FARM AND GARDEN CALENDER FOR OCTOBER.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume III, Issue 417, 7 October 1876, Page 2

FARM AND GARDEN CALENDER FOR OCTOBER.

(From Reed and Brett’s Auckland Almanac.) FLOWER GARDEN. Now carefully attend to newly made lawns. Mow and roll grass weekly. Syringe overhead all recently planted trees and shrubs, and carefully mulch each, for this is the great secret of success in saving newly planted shrubs ; it retains the moisture, aud protects the young rootlets from the scorching sun. Get in all annuals early this month. Cinerarias in frames shade, and look carefully after slugs. The only plan is to hand-pick them. Use lime freely in the bottom of the frame, and fumigate with tobacco. Dahlias, harden off and plant out towards end of mouth. Roses, destroy aphis, which will now be very troublesome, by applying tobacco-water with a garden syringe. Attend carefully to greenhouse. Au occasional fumigation with tobacco will be requisite. Lime-white the wall, and wash every crook and cranny with a strong solution of Gishurst’s Compound. Insect life will now be very troublesome, and unless early checked your plants will become eyesores.

fruit garden. This month nectarines and peaches will be in full bloom , thin out the flowers, leaving only the strongest, thus throwing the sap into one instead of two or three flowers, thereby producing a much heavier crop and finer fruit. At the end of the month go over the the trees and rub off any superfluous and weak growth, and pinch back any gross growing wood. Disbud vines ; occasional waterings with liquid manure when fruiting. Stop all strong shoots at a joint beyond the fruit. Strawberries will now be coming on ; keep down weeds between the rows, aud mulch the entire surface with nice, short, clean litter, to prevent the fruit being spoilt by being splashed with the rains. kitchen garden. Sow cucumbers, melons (rock and water), vegetable marrow, and pie-melons. The ground cannot be too well prepared for these ; dig holes two feet wide and about a spade deep, filling the holes with good, rich horse-dung, covering that, say with six inches of good, rich compost, consisting of garden soil and the top spit of an old. pasture. Beans, earth up young crops, pinch of the tops as they come into flower, sow broad Windsors for main crop. Beans (French), about the middle of the month sow for main crop; Sion house, pale dun, and negro are the leading varieties. Scarlet runners may now be sown, brocoli, make a sowing at the end of the month, Snow’s white or purple sprouting. Brussels sprout should now be planted out from seed bed. Cauliflower, sow this month for autumn crops, look over crop now coming in and break the leaves, aud cover with them the heads now farming, to protect from the sun. Celery, make a sowing for transplanting in December. Cress curled, sow in the open ground every three weeks. Leeks, transplant in well - manured trenches. Lettuce, plant out from previous sowings, and sow another patch to come on in January. Parsnips, thin out advancing crops. Radish, sow red and white turnip; best for summer use Spinach, sow in a shady place and thin out previous crop. Turni sow about the middle of the month, golden ball or orange jelly. Tomato, plant out against trellis or walls ; finest kinds are President Grant, trophy, aud large red. Keep the Dutch hoe going at every available opportunity, keeping the surface well stirred—a great preventative to land cracking in the very dry weather. FARM. There is usually plenty of grass at this time, and stock should be thriving. Wethers that are fit for the butcher may be shorn before sending to market; the flock may be washed for shearing about the middle or latter end of the month. The first of October will be soon enough to shut up young grass where the seed is to be saved, although if it is perennial rye

grass cutting in the first year will seriously injure it, and except on the best laud will almost destroy the plant. Great care should be taken not to allow any docks or thistles to ripen there while it is growing ; indeed, this mouth aud next they will require to be carefully watched, and as many of them destroyed as ps-ible over the whole farm. Linseed may be sown this month, although it has not beeu grown long enough here to speak positively as to the best time. Grass may be sown during this month.