Garden Calendar.

Western Star, Issue 346, 24 April 1880, Page 2 (Supplement)

Garden Calendar.

FOR APRIL. . Kitchen Garden,;—The weather of late has been all--that could be desired for potato lifting } . those who have planted that root'should lose no time in having them carefully gathered while the soil is so suitable for the operation. As soon 'as. they are taken up they should he covered, with earth, having them stored in small quantities. By so doing, quality will be insured —care being taking to guard against iheir heating. If that ones takes place, farewell to all freshness: ani sweetness of flavors Parsnips may hes left in the ground and taken out as required. This will preserve their flavor and will keep them .fresh and fitnf, although it will interfere with winter

operations. Run the Dutch hoe through all growing crops, such as savoys, curly greeaSj-brussels: apron ts,:- cauliflower,and' cabbage, earthing up the same as. they re- , quire it. The earthing up of celery will require attention from time to time' as it progresses; i not omitting plenty : of : water. Gontinne to (plant cabbage and fi cauliflower plants, to stand over the winter. ■: A pinch of seef 6f the. same may he sn-.yn for plants in' spring time, / Lettuce should still-be Efown add transplanted .'or winter, use.; *Attendl'td' r the ' hoeing' aiid thinning pf\ ■winter Spinach.This"applied tolate sown turnips. Now. isi; the proper : time fb 'sow; onions,; which .if attend to; will be most ac-i ceptable when ,most varieties of vegetables are scarce. .Those, recently stored ishbuld I)4' looked over, frequently, for some- time tp come, while* some ‘wi)l' require to be. re- . moved. '•'i Attend''’ fo 'the* clearing of all dead ? and 1 vegetation.* ’ This , should notv-be 'neglected;^while /if it is mixed together; with road' trimmings' turf,' or other material, willy after- it■{ has -been allowed to J lie, for, a few month •s.oinake a * good cdmp/st for the garden,;,and .where manure is ‘difficult to, procure, nothing, should b ; e‘!bst y which can be converted into use in thik-dbpartraerit: ’ ' Attend .to the tfenchimr-of ground asit becomes’ vacaiif./ Keep the,-. hoe.< aft- work so as to'-destroy ' Weeds .wh/nh-grow: faat .at, this season of the yearly our- mpttq being,//care for- the present and provision for the - future. in,• the ; kitcheh garden.”/ / •Fruit Garden.'— The,/gathering in of spples-andipekrs must now have : daily .attention, Let the greatest care in gathering.all .the choice sorts; assooii 'as they part from .the. stems.,freely-they- are. ready, while if. gathered before they willf shrivel Up/and the flavor will be-awanf/ lug. 'They shb’uld bo handle# as.'cafefally as ;wliei>mneds handling e^gk; i 'talcing ; cafe 1 not to/ay;too many of for the weight of the upper portiondwill?be' liable to. bruise, those, that are ;underneath, and let the bruise be ever so. slight it will ckuse A t the same time‘d,ue,paution ; should/be' exercised that none/but the ripest fruit should be gathered firsf, .as a makes all the difference/ audit ia about as mischievous to gather fruit too early ;as to r leave it too date. r.As a rule frost withers apd shrivels; into rotten Worthlessness,: and yet it, iampt, alvyays the case," a§ there are one or more plums, rthe-, ‘‘fmpPi ative’’ f()f instance; that is improved' by behVg 'BlinVeiled-. ; and i; in fhat ; state it ■will keep for weeks on a dry shelf/ and be ’ aUvthe^richeran flavor for being- so/but the abpyeijs . not applicable to i the greatfeeepingfmt crops as the apple and pears; Attend/to the gathering of cob and other, nuts; and nave/therd stored in a dry cool pldce/ 11 J The sooner' preparations can ' be made for ireplkhtihg and' transplanting of of the different ’virieties ‘Of fruit‘ trees of ‘ bushesnthe better; ;Considermg that this and next month are two] good rmohths- dorthe operation.,. As. soon, as the, leaves come off freely from the .trees they are ready to the lilted with safety, keeping in mind that the pit/fbr receiving the plants should, be all ready before'beginning : the. transplant/ ingy so'that it may be performed without delayi ./The great advantage to beideriyed from this early autumn planting is .; the roots being still active, the.flow; of. sap, is reduced to .a while the heat in the ground is still considerable, which encourages the foots to .push ybung rootlets, and being well furnished with them' is 1 prepared to meet the wants of the expanding, buda in .spring, ; It would be to the advantage of those intending to plant fruit; or./deciduouSjifOTest trees- to giye-; -their autumn planting a greater,,consideration, tha!h it has yet received in this district.' Apple trees that are infested with the American blight Should be carefully looked over.from time to : time’and have it destroyed, i, Strawberry plantations may be top; dressed ’and manure wheeled on to gooseberry/ currant, and raspberry ,plots. Flower , Garden,— ln ! flower gardem? much of the floral' beauty will be past,' but clbse attention to 1 the keeping .and , the :il “loom /■ ciuD ;

dressing of the beds and borders will tend to cause an attractive appearance for some time to come, although at this season of" the year the order goes forth, it must heeds begin to fade. Seeing that it js so, should there be any choice varieties^. of' bedding-out plants .(since it will be desicgj able to save them)’ no'time Bhouldbe rdelayed in haying them lifted,-potted, and placed in their winter quarter, as'frost may set..in at any time,, and should that be after a damp period, much mischief will be done to valuable plants. They ought not to be risked any longer. Any of the stock of, pelargoniums may be potted, watered, and placed where they will lie free from frost. Propagate Calceolarias by cuttings. A pit or frame is useful for the operation; a few inches of good loam placed over the bottom, and an inch of sharp sand laid over all and beaten firmly will help one to be successful. In the striking of calceolarias one should guard against dry or warm quarters for them daring the winter months, as the coddling of them will be their ruin. Continue : to put in verbena cuttings, which may be about 2 inches long, dibbled into sandy soil 2 inches apart, receiving a good watering and placed under glass. The attention they will require during the winter will be plenty of air during mild weather,. water carefully when dry, and see that frost does not over take them. AH cut? tings-, of bedding plants ; which are well: rooted,, should now. be ; kept free , from heavy rains, pits and frames are very user fat for that purpose. yhoisld frost not come early to destroy dahlias, they may be kept gay for % so£ne time to come by the I picking off of decayed flowers and watering, .which will requir3 r; attentipn so that S neatness may prevail, for. without neatnessf | and order the enjoyment of the garden will, Ibe greatly diminished. Chrysanthemums \ in- the : bpenground ought to be’ made safe : against, winds by having them staked. Some of the early varieties of bulbs would require attention. Crocus, tulips, hyaI cinths, ranunculus, . anemones, and- nar-rj ;Cissus, maynow be planted oh really ..good: |rich soil;’ 'Turfy loam, with a fourth part ;of well rotted manure mixed with sand, iwill 1 suit .'therh; ( The sowing of hardy annuals at this season of the year has not received the of gardeners and lofchers in this district as. they deserve, for instance, such as nemophila, saponaria, clarkia, Virginian, stock, calliopsis, and mahy others which are quite hardy, will come into bloom in early spring, when their presence will be most acceptable until others of our spring favorites awake from their wintry sleep, v Amongst those we expect to see the auricula, primrose, violet, lily oi the valley, pansies,: and let me add iforgirt-memot.,