GARDENING NOTES

New Zealand Tablet, 5 August 1920, Page 33

GARDENING NOTES

(By Ma. J. Joyce, Landscape Gardener, Christchurch.)

WORK FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST. The Kitchen Garden. —With the approach of spring, August should be a busy month to the grower of vegetables. Seed beds of cauliflower, cabbage, lettuce, radish, also mustard and cress by those who desire such for salad, may now be planted. Early peas and broad beans may too receive attention, taking the precaution to protect the young shoots of the former from the depredations of the small birds. Sow a good plot of onions and plant a bed of asparagus, following the directions given in previous gardening notes. Asparagus is among the most profitable of all vegetable culture, and a bed once properly started will last for many years. , Plant early potatoes in a favorable situation where they can be protected from frosts. Where a supply of stable manure is obtainable, a hotbed should be prepared to start the growth of tomatoes, cucumbers, and such like tender vegetables, and also plants for the flower garden. A glass frame is of course essential for a successful hot-bed, but the possessor of such a useful adjunct to his garden will be amply repaid for the expense and trouble entailed in preparing and • working it. The Flower Garden. Continue to plant all the early spring flowering plants, and where lawns are to be sown this work should be done towards the end of the month. Four bushels of seed to the acre is the proper quantity required for a good lawn, and care should be taken to obtain the best lawn mixture : cheap or inferior seed must never be used if a successful and satisfactory result is looked for.

The Fruit Garden.—Prune where still necessary, and spray with the preparations recommended for the special circumstances and conditions of the fruit trees, according to the directions supplied with the article obtained. Most seedsmen and hardware dealers stock the requisite preparations.