GARDENER'S CALENDAR FOR APRIL.

Southland Times, Issue 1236, 12 April 1870, Page 3

GARDENER'S CALENDAR FOR APRIL.

This is usdallj dtfe of the most celled month* of the year, the 'days being generally bright and irartDj with little or ho wind, and the atmosphere" soft and balmy. The temperature, . however* begins to get low*, and the night* *o get longer < and although th.*re may be no great rdiri'all; thnra" > is little necessity for artificial irrigation. The iaily evaporation being considerably decreased^ ; the copious dews which generally fall during the 1 ■•■, cool nights of this month are, id ordinary seasons* sufficient to supply all requisite moisture. ■ KitfcHEir G-ABDBif.—The gardener's attention. :, during the month will be Chiefly devoted f . tb : har resting such crops as are stored for winter use, and to clearing the plots from which auoh crop* 1 . ; hare bean removed. The vacant grdund should be levelled orer and left with an eferi, although not a smooth surface ; this distributes evenly the 1 rains of winter, preventing the water' from lodging in hole's, or spots which may have become trodden: and thereby forming sour patches. Manure" - should also be wheeled on and placed in convenient compact heaps, ready for next crop. If is much better to do such work now, while the" , ground is dry, than to allow it td stand over until wet weather sets in, as it can be done" more cleanly and without cakoing the soil, as is invariably done, by such an operation when the earth is fall of , moisture. The manure being platfed da the" ground at this season also insures it* Being thoroughly decomposed by the time it is required „ for use, a thing far too little attended^ generally, . the practice in most cases, in the vicinity df the* town at least, being to cart manure' direct fronithe stable heap on to the soil and dig it in, there* by insuring a most abundant and varied orop of weeds. By turning the heaps onoe or twice during winter, the quality of the manure will be* greatly improved, and the germinating principles of most, if not all, of the noxious seed* contained in it will be entirely destroyed. Alterations intended to be made in the arrangements of the* , garden should also be commenced during thii month, such parts of the work as' require dr/ - weather for their performance being first attended . to. With due care, in sheltered situations, there, need be no dearth of vegetables of some sort all - the yea* round. Plants pat out now in a warn* border will come in for use during winter and spring, and by Bucceisional plantings a supply' may be kept up until next main crops come on. Lettuce and endive should still be planted out for . winter salads, and those well grown tied up to blanch } late cauliflowers may be preserved from • frostbite by tying their leaves gently together over the heart* or flower. Look well to growing celery, and see that it be carefully earthed up. Hoe and . earth up forward crops of flowering broccoli, and if too crowded, from overgrowth, remove every second plant to fresh ground. It frequently" happens on rich soil that broccoli misses flo-rerin* at the proper season through exuberance' of growth 3 this has to be guarded against by checking tke growth of each plant, which is done ' either by a second transplanting, or by 'bending . them over on their sides. - r : • Dress asparagus beda by catting dowt^ the old . stalks, and. digging in with a short toed fork plenty . of rich woll-made m'andre'i (Jiya rhubarb * ; thorough digging, putting in plenty of wett - decomposed manure. Sea kale shbuld 'also be" '„ similarly treated. Let all vatfant plots.be doe over and left rough" to the mellowing influence of ; the weather; ' . Fruit QAxpzxr.—^Fresh strairbei'r/ beds shonld / be put down this mouth at latest. Select weft rooted young runners, and plant in rows 30 inches apart and 15 to 18 inches between the plants.! Be carefuLin procuring a godd variety. "' Better* pay handsomely for a sort that will yield yott abundance of jch luscious frui^ than^waste tunj|__ J. and trouble on a variety which bears but little, and even that of poor qaility. British Queen, Elton Pine, and fcan's 3eedling "aiW all "good rarietioa. v- '_ : — - -^,--_.— !-^ Fresh plantations of currants and gooaabeTf ies ._ may now be made, but in the absence, of immediate rain the plants should be copiously . watered for several days. Budded fruit tree* may be untied, and pruning commenced pa such, bushes aa have shed their leaves. ;