THE GARDEN.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12243, 15 February 1918, Page 3

THE GARDEN.

| iWOR-K FOR THE WEEK.

KITCHEN GARDEN.

. Seeds to Sow.—Cabbage, cauliflower, cress, endive, lettuce, onions, spinach and turnip. What to Plant.—Broccoli, endive, lettuce and leeks. Wage constant war on weeds and destroy them before the seeds ripen. Some weed' seed ripen in a very short) time, and fall from the seed pods on to the ground, to give a lot of trouble ' in the future. j Give constant attention to seedling crops just through the ground, as they may _ require watering to keep them growing until their roots gst well established. If they are allowed to want for water Insect pests will soon attack them and may destroy tho lot. The importance of this cannot well be overstated, because if we lose one sowing of cabbage, cauliflower or lettuce and hare to make another sowing it will mean that the earliest crop of spring cabbage null be some five to seven weeks late. It is the earliest crops that are the most valuable. _Keep a constant watch on root crops. Many are inclined to get over big this season. Beet is much more useful when of small to medium size, as very largo roots are invariably coarse, stringy and of pale colour. To check the de- . velopmcnt carefully raise tho roots with a garden fork, without breaking the roots, and in abortt a week or ten days pul! up all that tiro large enough and store them in a coni place, covering the roots with rand! or ashes. Turnips that are past being useful should bo dug in. Do not pull them up and throw them ,on the rubbish heap, hut open a trench and bury them at once. hardy fruits. Woolly aphis is making its unwelcome appearance in both young and old trees, rronipt measures' should ho taken against this pest. Big trees should he sprayed, but bn young stock, where there are but few small patches, a brush will effectively destroy the insects. . One advantage of using a brush is that you can use a much stronger solution, because it will not ho put on the leaves, only on the white patches of aphides. A strong solution is sudden death, and much less spray fluid is used. But on large trees spraying is the only way, Remember, to be effective the spray fluid must be applied with considerable force. . A gentle spray will not harm aphis, because the insects are covered with a cushion of white woolly material which protects them against rain, etc. The solution must be driven against the white patches with enough force to wash away this woolly matei lal and saturate every insect—to scour each branch of every particle of the white covering and insects. 'lost plum trees have borne heavy ciop.s this season. This has hecji a heavy strain on the trees, and if possible they should have a good soaking with water'as soon as the crop is harvested. It will need a of water to saturate the ground as deep as the roots have gone. Although it may not be possible to thoroughly water every tree, we can spray them overhead to * destroy nist, red mite and thrips. If these pests are killed the leaves can perform their function and develop fruit buds for next season’s crop. FLOWER GARDEN. There is a lot of work to do in this department at this season. Staking tall growing plants, picking off old blossoms, clearing away annuals that are over, watering, weeding and tliinning the clumps of seedlings, hoeing, etc., will keep the gardener busy. The planting of bulbs will soon claim attention. This month is more than half gone, and March will soon arrive, when a start is made with planting bulbs. Attend Relabelling plants and mark those that are to bo removed- The season for transplanting will soon arrive, and there is nothing like having a welprepared plan of proposed alterations. GREENHOUSE. Potting bulbs for forcing and cutting should have attention as soon as possible. The earlier this work is done the better, because the bulbs have a long season to make a lot of root before they are forced in any way. "Rie secret of successful forcing is to give the bulbs ample .time to make a lot of roots before they are put in the forcing house. The early flowering narcissi, potted during this month, can be had in flower in June, and ‘with batches of second ear lies to follow, a constant supply for cutting md conservatory decoration can be maintained until tho spring arrives. Friesias are general favourites. Many .grow, a few pots or boxes of friesias, as if no other bulbs are grown for early use friesias may be had over a long season- The bulb's keep well out of tho ground for a long time, and by potting up three hatches, one in January, another in February, and a third in March, the plants can he had in bloom from June to November.

Although the fricsia is so easily cultivated, there are complaints every

spring of failure. This is in most oases the result of too little water. The plauts whin growing should never want tor water._ They may he treated as semi-aquatics with success. Lilium longiflonim makes a splendid decorative plant for the home or conservatory. Two bulbs in a moderatesized pot will make ». nice plant. The bulbs, suffer if left out of the ground tor a short time. Even if not potted, they should be covered with soil and kept damp. , Eaohenalins are deservedly popular, the specimens staged at our Horticultural Society’s spring show prove that some of our growers understand their cultivation. These plants can be grown to perfection without any artificial heat. Some of the finest I have seen were grown on a verandah. The golden variety, “L. cutoa,” is a lovely shade of gold, with long spikes of flowers, rhis is one of the many fine bulbous plants from South Africa. It was named after a professor of botany at Basle, M. Lacheual, and owing to its easy culture and rapid, inciease, has become one of the most popular of spring flowering plants. Gob a sufficient stock of cuttings propagated of all kinds of bedding plants, file cuttings are firm and in good condition now, but later on they will be soit and will not strike as freely as they will now. The earlier they arc rooted the safer they will pass through the winter, so get them in as soon as possible. ANSWERS TO COB-RESPONDENTS. Enquirer writes,—Which vegetables are best suited to grow where fruit trees take up a good space ?—This is a difficnlt question to answer unless one knew how much sface there is he> tween the branches of the fruit trees; No vegetable will do well unless it can get plenty of sunshine and air, and this is impossible when planted too near the branches of trees, because the shade robs the vegetable of sunshine, and tho leaves of the tree absorb the moisture and plant food that should fall on the leaves of the vogotable. Where there is enough space, any vegetable can he grown, hut tho more dwarf kinds give the hast returns.