HINTS FOR THE AMATEUR

Wairarapa Times-Age, 24 February 1939, Page 3

HINTS FOR THE AMATEUR

FRUIT, FLOWERS AND VEGETABLES

WORK FOR THE WEEK vegetable garden. Lift the onion crop as the bulbs mature. Use the fork when lifting onions, so as not to damage the base, often a cause of decay in the bulb. Do not let ;the onions be in the sun longer than to dry thoroughly. Clean and store in a dry, airy shed. Lift and store the potato crop. Do not leave the tubers exposed at night to the attentions of the potato tuber moth. Dig or trench all vacant land. It is advisable to trench a portion of the garden every year. Commence to earth-up the earliest crops of celery; do this when the foliage and soil are dry. Plant out more' cabbage and cauliflower and sow more seed for succession. Spinach may be sown. A fairly large sowing can be made now, as this should last well into the winter. Plant out celery; shallow trenches only are required. Water and shade the plants for a few days after planting. Make a sowing of silver beet for winter use. Sow another, batch of carrots for winter crop. Give liquid manure to marrows and pumpkins to increase the size. Clean and destroy all rubbish of spent crops which may form a harbourage for insect pests. FRUIT GARDEN. Stop the laterals of outdoor vines at the first or second leaf. Dust the vines with flowers of sulphur if mildew appears. Once the berries begin to colour do no more stopping of the laterals. Give the stone fruit trees a light pruning after the fruit is gathered. Pears required to finish ripening should be placed in a warm room after picking; apples require a cool room. When the Jruit of early vines has been cut, reduce the length of some of the laterals to ripen the wood. Gather the fruit as it ripens and store only sound fruit. Damaged specimens can be put on one side for immediate use. , Autumn-Fruiting raspberries are making good growth, but the fruit will be larger if all the weaker canes are cut away now. Any large peach trees in need of cutting back should be taken in hand now rather than wait until winter. FLOWER GARDEN. Sow anemone and ranunculus seed. Make'sowings of biennials such at sweet williams, Canterbury bells, holly-hocks. Myosotis or forget-me-not sown now will flower this coming spring. Narcissi and Daffodils should be lifted. Clean,and dry the bulbs and store in a dry shed. Do not let the bulbs lie in the sun any longer than is necessary for them to dry. Cuttings of dahlias made from the thin side shoots will root readily if planted in sand, kept moist and shaded. > Disbud dahlias tofget good blooms. Leave the central flower unless it is too early, in which case take the side flower. The early-planted dahlias which have flowered can be cut back fairly severely; this will force new growth from the base. .■Mulch the dahlias and chysanthemums. A rich compost containing a fair quantity of turfy soil is good. If peonies need transplanting, this should be done during the next few weeks; keep the crowns not more than two inches below the surface of the soil. Prepare the land for sowing new lawns in good dime to allow the soil to settle. •