THE WEEK’S WORK AT A GLANCE

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1016, 5 July 1930, Page 30

THE WEEK’S WORK AT A GLANCE

AMONG THE FLOWERS HARDY ANNUALS. —The condition of the soil in most districts is damp and sloppy, and planting of ailnuals should be restricted to hardy annuals that will survi\ r e the winter and flower early spring. Among the hardiest are pansies, lobelia, calendulas, primula malacoides, dianthus, primroses and gaillardias. Stocks and poppies are best left alone noAV till the Aveather lifts. Chrysanthemums. —Last season’s plants have noAV finished fioAA’ering and should be cut well back to the stumps. New groAvth aaTII be coming up from the base and gardeners wishing to propagate more stock may take cuttings from same as they become large enough. Establish in a box of fine soil, sand and Avood-ashes in a sheltered corner for planting out in late spring. SEED SOWlNG.— Amateurs with small glass-houses or frames may make soAvings of certain flower seeds to fill up their vacant ground in the spring season. Among the best seeds to soav for showy beds are nemesia, stocks, beauty, pansy, antirrhinum, poppy Iceland, statice *>nd larkspurs. A sprinkling of sand on the surface will help the 'ylants to root better. ABOUT HEDGES.— Card eners desirous of setting hedge plants may do so noAA*. Trenches should be opened up and rotted manure placed in the caA'ity. Where this is not a\'ailable, bonedust will suffice. Where heavy frosts pre\*ail, olearia, abelia and escallonia should be set. Near the sea or in frost-proof districts, coprosma, tecoma and acmena are best. THINGS TO PLANT. —Set roses from noA\* onward. FloAvering shrubs should be planted Avithout delay. Christmas and tiger lilies may be set for summer flowering. Gladioli bulbs may be planted for October flowering. Creepers for covering garages, fences and pergolas may be planted at once. GENERAL WORK.— Weeds at this time of the year grow more rapidly than plants. See that they don’t get ahead of you. Keep the hoe busy around the shrub beds and borders. Cut back shrubs sucli as hydrangeas, etc. Artificial manure may be applied to established trees. Start pruning back rose bushes unless you are in a heavy frost area. THE KITCHEN GARDEN CABBAGE CROPS. —These crops are now’ A’ery slow groAving and may be helped along by the application of nitrate of soda, loz to a gallon of Avater. Keep the soil continuallj* stirred along the beds. Enfield Market may now be planted for spring use. ONIONS. —Most gardeners have now their own onions coming along nicely. Where too thick, thin out to allow for sturdy groAvth before transplanting. Prepare beds, manuring Avith potash and digging deeply to recei\’e the plants AA’hen large enough for moving. PLANTS TO SET. —Rhubarb roots may now’ be shifted. Asparagus beds may be laid doAA’n. Bulbs of shallots, garlic and potato onions may be planted. Guavas, yellow* and purple, are handy in the kitchen garden. Gooseberries, the red A’ariety, can noAV be set. Transplant caulifloAver and cabbage. Passion fruit may be set in Avarm corners. LOOKING AHEAD. —Mustard and lupins soAvn in the autumn for manure will now be large enough to dig in, thus giA’ing the foliage time to rot before the crops are set. Ground should be prepared for early peas and potatoes and left fallow* until Avanted. Potato tubers may be purchased and spread out in trays to sprout. TREE PLANTING. —Fruit trees such as apples, plums, pears, nectarines, should be set at once. Obviously it is an advantage to plant before the sap starts to rise. Citrus fruits may be planted as late as September, when the Aveather is warmer, provided plenty of Avater is gi\*en. GENERAL WORK. —Winter spraying witli Red Oil may be commenced at once. All grass and weeds should bo removed from the base of the trees. The hoe should be kept busy along the established roAA’s of A’egetables. StraAvberry runners may be planted out. Dust along the rockeries and Avails with tobacco dust to kill the slugs and snails now* breeding.