IRISH GARDENING 



75 



Suburban and Allotment 

 Gardens* 



Arreaks of Work. — \\"i.'at.lu'r conditions have 

 been so unfavourable to gardening during the 

 past months, that much of the work whirh is 

 usually done in .Marih and April is still left iradone. 

 and in other oases, wliere the work of seed sowing 

 has been done too early for this season, many, if 

 not all. of the plants have V)een killed or stunted 

 in their develop- 

 ment. Where this 

 is the case, get all 

 ari'ears of work 

 wiped oiit and sow 

 again those crops 

 which i n d i c a t e 

 failure. 



Potato Plant- 

 I X o. — Allotnxent 

 holders who ob- 

 tained their plots 

 late, and otViers 

 who are behind 

 with their work. 

 will probably find 

 that main crop 

 Potatoes planted 

 during M a y — 

 especially if well 

 sprouted — will give 

 as good, if not 

 better results than 

 those p 1 a n t e d 

 earlier. 



It will not be 

 too late even to 

 start a new allot- 

 ment! and to put 

 Potatoes into it 

 during the present 

 month. (It is to 

 be hoped tliat the 

 thousands of acres 

 o f uncultivated 

 land near t h e 

 towns of Ireland 

 will become broken 

 up immediately, by 

 tlie available and 

 willing labour of 

 would- be allot nient 

 liolders, in order to 

 ]) r o d u I- e more 

 food.) 



A little soil should be drawn iip to and over the 

 potato tops as they begin to push through the 

 ground. 



Seed Sowing. — Beetroot and Turnips of 

 different kinds, such as Model White, Golden Ball 

 or Orange Jelly, and (iarden Swedes shoiild be 

 sown early in the month. For the smaller kinds 

 of Turnips, siich as ]Model White, the seeds should 

 be sown in drills or little tracks at one inch deep, 

 with the drills or rows from 1") to 18 inches apart, 

 while (iarden Swedes sliouhl have at least 18 

 inches between the rows, and preferably 24 inches. 

 If a little suijerphosphate (about half an ounce 

 per yard long) is sown in the rows with the 

 Turnips their roots grow more quickly, and as a 



I'holo hy] [71. If. I'ollock 



Pi'PTosi'ORrM Sp. IX THE BoTAxic Gardexs, Dublix, 



Ciiiiiplctely Defoliated by Frost. 



consequence the tops grow (juickly, wlien they 



are less liable 1o be killed off l)y '" ily "' attacks 



(Turnip Flea Beetle). Dwarf French and Scarlet 



Uunuev lieaiis should be sown. Seeds of the 



former sliouhi not Ix- planted closei- than <) inches 



apart in an alternating double row, while the . • 



latter should be sown at (i inches apart in a . • 



single row. The seeds should be covered 



with about 2 inches of soil, and just as the 



seedlings begin to push through the .surface 



they should be lightly covered with more soil, so 



as to protect them a little from .May frosts, whirh 



often do damage 

 to such tender 

 plants. Lettuce, 



radish and cress 

 seeds should be 

 sown ; plants fi'om 

 t h e s e will be 

 welcomed in the 

 hot days still to 

 come : as the plants 

 do not occupy the 

 ground for any 

 lengthy period, 

 they can be sown 

 in lines midway 

 between newly 

 p 1 a n t e d Caul i- 

 flowers, cVrc, or 

 between rows of 

 Onions, & c, or 

 alongside Peas and 

 Beans. 



TmxxiNCi Out. — 

 As a general rule 

 seeds are sown far 

 too thickly, where 

 dozens of plants 

 are wanted thou- 

 sands appear, each 

 struggling for 

 mastery. To ob- 

 tain good results 

 a vigorous thinning 

 out of the young 

 plants should be 

 done — the sooner 

 the better for 

 those which are 

 to be left. At 

 fi r s t about 3 

 i n c h e s s h o li 1 d 

 l)e allowed be- 

 t w e e n the i n- 

 dividual plan t s, 

 a n d la t e r on 



suflicient space should be allowed for each plant 

 to develop. The distance varying for different 

 crops In some cases, such as Lettuces and 

 Caxiliflowers, &c., the surplus seedlings can be 

 planted out into a spare corner of ground, tor hnal 

 planting later, if needs be. It frequently happens 

 at the thinning out period or just after, that 

 Onion and Carrot plants droop, owing to attack 

 bv maggots of the Carrot and Onion Hies 

 To prevent this happening, keep the soil icell 

 orcr the roots of the plants at the time of thmnmg 

 dust the plants and soil with a dusting of soot, and 

 sprav them with a smelly mixture, made up with 

 such" materials as paraltin, soft soap or carbolic 

 soap cVrc. using about 2 ozs. of soap to a gallon 



