GARDEN NOTES.

Digger (Invercargill RSA), Issue 38, 3 December 1920, Page 13

GARDEN NOTES.

THE V EGETABLE G ARDEN. Watering and weeding will be ohe irin. cipal work in this department durmg this month, and both must be done in earnest Hoeing, if carried on systemati lally , will not only prove beneficial to the soil by assisting to retain the moisture, but will so destroy the weeds and weed seeds l'-.at an inculculable amount of labour vill be saved in the shape of weeding Jater on. Watering is a work that should be well done, or, on the other hand, *hou:i not be attempted. Ordinary sprinklings are often injurious rather than beneti ual. Where water is scarce it is better to withhold it as long as possible and tht-n gi- e it in abundance. Peas and runner beans should ?>e slaked as required. Very suitable inaterial for »staking these is large 6in-mesh shee p wite netting, with stakes driven in 'hrougn the meshes on either side and brought togetJber at the head, but for the runner Lcans long stakes are best. Plant out c-abbages and eaulifbwers as the weather permits. If the plants are strong and ready for planting ihe safest plan is to give the plant bed a good s; ak ing and pull the plants with care, and with as much soil attached a.s possible; then plant, and give a good soaking nnire. diately after planting. Give frrqu-nt water ings until they have got a good start. Neglect of plants in their voung siage will almost surely prove fatal, especially if the season be a dry one. If i.hey once j get a good start neither hlight nor olub j root will be so liable to attack them. j Sow for succession peas, French '.cans, 1 lettuce, radishes, short horn carrots, young I onions to be sown and early-sown cnes carefully thinned. The best onions tor j keeping are the moderate-sized ones, ptr- i fectly ripened, therefore the thinnmg j should not be too s'evere ; but for large j exhibition tubers 6in apart will not be j too. much. Sow .also parsley for . winter ! use, and spinach should be sown for cora- i ing in late autumn. Turnips should be j sown for succession. Give good fresh j and well-manured ground for this sowing, j as poor, slow-grown turnips at this season of the year are not worth eating, as they are very strong and bitter, but if well and quickly grown they are very differeni. THE FLOWER GARDEN. Anemones : Those who grow this flower from seed should make a sowing as soon as favourable weather occurs, giving . good, rich soil, and cover the seed bed to retain the moisture and to assist germination. Wallflower: This fragant spring fiower is not always grown as it should be. It is often sown too late to become established before the winter sets in. Sow during this month in drills 9in apart, and thin out to 3in, and transplant the thinnings, and when the ordinary bedding and other plants have done flowering in the autumn a clearance can be made and the wallflowers lifted with a ball of earth attached, so that they may be planted with as little check as possible. THE GREENHOUSE. Chrysanthemums will require a deal of attention hy way of repotting. Pot on begonias as the smaller pots become full of roots, using good, rich loam, old manure, and sand. THE FRUIT GARDEN. Attention must now be paid to wall fruit trees — thinning out and stopping or removing, as the case may be, all breast wood or excessive growth before it become too strong. Tack in your growth where vacant spaces occur. In the case of young tree of recent planting, where they have heen hard pruned back, care should be taken to remove young cross shoots and to remove or thin out some where these shoots are overcrowded. Raspberries will require attention by way of keeping down suekers between the rows. Cut them down with the hoe or spade. They would be greatly benefited if they could receive a good jnulching with gtable manure. Gooseberries. — The thinning of the green berries should be done now if first-ciass berries are desired. This is an advantage in two ways, as green gooseberries are very valuable for kitchen use, and the remaining fruit is much benefited by the thinning. Apricots that are showing large numbers of green fruit should have a thinning, so as to enable the fruit to develop to a proper size, which is quite impossiBle whilst they are allowed to remain crowded. Apricots are very free setters, unless where severe frosts have thinned thera.