THE WEEK’S WORK AT A GLANCE

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 400, 14 July 1928, Page 26

THE WEEK’S WORK AT A GLANCE

THE BUSY MAN’S CORNER THE VEGETABLE GARDEN We are now in the middle of winter, and gardening more or less is at a standstill owing to the many wet week-ends and sodden condition of the soil. Nevertheless, there is some work that must be done before it is too late, namely, the setting of fruit and shelter trees. Holes may be dug the first fine morning. Plenty of drainage is essential and rotted manure worked into the bottom of the hole. Loosen the subsoil before planting. A little trouble taken now will amply repay later, as the tree has to stop in the one place all its life. In cold, wet districts the planting of citrus trees may be delayed until the end of August, when warmer weather should prevail. But s€it at once before the buds swell, apples, peaches, nectarines, plums and all deciduous trees. Plants and tubers that may now be set: —Onion seedlings, cabbage, cauliflower, beet, rhubarb, asparagus, strawberries, artichokes and shallots. Young seedlings should be dusted with tobacco dust to keep down the ravages of the slugs and snails. Tomatoes are a world popular crop, and no garden, however small, should be without this health-giving vegetable. Sow the seeds now in pans or boxes, covering lightly with sand and soil, and if possible, a sheet of glass to protect them from heavy rains. Market Favourite is a splendid cropper for general use. Carter’s Sunrise is a small, sweet sort that is very useful for pickling. In frostless districts sow early peas in drills. Potatoes for early cropping can be planted at once. Early Puritan and Early Rose are two good sorts. Gamekeepers and Arran Chief are not quite so early, but more blight resisting. In sunny sports fo the garden the following seeds may be set:—broad beans, carrots, beet, spinach, mustard, cress, parsley, turnips and swedes. All root crops should be planted in ground that has been occupied by cabbage and similar leaf crops. THE FLOWER GARDEN The planting season for roses, flowering and ornamental shrubs, is in full swing, and all work should be carried out while the soil is moist. Commence pruning roses at once. The <pbject for this operation is to concentrate the sap into fewer channels, and so enhance the size and colour of the blooms. Many flowering shrubs require judicious cutting back, especially those which produce flowers on the new wood. The effect of an early pruning makes the trees throw out new growth. Shrubs that require this treatment are hydrangeas, Jantanas. lasiandra, abutilon and hibiscus. Start planting creepers where required, selecting varieties that bloom at different periods of the year. or planting against stone walls and garages ficus and Virginian creepers are best. Divide and replant all herbaceous plants that are now dormant, much as michaelmas daisy, golden rod, cannas, etc. Plant the following hardy seedlings:—Pansy, primula malacoides, violas, ageratum, anemone, ranunculus, penstemon, antirrhinum, cornflower and larkspur. Owing to the consistent rainfall many seedlings, like stock and poppies, have thrown up premature flower spikes. These should Ire nipped off and the plant will throw off new growth and bloom abundantly in the spring. In the bush house and fernery plants are mostly resting, and a search at this period for slugs and snails that are breeding among the fern roots would be profitable. Calcium arsenate sprinkled over the ground will kill hundreds of little fellows that the eye cannot detect. The following flower seeds may be sown in boxes for transplanting when the weather is more suitable:—Cinerarias, poppies, French marigolds, nemesia, carnation, delphinium. Finish planting all lilium and calla bulbs for summer flowering. Violets that are flowering now should have all the runners cut off as a plant cannot flower and produce new growth at the same time. If required these runners may be stuck in some spare corner for planting out later. Lily of the Valley crowns may be set in a. shaded and damp corner.