178 



THE PRACTICAL GARDENER. 



NEW ZEALAND SPINACH. 



Spinach is a difficult vegetable to keep a regular supply of 

 throughout the summer months, as it scarcely comes above the 

 ground before it begins to run to seed. An excellent substi- 

 tute has been found for it in the New Zealand spinach, Tetra- 

 gona expansa. This should be sown in March in pots, and 

 placed in a hot-house or hot-bed frame, until it vegetates. 

 The seedling plants should be planted off, one plant in each 

 pot, of the size commonly called sixties, and kept under the 

 shelter of a frame until the beginning of this month, when it 

 may be planted out without much chance of its being killed by 

 the frost. At this time prepare a bed for the plants, of leaves 

 and dung slightly warm ; when a little heat is rising, cover it 

 with mould to the thickness of six or eight inches, set the 

 plants about three feet apart, protect them with hand-glasses, 

 or hoops and mats, for a few nights, until they are properly 

 established. In dry weather, give plenty of water to the plants ; 

 they will amply repay the trouble, for a few plants well ma- 

 naged will supply an ordinary-sized family with an excellent 

 substitute for spinach, until destroyed by the frost, by which 

 time the common spinach will be again in perfection. In 

 gathering the crop, care must be taken not to tread upon the 

 young shoots, which are very tender, and liable to be injured. 

 The largest leaves should be carefully pinched off, after the 

 manner of spinach. 



SCORZONERA, SALSAFY, AND HAMBURG PARSLEY. 



The crops of scorzonera, salsafy, skirrets, and large-rooted 

 parsley must now be thinned and cleared from weeds, either 

 by the hand or the small hoe. The plants to be thinned out 

 to the distance of about six inches. 



CAPSICUMS AND LOVE-APPLES. 



If these were not planted out last month, let it now be 

 done ; the capsicums on a warm sheltered border, or at the 

 bottom of a wall, and the love-apples on any empty wall or 

 pales. 



