GARDEN NOTES

Digger (Invercargill RSA), Issue 40, 17 December 1920, Page 13

GARDEN NOTES

the kitchen g arden. Give the ground a good deep hoeing among all growing crops, but when ihe surface is too hard and tough give it a light forking. By this means the moisture is kept in the ground much longer, and the ground is kept in better heart by the free circulation of air and the warmth of the sun. If the ground be left undisturbed after rains, it hardens and cracks, thus liberating the moisture, and the ground is left in a worst condition than before the rain. After hoeing, rakin.g, and forking, lose no timo in making good any losses of plants, or make fresh sowings for succession of such th'ings as peas, beans, lettuce, radish, mustard and cress, turnips, spinach, and a small sowing of Early Horn carrots for drawing young. Plant out cabbage and caulifiower, celery in trenches, and leeks. Scarlet runner hoans should be forward enough to require staking. The stakes should b.e lon.g and straight, and frorn 6ft to 8ft in lengtli. Drive them in on each side of the row, making the points meet at the top, and if they are tied so much Ihe better will they resist heavy winds. Staking should be done before the beans get large. or they will entvvine and become a tangled mass. This is a good timc for preparing a bed of mushrooms. Any old outhouse with a clay or hrick fioor will answer admirably. The cool end of a greenhouse will also scrve. Mushrooms also do very well in a warm, sheltered position outside, provided the beds are well covered with mats or clean stra-w. Secure a heao of fresh horse manure, with as littie straw as possible in it, sliake it into a long heao to ferment ; turn it occasionally, and when the hea-t has somewhat gone out of it mix up the whole with four parts of the manure to oue part of turfy loam. Mix it well up, then stack the material ridg.e-shape about 3ft at the base, and as long as convenient. Beat it firm with the ba-ck of the spade, then puke a pointed stick into the manure, and when the heat has ari&en to aoout 80deg insert the mushroom spawn in fairly good lumps — say, twice the size of a walnut — 3in deep, and 9in apart. Beat it down firm and smooth to put on a neat finisli. Then cover with mats or a layer of straw. A good crop should be produced in eight or nine weeks. When gathering mushrooms, never cut them off with a Itnife ; just screw them out gently with the hand. If cut the base of the stalk rots, and becomes injurious to the nest crop.

THE ROSE G ARDEN , This being thj monlh in which roses are in their glory, care should be taken that their eifect is not destroyed by deformed huds or faded flowers. Seed vessels should be removed as the howers fade, uuless they are required to ripen for seeds. Those who are contemplating cross-fertilising or hybridising the rose tor seed should not delay this work too long, but get it done wkilst we have the best blooms to work upon and a good long season for the seed pods to develop and ripen. Standard and pillar roses should be made secure to their stakes. Towards the end of the month many shoots will be sufficiently ripe and firm enough for feudding. To some of my readers who may be anticipating showing roses, a few words upon the subject will perhaps prove hene. ficia!. Firstly, keep them going by giving them a good soaking of water, if the ground is at all dry, as if the ground is hot and dry the blooms are i'orced open before they have attain.ed proper maturity ; neither will blooms so forced open retain their beauty any lengfch of t-ime when cut, and therefore they are of littie use for show purposes, as perhaps just at the last they collapse, and the exhibit is spoiled. Shading will be necessary m restarting 'blcoms that are inclined to come too early, but shading must not be carried to excess, or the'colour and beauty oi the rose will be gone, as over-shading is bad for taking cut that rich colour so desired in roses. On the other hand, a littie shad. ing will bring out richness ; indeed, some kinds cannot be brought to perfection without a littie shading, at least in most places. The time to cut roses is undoubtedly very early in the morning ; or, if you have not time in the early morning, they should be cut late in the evening, and placed in the coolest place at command, and the final selection made in the morning. Do not bo led away with a Large bloom. The points are size, colour, and freshness These must combine in a first-class bloom.