug for some time in readiness for late crops should be well fined down at once with the aid of trampling and rakes. Choosing a dry day for the work, and treated in this manner, it can be planted and sown during the hottest weather. For some crops the ground cannot well be too firm, this being especially the case with Broccoli required to staud through the winter. If these are put out on rich, loose ground they grow much too rankly, and aro tho reverse of being hard} . It is those planted on firm, nudug ground, or say in close succession to peas, strawberries, winter spinach, and early potatoes, that are usually the most to be relied upon, the firm root run inducing a sturdy growth. Savoys and borecole also do well on undug ground, and now-a-days few think of digging ground recently occupied by onions, these being closely followed by cabbage. Plots just cleared may be well manured, deeply dug, and laid up roughly for a few days or weeks in order to get into condition for the autumn spinach.

Flower Garden. — Little can bedoue at this season, especially when the weather is so dry as it is at present, beyond keeping the beds hoed, for the double purpose of preventing the growth of weeds and counteracting the effects of the drought. Also remove fading blossoms, and a good show of flowers will be obtained, even under very adverse conditions.