IRISH CxARDENING. 



91 



Suburban and Allotment 

 Gardens. 



The fine weather of .May has helped to make up 

 for the had weather conditions in previous 

 months, and the crops at present shovild be in 

 good condition. The most essential operation 

 for this month is that of hoeing- and weeding. The 

 value of hoeing, or loosening the surface soil, 

 cannot be too often stated : not only are the 

 seedling weeds killed as they appear above 

 ground — thus leaving more food material in the 

 soil for the cultivated crops and more room for 

 them to develop — but 

 the loss of water from 

 the soil surface is 

 greatly checked, as 

 Avater will not rise 

 rapidly through a n 

 extremely loose layer, 

 more especially when 

 such a layer gets dust- 

 dry : this operation, 

 then, enables the plant 

 to get more water 

 than it o t h e r w i s e 

 would, and water is 

 p e r h a p s the most 

 essential element in 

 the cultivation of 

 plants. The soil also 

 becomes better aerated, 

 plant roots Vjreathe 

 more freely, growth 

 becomes more vig- 

 orous, useful soil mi- 

 crobes v.ork with in- 

 creasing activity. As 

 a general result i^lants 

 grow niuch b e t t e r 

 where the grovmd is 

 well cultivated o r 



hoed, and the resvilt- AxDnosACE 



ing crop is heavier, of 



better equality, more. ; Photo by fl. 



free from insect pests 

 and plant diseases. 



Watering. — When watering is absolutely neces- 

 sary, it should be done thoroughly, so that the 

 soil gets drenched to a depth of not less than six 

 inches. Surface sprinklings, by keeping the 

 surface only moist, cause the roots of plants to 

 rise to the surface (the roots of plants move 

 towards moistvire in the soil), and when that 

 surface becomes dry. as it does after a few homes' 

 sunshine, the roots also become dried up and die. 

 whereas if the soil had not been so treated they 

 would have remained below in the moister soil 

 layers. 



Liquid ^Manuring. — As the crops begin to 

 grow and show signs of vigour, it will be found 

 that applications of manure in a liquid fonn will 

 result, in most cases, in increased growth. Liciuid 

 manui'e can be made up iii various ways, svxch as 



(1 ) putting about a pailful of cow or other animal 

 manure, along with a similar quantity of soot, 

 into a coarse sack and suspending this in a forty- 

 gallon tub of water for a few hours before using. 



(2) Placing a couple of teaspoonfuls of artificial 



manure, such as guano, nitrate of soda, super- 

 phosphate, sulphate of ammonia, dissolved bone 

 compound, etc., into a can holding about a gallon 

 of water. When leaf development is desired, 

 manures rich in nitrogen, such ns urine, sulphate 

 of ammonia, pigeon manure, etc., should be used, 

 l^'or the production of roots and fruits of good 

 ((uality, potash manures will be valuable, but 

 difficult to get at present (put into the tub or 

 barrel a quantity of bonfire aslies, obtained by 

 burning weeds, hedge clippings, 6:c.). For Peas, 

 Beans, Flowers, Turnips and shallow rooting 

 crops and for early fruits phosphatic manures 

 will be valuable, such as superphosphate bone 

 compound or potato manure. 



Planting Out and Transplanting. — Advan- 

 tage should be taken 

 of wet weather to get 

 quantities of the 

 various winter vege- 

 tables planted out. 

 Winter vegetables are 

 usually most expen- 

 sive to buy, and there- 

 fore most valuable to 

 g r o w. Caulifiowers, 

 Brussels Sprouts, 

 Savoy Cabbages and 

 Broccoli should be 

 l)lanted as early as 

 possible, on well- 

 ma nure-l ground, 

 a 1 1 o w i n g about 24 

 inches between the 

 lows and from 1 8 

 inches in the case of 

 Caidiflowers, to 24 

 inches in the case of 

 Broccoli, between the 

 individual plants. 

 Lettuce plants can be 

 planted between the 

 rows as a catch or 

 companion crop, or 

 Radish, Spinach, Cress 

 TUiETiCA. ^^^^^ other rapid grow- 



ing crops can be sown. 

 M. I'oUnrl;. When Hfling plants 



for planting out they 

 should be lifted with a 

 good ball of soil around them. Celery plants 

 should be planted at about 10 inches apart in well- 

 manured trenches. Vegetable ^Marrows should be 

 planted on mounds of manure and refuse, or else in 

 trenches or squares, each holding about a barrow- 

 load of manure, on top of which should be placed 

 about six inches of surface soil. If hot sunshine 

 occurs immediately after planting, the plants 

 should be slightly shaded for a few days, and 

 kept well watered. Bidge Cucumbers can be 

 treated similarly. 



Seed Sowing. — Make further sowings of 

 Turnips, Peas, Beans and Parsley for autumn 

 supplies. 



Peas and Beans. — These will require staking. 

 Short branches and twigs of beech trees make 

 very efficient stakes, these should be pointed and 

 inserted into the ground about 12 inches, putting 

 them in a double row around the I'eas. Where this 

 kind of material is difficult to obtain, gas pipes 

 or Dahlia stakes can be driven into the ground on 

 each side of the row, and at intervals of^aboiit 



