GARDEN MEMORANDA FOR DECEMBER.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume 2, Issue 144, 4 December 1877, Page 2

GARDEN MEMORANDA FOR DECEMBER.

WRITTEN EXPRESSLY FOR THE AKAROA MAIL.

General Remarks.

Since writing our last garden calendar, the weather lias continued uflusually dry>., and as a consequence garden crops, 'inj|common with those of the farm, are notjT - making that growth we look for at this season, and we feel quite sure; that those ■ . of our who have given a practicajgp turn to the instructions given thsm ottW 1 ' mulching, &c., will have no cause for , regret, but will have already seen, at least to come. extent, the .advantages of the practice then advocated. To those who have not yet put them' into practice we' gay—do so, for even now. there is no telling how long we may be without; ana therefore no means should be neglected that will tend to retain what moisture is still left in the ground, and in the event of an early rainfall, it will still do good service by preventing its sudden evaporation. As has been our practice hitherto, we shall again devote a short space to another essential of good gardening, our subject this month being thinning. We all admire fine flowers, fruits, and vegetables, but we do not always go the right way to have them, and the of our gardens are too often only an* apology for either, the fault being that the crops of our gardens are-; too crowded ; we may trench and manurejiM our ground to little purpose unless attend to this matter, of thinning. _ In ■'•"' bringing this subject forward at this time, we do it, mostly with regard to thefruit garden, as the season has come when- this must be attended to. As a result of thin- ' ning we might refer to the wonderful gooseberries that some of us have seen " in the old country; in these cases the whole crop is sacrificed to just half a dozen . or so of benies on a bush. This, of course, is an extreme, and only referred to in illustration, but we strongly recommend ft moderate thinning of all -the crops of peaches, apricots, grapee, apples, end, , pears where these are at all heavy, mencing with the apricots. Over crop'-.n ping, in addition to its effect on the eae • and quality of the fruit, has a very,. v 4atrir:mental effect on the trees in othiMk «•!»&&/- for instance, how seldom ie it fruit trees are at all regular in their., cropping—being loaded year, and the, following having little or none; this iff not so apparent in gardens where the. , trees are young and vigorous, as in those, of longer standing, but there is no reason

"why it should be so in any. The? remedy, is simple, and at everybody's command, and a little tfrne spent now in thinning fruit from heavily ladened trees will bo amply rewarded by finer crops of improved flavour. Kitchen Garden. The instructions given last month are still in force with respect to the planting out of autumn and winter crops, such as cauliflower, brocoli, savoys, &c.; in some cases this may have been delayed for want of ground, that occupied by the early peas and potatoes being generally depended on for putting the next winter's crop into, but rather than put off too long it will be well to piit out a portion at least between the rows of potatoes as they stand, and after these are cleared off. dig in a dressing of manure between the plants. The trenches for the later crops of celery should be got in readiness, fifteen inches wide being about the width for the trenches, and three feet at least between them. Plant out leeks, top broad beans that are well in flower, make fresh sowings of radish, turnip, lettuce, spinach, &c ; make a final sowing of peas, some of the earlier kinds will be best for this purpose ; cut herbs for drying. v Fruit Garden. Continue to look after the regulating and stopping the shoots of young trees as directed last month, and commence to thin the fruit of apricots, peaches, &c, as recommended above. Flower Garden. Any of the spring flowering bulbs still in the ground should be lifted, dried, and stored, and the seeds of biennials, and perennials, if still unsown, should be delayed no longer, or the chance of their blooming strong next season will be small; put in pipings or cuttings of pinks, and layer carnations and picottces as soon as the grass or shoots are long enough ; peg down verbenas as" they grow, stop crysanthemuins, and put in cuttings of same; clip box and other edgings, and generally carry out the operations of the last month's calendar.