GARDENER’ CLEENDAR.

Dunstan Times, Issue 597, 26 September 1873, Page 3

GARDENER’ CLEENDAR.

October. I Kitchen Garden.— For the last twenty years (with the exception of 18G4 and 1870) Otago has been visited with a storm in Oc- , tober, and this is generally accompanied i by sharp frosts and heavy falls of snow, j Those w'ho have potatoes well advanced, i had better prepare for the worst by landing them well up, also covering the young shoots; and have some boughs, fern, or straw in readiness to put over them on the first appearance of a frosty night. French beans will be in good time if sown next month. Seeds of any other vegetable may now be sown if not already put in; and any planting remaining unfinished had better be done at once. Sow selery in a rich moist spot, and protect from heavy rains until it is well up. Sow melons and encumbers on hot-beds; also vegetable marrow, pumpkins, squashes, tomatoes, capsicums, &., to bring them forward for being, planted out. Keep the Dutch hoe incessantly at work during bright sunshine in cutting out weeds. Stir up the surface surface of the ground, as recommended in the directions for last month. • Fruit Garden. —ln exposed places precautions should be taken without delay to shelter fruit trees in blossom. Some tall scrub stuck into the ground, placed against a temporary rail, and secured with flax, will answer the purpose until more permanent shelter is provided—a matter which should never be lost sight of by those who wish to have productive gardens and comfortable dwellings. Remove weeds and dead leaves from strawberries, and apply a mulching of stable mmure between the rows, to keep the plants moist during dry weather : the juices of the manure washed down by every sbower will prove beneficial. Trained peach and apricot trees may be disbudded, removing only a few at a time, to prevent a sudden chock on the growth of the trees. On dry borders, mulch the roots of trained trees early. Avoid cropping too near fruit trees, which require all the nourishment they can get, without bring crowded to their very stems, as is too freqqueiitly done even by those who know better—as if a few potatoes or a few heads of cabbage could not be sacrificed for the sake of fruit bearing trees. Flower Garden.—Geraniums and other pot-plants (indoors) will require strict attention as to watering ; about once a week a good watering with clear liquid manure will benefit them. Forward plants will require shifting into larger pols, taking care always to have some well prepared mould in readiness for the purpose. Bow seeds of both tender and hardy annuals and perennials. Plant carnations, pinks, pansies, and other flowering plants. Verbenas, i scarlet geraniums, fuschias, and dahlias ! plant out towards the end of the month.