HINTS FOR THE AMATEUR

Wairarapa Times-Age, 4 August 1939, Page 3

HINTS FOR THE AMATEUR

FRUIT, FLOWERS AND VEGETABLES WORK FOR THE WEEK FLOWER GARDEN. Make up any blanks in the autumn-planted beds and remove all dead leaves; stir up the soil between the plants at every opportunity. Trim the edges of the lawns and resurface paths were required. Get all the odd jobs done, for (time will soon be needed for plantings and sowings. Do not plant tender subjects while the ground is cold. Hold off any planting on clay during wet weather. Sow seed of pansies, antirrhinums and pentstemons. Prune the roses and fork in a good dressing of manure when pruning is completed. Lavender will make a fine dwarf hedge iif side shoots are pulled off and inserted where they are to grow. Chrysanthemum cuttings should be put in now to .make good plants spring planting. Keep sweet peas, carnations, gerberas, anemAnes and ranunculi free of weeds. Shrubs of various kinds can be planted. Any trimming or pruning of ishrubs can be done now. VEGETABLE GARDEN. Plant onions when ground is suitable. Digging of vacant plots can be done. Sow down any vacant plots in lupins or oats. Weather and soil conditions permitting, a liberal sowing of peas can be made, but it is useless to sow in sticky soil. Keep the early potatoes showing through the soil well moulded up as a protection from frosts. Plant out rhubarb roots. When the stalks commence to be spindly, it is time a new bed was made with fresh roots. Trench a plot of ground for next season’s root crops. Do not attempt to sow seed or plant while the ground is cold and wet. Prepare new asparagus beds. Plant a few potatoes in a warm, well-drained position. Sow a supply of lettuce seed in a frame for.early supplies of plants. A good sowing of leeks should be made on a warm border for transplanting later. Sow a batch of parsnips at the first opportunity when the soil is dry. Seed of early cauliflower should be sown in a cold frames THE FRUIT GARDEN. Complete the arrears of pruning, especially with the stone fruits, and apply the Bordeaux spray. Inspect all newly-planted fruit trees and see that they are firm in the soil after heavy frosts. Pruning can be done while the ground is too wet for planting. Plant trees when the soil is dry enough. All large wounds should be painted over with tar or white lead paint. Do not plant citrus trees while the ground is cold; a week or two later will give better results. Where fruit trees on grass are making little growth, remove the turf and apply a good dressing of manure. Overhaul the strawberry beds, removing all weeds and dead leaves,' do not hoe too close to the crowns. Coarse bonemeal is a good manure for most fruit trees, but potash is also required. Make a sowing of tomatoes under glass for early crop.