GARDENING NOTES

New Zealand Tablet, 23 September 1915, Page 53

GARDENING NOTES

♦ ■— 1 /(By Mr‘J. Joyce, Landscape Gardener, Christchurch.) *: ' THE KITCHEN GARDEN, - ft - September is a busy time "in the kitchen garden. fj If things are not sown, and planted in the proper " time ;.it means a short supply of vegetables.; and 1 " time lost •fin the early part of the season will be very hard to "recover. Therefore, advantage should now be taken -’ jto put in all ; the necessary plants. and seeds, so as to [have a . supply, of vegetablesi throughout the season. These should include a plot of cauliflowers , and cab-3 [bage plants peas. Beans; and a : good square •of - parsnips. Parsnips are very useful in winter, when other [Vegetables are scarce. They come in very handy-as . jfthey keep until late when stored in sand in a cool place. ’No garden should be without a good, supply of shorthorn carrots. Beet should now be sown, also onions, leeks, radishes, and turnips. It is not wise to sow now in -quantity, as, they very soon run to seed if put in, too - dearly. Tomatoes should not be put out of doors yet, but they ought to be grown under cover, so as to have them strong required for planting out later. A little celery should be sown,, also a few lines of round .-or summer spinach. It must be borne in mind that ‘ there is not a more wholesome vegetable-grown than spinach, and on that account it should not be neglected. It must be sown pretty often, as it soon runs to seed. •The round spinach is the summer kind, and the prickly the winter variety. , Silver beet is a very good substitute for spinach, especially in the autumn and winter /months, so that a bed sown now will be found useful when other vegetables are scarce. A good bed will last throughout the winter. A sowing of cauliflower, broccoli, and cabbage seed should be made, so as to have a supply of plants for the season. A small sowing occasionally is preferable to a large one. Brussels, /sprouts are very useful for winter and spring use. One small sowing will be quite sufficient to give a supply. This vegetable requires good open well-manured ground to grow it successfully. Savoys and winter greens, or Scotch kale, must not be neglected. HV the winter supply of vegetables is neglected at the proper time of planting there will be a shortage for the kitchen when vegetables will be at a premium. I might here impress on the amateur grower of vegetables that if he wants to grow them successfully he must have well cultivated and manured ground. No ground will grow vegetables unless it is heavily man- :, ured. Many people remark what highly successful gardeners the Chinese are, and what fine vegetables - they grow. Well, if any one wishes to see for himself, let him pay a visit to a Chinaman’s garden, and he will notice that every plot is highly manured and constantly supplied with plenty of water. Good cultivation, water, and manure are the secret of the Chinaman’s success. THE FLOWER GARDEN. The work to be done in the flower garden and -pleasure ground now is the mowing and rolling of the lawns regularly, hoeing the walks and borders, so as to keep them free of weeds, sowing the seeds of annuals, and putting out any herbaceous plants that may need attention. In the fruit garden all planting ought to be hurried on, as the end of this month should see all of such work completed; also all the pruning and spraying ought to be finished. In fact all the winter work ought to be seen through by the end of the month and any trees, which are considered useless, ought to be cut back, and' more suitable sorts grafted on to them. By grafting on the old branches a considerable | /.gain is obtained, as the newly grafted trees will come into bearing in a year or two from the time the work is done. During the season of growth all useless branches should be removed, as they might interfere ‘with the' grafts. When the scions or grafts have * taken,’ they ought to be examined occasionally, and,

tne tying loosenea, as tne ;; growtn or the-tree would psi| be interfered "With by the tying. But the grafts must . be always secured so that the winds cannot snap them off. - ' - * .