GARDENERS’ CALENDAR

Dunstan Times, Issue 546, 4 October 1872, Page 2

GARDENERS’ CALENDAR

Kitchen - Garden".— the last nine

teen years, with the except! n of 180-f, Otago has been visited by a storm in October, which is generally accompanied with sharp frosts and heavy falls of snow. Those who have potatoes well advanced had better prepare for tbe worst by landing them welt up, also covering the young shoots, and have some boughs, fern, or straw in readiness to put over them at the first appearance of a frosty night. French Beans and runners wi 1 be sown quite early enough towards the end of the mouth. Seeds of any other vegetable may now be sown if not already done, as also any planting that remains to be finished Sow celery on a rich, moist spot, and protect fro n heavy rains till it is well up. Sow melons and cucumbers on hot beds ; also vegetable marrow, pumpkins, squashes, tomatoes, capsicums, &a, to bring them forward for being planted out Keep the Dutch hoe incessantly at work during bright sunshine to keep down weeds. Stir up the surface of the ground, as recommended in the operations for last ■ month.

Fruit Garden. —ln exposed places precautions shoull bo taken without delay to shelter fruit trees in blossom. Some tall scrub stuck in the ground, placed against a temporary rail, and secured with flax, will answer the purpose until more permanent shelter be provided,—a matter which should never be lost sight of by those who wish to have productive gardens and comfortable dwellings. Remove dead leaves and weeds from strawberries, and apply a mulching cf stable manure between the rows to keep them moist during dry weather; the juices of the manure washed down by every shower will prove beneficial. Trained peach and apricot trees maybe disbudded, removing only a few at a time, to prevent a sudden check on the growth of the trees. On dry borders, mulch tiic roots of trained trees early; and avoid cropping too near fruit trees, which require all the nourishment they can get without being crowded to their very stems, as is too frequently done even by those who ought to know bettor : as if a few potatoes could not bo sacrificed for the sake of fruit-bearing trees

Flomv'iSK Caudes'.— Geraniums and other pot plants will require strict attention as to watering, ami about once a-week a good watering with clear liquid manure, will, benefit them. Forward plants will requi.e shifting into larger p„ts, taking care always to have some we'l prepared mould in readiness for the purpose. Sow seeds of both tender and hardy annuals and perennials. Plant carnations, pinks, pansies, and other floweiing plants. Verbenas, scarlet geraniums, fuchias, and dahlias, plant out towards the end of the month.