THE GARDEN

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 55, Issue 291, 21 September 1935, Page 3

THE GARDEN

WORK FOR THE WEEK THE GREENHOUSE. (Written for the “Guardian” by J. A. McPherson, N.D.H., N.Z.) Readers who wish to increase their stocks of foliage begonias (begonia rex) can do so by rooting the leaves. Remove a leaf from the parent plant, cut the back of the mid-rib and main branching ribs in several -places and lay the leaf on a bed of moist sand with just sufficient sand on top to hold the leaf in position. In a very short time tiny plants will spring up from near the cut areas of the ribs. When the young plants are fit to handle pot. "them singly into three inch pots. If: bottom heat is available the work is speeded up by fully 50 per cent. Lachenalias that have finished blooming can be removed to a cool outside frame, there to finish their growing and ripening off. Continue to sow all types of annuals under glass and commence to sow seeds of cucumbers.

Start begonias into growth and take cuttings of fuchsias and dahlias as they become available.

The Tomato House

Empty tomato houses must be got ready for the coming season. A little fresh soil added will prove of benefit, but where damping off and other diseases have been prevailent it will be necessary to sterilise the soil either with boiling water, steam, or by using the Cheshunt Compound mixture already advised. A splendid cleansing fumigant and one that will get rid of any living insects and fungus spores resting on bricks and woodwork is to burn ordinary sulphur in the house. It must be borne in mind, however, that the house must be entirely empty of all pot-plants, etc., for burning sulphur will kill everything in the nature of growing plants. Next day all the ventilators can be opened and the house given a thorough airing.

The Flower Garden. Besides their work on delphiniums and anthirrhiniums plant breeders have turned their attention to the perennial lupin, with the result that a truly wonderful range of colours is now obtainable. Furthermore the spikes are much larger, as also are the individual blooms. For dry borders the lupin is ideal, and when grown in masses the new varieties are really worth seeing. Young plants may be set out now into their permanent positions, where they can be left for at least three years. Seeds may also be sown, but the plains from these will not be ready for sitting out till next spring. Every reader with a very dry border should certainly give consideration to the cultivation of perennial lupins. The earlier we can get members of the primula family to bloom on the Plains the more chance of success we have of obtaining really good displays, since tho blooms are finished and do not suffer from the effects of early north-west winds. An ideal plant which fits into the above arrangement is primula wanda, one of the single stemmed type. It is commencing to bloom now and within a week the plants will be solid bunches of flowers with now a single green leaf showing. The flowers are purple to wine-red in colour and contrast well when planted near yellow polyanthus or violas. Stocks can be quickly raised, for the plants divide rapidly.. When planting pansies remember that they prefer shelter from the strong afternoon sun. Violas stand much more sunshine than pansies, and are therefore useful for general work where long displays are required. Over-feeding both these plants with nitrogenous manures leads to sappy growth which are very liable to attacks of mildew. Perennial phlox if not doing well should be lifted, divided, and replanted into fairly rich soil. In dry districts it will not hurt to bury, the plants to a depth of three inches below the surface. The tops will come through all right and the roots will not suffer so much from drought. This is a new idea in planting phlox, but it has been proved beneficial wherever undertaken.

Tulips are aften disappointing on account of the blooms “breaking” or “striping.” Unfortunately this is a virus disease similar to the virus causing mosaic in potatoes and cinerarias, etc. There is no known cure, and once the bulbs develop striped blooms they will always remain striped. This we do know, however, that the virus is spread by the agency of greenfly, and if these pests are kept in c.fieck we can keep the disease within due bounds. Some of the pink and yellow varieties will carry the disease without showing the usual striping. Weather appears to be settling down into a proper spring, and all types of annuals, excepting salvias and marigolds may now be sown out of doors.

Give autumn sown sweet peas a topdressing with superphosphate, and attend to their permanent staking. Hydrangeas must be well fed and watered if large blooms are to be obtained. If it is desirable to keep the varieties from going blue, the land must be kept very sweet by the addition of lime. If on the other hand blue flowers are desired then the. plants must have some alum added each time watering takes place. Another method is to place plenty of iron filings in the soil near the roots. Blue is not a natural colour in hydrangeas and is really produced through the acidity ol the soil.

The Vegetable Garden. "Winter planted lettuces that are still backward should be fed with a little nitrate of soda at the rate of one ounce to four gallons of water, being careful to keep this mixture off the leaves. Give autumn-sown peas and beans a top-dressing with superphosphate, niter which they should be lightly earthed up and preparations put in hand tor their proper staking. In making further sowings of peas, do not sow them in a V-shaped drill. Always give them a wide flat-bottomed drill so that the seeds can be properly spaced in a double row. The same applies to beans, with this, exception,

that whereas the seeds of peas are spaced four inches apart, those of beans are spaced eight to nine inches apart. Do not overlook the early sowing of parsley; it takes a long time to germinate and to give of its best must be thinned to nine inches apart. Bow radishes, carrots (stump-rooted), beet (globe or turnip rooted), parsnips, onions, soft-fleshed turnips, and spinach. Mustard and cress is still best sown in* a glasshouse, or frame till the end of the month..

Sowings must be made of lettuce and cabbage seeds to keep up a supply of plants. All rhubarb should he in the ground by now and well mulched with lotted manure.

Asparagus. This most excellent spring vegetable well repays the care and attention spent on it. The amateur, however, is inclined to rush things and expect large returns the first season. This can never he expected, for the main point to bear in mind is the building up of strong healthy crowns. When these have been obtained it is only a question of feeding and -watering to bring away good crops. The plants like a rich, open, and perfectly drained soil, situated away from the drips of trees and in full sunshine. The ground should be prepared in the autumn by deep trenching and working well through the lower spits of soil, plenty of animal manures and if possible some seaweed. If the top soil is not open and sandy, then it must be improved by the addition of burnt clay, old mortar, rubble, and grit, etc. On heavy soils the beds should be slightly raised, but this is not necessary on sandy and well drained areas.

Make the beds five feet wide, anything wider is difficult to handle and awkward to weed. In a five foot wide bed can be accommodated three rows of crowns, the middle row running down the centre. Open out shallow trenches about five inches deep and the width of the spade. Space each crown 18 inches apart and sit on a slight mound of soil to enable all roots to be spread out evenly in a downward grade. Do not linger over the work, 'for the crowns do not like being exposed to the air for any length of time. When the soil is filled in, it will leav'e the tops of the crowns about four inches below the surface soil. Now is an excellent time to plant new beds and if obtainable use any of the following varieties: Conover’s Colossal, Palmetto, and Washington. For the first year the beds should be kept free from weeds and watered when necessary. If the summer turns very hot a mulch of rotted manure should be given. On no account must shoots be cut the first season, only a few the second season, but from then onwards the beds will stand heavy cutting each year.

Never cut after the third week in November.