THE GARDEN.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19815, 5 December 1919, Page 10

THE GARDEN.

WORK FOR THE WEEK. KITCHEN GARDEN, Seeds to Sow.—Beans, beet, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, cress, cucumber, endive, lettuce, peas, radish, spinach, turnip, marrows. What to Plant.—Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, potatoes. Beetroot will require careful thinning. Don’t give the plants too much roam. Medium-sized roots are more 1 useful than the large—these are often 1 coarse. Slugs and woodlico have a ; I strong liking for beetroot when the j ! plants are very young. Scatter soot j freely over the plants. This acts as a j fertiliser and as a protection against | slugs. Peas.—Pay special attention to this i crop from this on. Make shallow i trenches for present and future kow- | lugs, but tread the soil as firm as poa--1 stole before sowing the seed. | Endive.—Make a small sowing now j and another nt the end of the month, | ISndiv© is not as tender as lettuce, but will grow’ during dry hot weather m places where lettuce would siarre. Give the plants plenty of room between the rows and thin the plants to ten inches in the row. Ridge cucumbers can now be planted in the open. These need plenty of moisture during hot weather. If there is .a. good supply of manure available mulch all peas and beans; this will conserve the moisture and prevent evaporation. Runner beans should have the point pinched off when the shoots are about two feet high. This will encourage lateral shoots, which will soon produce a crop of blossoms. Keep weeds down. They are growing fast where the hoe and planet are idle. Keen these implements on the move. They not only keep the weeds down but the frequent j hoeingg stimulate the growth of the i crops.

FLOWER GARDEN. Summer bedding should be finished 4b soon, as possible. It has been trying weather lor the more tender subjects. | Frosts and cold winds have alternated j with hot scorching sunshine and warm, | withering winds. Some alternanthera, j' colons and salvia Imvo been destroyed | and will have to he replaced. It is a 1 mistake to set these tender plants in j their summer quarters before December. If we have a cold snap with frost j soon after they are put out they get a severe check from which it takes a long time to recover, and some arc killed outright. Plants in the herbaceous border are growing fast and need constant attention in the matter 1 of tioing. All tall growing; plants should have strong supports. If short. stout stakes are used these will not be as aggressive in appearance ns tall ones. A lot of big stakes tends to 'spoil the natural beauty of the plants. . Trees ■ and shrubs that were transplanted last winter should bo carefully watched, and should any want for water give, them some at once. It is the larger specimens that suffer most during December and January. The ! Etnaller, plants are not so liable to suffer from dryness. Dahlias are growing fast. Do over i old plants and reduce the number of growths if there are more than three. Sweet pens tlja.t were put .in last autumn are growing and flowering Well. Keep the dowers picked and don’t leave any to tom seeds. Once 3. plant has a, few pods of seed to develop there are very few more flower buds formed. It is n good plan io go over the plants ouee a week ana femoye all spent blossoms to prevent them seeding, j

mG GREENHOUSE. | PJa.nfa in glass houses need shade j during hot. sunshine. Movable blinds I •are tho best and the most, suitable, but i they axs* very expensive and fixed shading lias to be used: This should net be too dense on houses where flowenug j plants ana kept, as the heave .shade i vail spoil the blossoms and the plant* he rendered more or less useless for i the rest of the season. The shading ] i» better too thin than too (hick over begonins. fuchsias', pelargoniums, etc. Foliage plants do not suffer as much from a dense shade. Palms, ferns, us- I pidistras, asparagus and similar plants! thrive and keep a. good healthy green under a heavy shade. 'Water the I plants in the afternoon or evening. ! and damp tho stages and floor during | the morning. This will keen the at- : rnosphore moist during tho heat of the I day. _ i Marguerite.* make useful decorative! plants for use in winter. Cuttings put j ! m now and grown on will form good i strong plants by next May. Put two ! | cuttings in a three-inch pot and shift ' S them into a live or six-inch pot when ! they are well rooted. Pinch the growths once and cron- the plants in the open until April. With care they will - begin to flower in May and come in ;iu~t as chrysanthemums aro over, when flowering plants for hou.se> decoration are. scarce. The single, variety is tho most useful for small pots. The double. Mrs F. Sander, needs more root room, but it gives some fine flowers which last in good condition for a long time. Zonnles for winter flowering should have been rooted and ready for potling, Put thorn in large throe or small four-inch pots. IT.se good loam, a little leaf mould and some sharp sand. Pot, them firmly and put the plants in a cold frame. At. tho end of January they should he in their flowering pots, standing in the open air. Keep flower buds pinched off ns fast as they are. formed until the first week in March. After that date lot them develop.