GARDENING FOR MARCH.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 15 March 1917, Page 3

GARDENING FOR MARCH.

KITCHEN-GARDEN.

Proceed with liai'vesting the general crops. Onions should be carefully lifted and laid out to dry. They keep best when plaited with a cord in strings, and hung up in a dry, airy place. Let the ground recently occupied this crop be dug up and manured. As the latter part of this month is usually very favourable for sowing and planting; embrace every opportunity to fill all vacant or spare ground with crops intended for winter and1 spring use, such as cabbage and cauliflower. Make another sowing of each for planting later in the autumn. For cleaning ground of sorrel and other weeds sow oats or mustard. The latter is a splendid crop for the purpose. Ground sown with this;crop will be in excellent' condition to receive early crops by' spring. Plant for winter use ' broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower.. Endive and lettuce, tie up for blanching. Earth up celery and leeks* choosing a dry day. Continue/to plant a few.jnore each for succession. Mustard, cress, and radi&kes,..sow fortnightly. Sow in drills, from 12" to 15 inches--aipar-tf*itearr-ots, turnips, and prickly spinach, for winter use, Tomatoes, dust occasionally with hot, lime to ■keep down caterpillars, and, when the foliageis thick thin out, so as to give the fruit a better chance of ripening. Onions■/sow for spring use and for dibbling out, to obtain large bulbs; sow in drills, as they are easier, .to keep clean. • ... . FLOWER ttARDEN. Water copiously, keep^'the surface of the soil well stirred by hoeing, Sow. a batch of .^yinterflowering sweet peas, also a batch of the other varieties,.for next summer's flowering. Herbacious plants of many varieties are now becoming "seedy," when seed is not wanted these should be cut and should be gone over -id remove all dead stems ; .other will require tying up, such as* chrysanthemums; these, too, should receive a plentiful supply of manure water. Encourage growth of plants useful for winter flowering. Sow a few varieties of hardy annual for winter and spring flowering. Gather^ seeds of the various kinds of annuals as they ripen, and clear a r way those that are past flowering, Dahlias, tie. up and-thin out. Bouvardias afford a continuoqs and plentiful supply of "flowers, no garden, however small, should be without them. Amaryllis, belladonna, tuberoses, liliums, autumn crocus, vallota purp.urea, pernnial phloxes, verbenas, pinks, penstemons, petunias, the: different varieties of salias, roses, etc., all add to the floral display of the present month ; together with the manjf varieties of late flowering annuals. The main batch of spring flowering bulbs and tubers such as anemones, ranunculij ixias, etc., should be put in the borders about the middle of this month. Cyclamens are, just appearing through the surface of the ground, and should : have some well rotted manure put round the bulbs. Anemones aid ranunculi n:\ay.'he's'o'w-n out in i open beds or in boxes. ...Rich, I sandy soil is the best:' '' Seed sown now will produce nice tubers for next season's flowering. All propagation of bedding plants intendecl fo.r'next seasonV requirements should be carried on with despatch. Roses —the stocks recently thudded should be examined, a.n4 'the ligatures loosened or removed as required. Lawn—attention mv st be paid to mowing and rolling. ;

Bidding Qught tq W fished. Loosen tt\e b^d§ of last *- ,", , work; gather- >»-- f -^ontn.s r * peiL, and a little before it is quite ripe ; you can hasten it by removing a few leaves to let the sun at it, bmt-b,y no means denude the . trees. Look well after insects, particularly larvae of moths, which retire intq crevices and turn into, chrysalides at this' i season. The codlih moth will now require to be more closely watched. R.emove all suckers, and clear-.* away and burn all weeds. As the leaves fall off the trees must be cleaned; in the meanwhile clear up all round them, and get ready for a winter hunt after insects. This^is the proper month for trenching and preparing ground, to receive young tre&Sj for a new orchard or ;tUa extension of an old one. I Select what runners you require for strawberries. The old plants, if they have fruited' heavily for three years, can b.e> destroyed. Don't contv^ue to rob your rhuteb, plants, or you will hurt 1 \.hem for next year.