IN THE GARDEN

Wairarapa Times-Age, 12 January 1940, Page 3

IN THE GARDEN

HINTS FOR THE AMATEUR FRUIT, FLOWERS AND VEGETABLES WORK FOR THE WEEK VEGETABLE GARDEN. Sow dwarf beans, carrots and swede turnips. Plant out cabbage and cauliflower, choosing showery weather. Keep up a supply of lettuce by sowing a pinch of seed every 14 days. Onions showing signs of ripening should have the tops bent over to assist bulbing up. Prepare trenches ready for celery. They can be used for lettuce, radish and spinach till required for the celery. i Seedlings of celery should be pricked out into a rich soil containing plenty of leaf mould or decayed manure. Plantings of winter cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and savoys can be made. Spraying to control white butterfly and aphis will be necessary. Further sowing of dwarf beans can be made. A sowing of runner beans made now will give an autumn crop. . Rhubarb should not be allowed to seed; remove the flower spikes as soon as they are seen. Spray the runner.beans with sun-warmed water in the evenings; this will assist the beans to set. Make liberal sowings of spinach, as this crop runs to seed quickly now. FRUIT GARDEN. Sow Iceland poppies, cineraria and primulas for winter display. Sow hardy annuals in vacant spots in the borders for blooming in autumn. Michaelmas daisies will flower better if no more than four or six stems are allowed to each plant. Apply a good mulch of manure to the chrysanthemum bed, not only to keep the shallow roots moist, but to provide nutriment. Cuttings of pelargoniums may be inserted when the wood has ripened. All unwanted seed pods and faded blooms should be removed from the beds and borders to prolong the display of bloom. Hedges should have their mid-season trimming now that the flush of growth is past. The surface of the rose bed should be kept stirred. Remove all dead blooms, cutting down to a strong bud. This is the time to start budding. There are many who like to have a try at this fascinating work. The rockery should be weeded and some of the plants will need topdressing with a little fresh soil. Any plants over growing their space should cut back. Now is the time to prune spring flowering shrubs such as lilacs, azaleas, rhododendrons, philadelphus, deutzias, etc. FLOWER GARDEN. Summer pruning of fruit trees should be taken in hand this month where required; do not cut back the leading shoots which are required for extension. Apply the routine sprays of arsenate of lead to combat codlin moth and leaf-eating insects. The late peaches and plums will require another spray of lime sulphur at one in 120. Where the black currants have been gathered, cut the old branches back to new growths. Spray for codlin moth, using arsenate of lead. Arsenate of lead will also control pear or plum slug and bronze beetle. To control brown rot and insect pests use a combined spray such as two tablespoonfuls of lime sulphur solution, one teaspoonful of arsenate of lead powder and one gallon of water.

Grow Beetroot. Beetroot gown now is almost always a success even in the poorest soils. It grows quickly, making very little tops, but with good large, clean roots, and is not nearly so tough and hard as when grown through the winter.

Long red beet is now seldom grown, but if wanted it requires a deeply dug soil with manure at the bottom of each spit, or the roots will fork and be covered with hairy, fleshy small side roots.

The turnip-rooted variety is the more popular. This matures very quickly and is little trouble. It can be transplanted, but if this is done it generally makes a much coarser root, with a larger leaf growth, and frequently runs to seed. Beet seed should be sown in rows 12 to 15 inches apart, spacing the seeds from three to four inches apart. Thin out at an early stage. Keep the ground free and open by frequent, hoeing. Mulch well during dry weather and water freely.

Autumn Spinach.

Prickly-seeded spinach for autumn supply should not be omitted from the present list of sowings. A plot of ground that has just been cleared of another crop serves excellently and needs no more preparation than raking level and marking out into drills. These should be drawn 1 foot apart and 1 inch deep. The seeds should be soaked in water for 24 hours to hasten germination. If the soil is really dry, it is a good plan to water the drills thoroughly before sowing, and to scatter the seeds thinly, so that the plants come up about six inches apart. A small patch of prickly spinach will pay for sowing. Spinach needs, but little preparation of the soil. Water well if the soil chances to be dry, and then proceed to sow the seed thinly so that when up the plants will be four inches apart. Crowding is most undesirable, and large thick leaves that are worth while can only be procured by allowing each plant plenty of space.