HINTS FOR THE AMATEUR

Wairarapa Times-Age, 13 October 1939, Page 3

HINTS FOR THE AMATEUR

FRUIT, FLOWERS AND VEGETABLES WORK FOR THE WEEK VEGETABLE GARDEN. Prepare the site for celery with a good application of decayed manure; this crop likes a rich soil. < Plant out tomatoes-for the main crop supply; do not make the soil too rich to start with; feeding can commence when the fruit forms. Make a sowing of radishes every 14 days to keep up a supply. more cabbage, cauliflower and Lettuce for succession. iSow onions, mustard and cress for summer salads. Make a sowing of French, runner and butter beans, but keep an eye on frosts. Sow capsicums, melons, cucumbers, pumpkins, squash and tomatoes for later crops. MakO sticcessiohal sowihgs of the vegetable seeds sown last month. Plant out pumpkins, marrows, squash, cucumbers and chokos as soon as danger from frost is over. Spray the potatoes as a protection against blight with the Bordeaux mixture. I © f I FLOWER GARDEN. Plant out seedlings, such as phlox drummondii, carnation, French and African marigolds, lobelia and mimulus, the latter in moist, shady placfes. Kidke up the beds for chrysanthemums well in advance of putting out plants. Polyanthus should be lifted and divided when they have finished fibtyering. When the spring-flowering subjects are past their best, replace with the stihirtier bedding plants. Keep the summer-flowering sweet peas well tied to their supports and the laterals ahd tendrils removed if fine blodms dre required. Plant out chrysanthemum and dahlia tubers when well started. Prune sp'hing-flowering shrubs when the flowering period is past. Cold Spring winds are favourable to the spread of green and black ; fly; spray on the first appearance with a good insecticide. FhUIT GARDEN. Look over the recently-grafted trees and any which have hot “taken” might be Worked over again while there is yet time. WSII mulch the strawberry bed with ’litter to keep the fruit clean. When the blossom has fallen from the peach and nectarine trees, spray With lime sUlphur, one in 120, to prevent brown rot. Spbdy the apples at green-tip stage with winter-strength Bordeaux to combat fungoid disease. Spray black currants when the leaves are forming to cOhtrol big 'bud mite; use lime sulphur, ohe in 60. Vines under glass should have ventilation early or the foliage will be scalded. Newly-planted trees should not be allowed to suffer from lack of moisture dtirihg dry spells. A rtiulch of litter or decayed maniire ivlil Help to retain the moisture. Spray the strawberries as a precaution against leaf spot.