The Garden.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 223, 8 October 1887, Page 1

The Garden.

Kitchen Garden, Tim weather for the last fortnight has been good for sowing and planting out the different main crops of vegetables. Continue making fornig'htly sowings of mustard cress and radishes for salading. Where soil has not been heavily manured for the early crops, give a good dusting of fine bone 5 !, or Peruvian guano. Afterwards stir up the surface soil with the hoe. The first rain will take a poi'tion of the manure to where the advancing rootlets will get it, thus giving a much better chance of a good crop. Strawberry breaks should now receive the usual spring attention. Givcae food xlose of bones and Km etween the rows, and gently fork over surface soil, taking care not to interfere with the roots of the plants, the strawberry being very sensitive to any injury at the roots, especially in the spring. Continue snccessional sowings of French and running beans. Plant out cabbage and cauliflower. Earth up the earlier planted crop as the present crop is cut. Clear away all debris to the rot heap, as such furnishes a harbour and breeding place for slugs. Lettuce : Prick out a few more, sow another patch of seed, tie up advanced crops for blanching. Begin to prepare places for planting out cucumbers, melons, pumpkins and tomatoes. Dig a hole where each plant is to be placed. In refilling the hole mix about a barrow-load of well-rotted amnure with the soil, making a little hill. These hills are better left to sweeten for a •week or «o before the plants are put out. Peas : Slake a fresh sowing about every ten days ; eai th up the early crops requiring it, and stake the tall-growing varieties. Thin out all advancing crops ; give plenty of room for each plant to fully develop. Potatoes : On dry light soils the late crop should be planted now. On wet, retentive soils defer planting for a few weeks. The «arly-planted varieties earth up as soon as ready Thin out and transplant autumnsown onions ; the transplanted ones will make equally as good bulbs as the sown ones. Slugs are now very plentiful, so every care should be taken of seeds coming through the ground. Use lime frequently. After daik is the best time, so as to kill them while they are feeding.

Flowor Garden. Continue planting out the different bedding plant.", placing the tall-growing ones to the back of the border or bed. The sooner all bedding plants aro planted the better, a= they will get better established before the hot summer Bets in. Still sow hardy annuals. A very good plan to pursue wich the sowing of fihese is to get a barrow-load of rich sifted <?oil, then make a small circle in the ground where the seed is to be sown. Take a little of the sifted soil, place it in the circle, then sow the seeds ; cover slightly with the sifted soil. Tho above will greatly assist the seeds to germinate and grow till they are strong enough for the roots to penetrate the original soil. A few of the tender annuals may now be sown out in the open. Commence to harden off those sown under covei\ Gladiolus bulbs : The main stock should be put out at once now, only reserving a few of the inferior varieties for later planting. Liliums,etc, ought all to be planted out, as a good strong growth has now set in. Spring bulbs and tubersnow in or coming into flower should occasionally receive a little liquid manure ; also keep the soil free and open about them. Roses : All the reserve for late flowering should be pruned now ; also mulch at once. The early-pruned plants will be showing strong growth ; pinch out all superfluous shoots. Dahlia : Some of the young plants will require to be potbed now. See that the slugs don't do damage. Lawn : Keep the grass short, and where it approaches the flower border occasionally dust with lime so as to keep off the slugs it harbours from entering the borders. All clebns of pine, grass, etc., as soon as collected should -be taken to the rot heap to receive a good dressing of lime and salt so as to bring it into a gcod state for manure next autumn. Never destroy such debris, as properly handled it will greatly assist the fertility of the garden. Hortus, "Auckland Star."