THE GARDEN

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 159, 18 April 1936, Page 3

THE GARDEN

GENERAL ROUTINE WORK.

(Written for the “Guardian” by J. A. McPherson, N.D.H., N.Z.)

Reduce heavy shading on glasshouse roofs. If the paint is difficult to remove brush on some warm water to which has been added a handful of sugar of soap. The next heavy rain will clear tho glass.

Dip cyclamen to keep thrip in check and pot on seedlings into five inch pots. Sow cyclamen seed for next season.

Bring chrysanthemums under cover as soon as the buds show colour and discontinue heavy feedings. Seedlings of sweet peas can be placed outside in cold frames as soon as they are two inches high. Make a prisoner of every leaf and so build up a valuable supply of leaf mould.

Remove summer bedding plants and commence in earnest to plant up the spring display. All shallow rooted spring flowering subjects -such as polyanthus, auriculas, etc., appreciate rotted cow manure in the top spit of soil and within reasonable reach of the young roots. Where forget-me-nots are being used as a ground work for tulips, plant the former first then dot in the tulips. This saves any damage to the bulbs which might occur if the planting were reversed.

Note richly tinted trees and shrubs and see if a place can be found for them when altering the layout of any garden. Berry bearing shrubs should also be noted and a place found for several of the most outstanding.

Commence to rebuild old, or build new rock gardens. Remember that a rock garden is not a heap of stones, hut must be so built as to fit in with the rhythm of the landscape. There has not been nearly enough rain to soak celery, consequently the trenches must be watched and the necessary water given. Slates placed over the tops of endive or dry 'leaves heaped up over the plants will give the necessary blanching to the leaves. Lift and prepare good crowns of rhubarb lor forcing under glass. Sow dwarf peas and broad beans for standing over the winter. Choose welldrained ground for the sowing. Small hearted cabbages and cauliflowers may be sown in Iranie or sheltered beds to stand over the winter and be ready for planting in early spring. Prices for green crops will probably be good in the early and midspring.

A Background of Autumn Tints. The chief feature in most gardens this week is the display of autumn tints which in many eases is enhanced by the addition of brightly coloured berry-bearing plants. Bright sunshine, and a reasonable rainfall throughout the summer months plus absence of wind in the autumn go a long way in the production of autumn colour. Sometimes it will be found that berry-bearing shrubs are disappointing in the small number of berries produced. This is caused by excessive growth and can be remedied by rootpruning or wrenching. After this operation the plants settle down to a more balanced growth, they bloom better and the quantity of berries is increased. On rich lands root-pruning of berry-hearing shrubs may have to be carried out periodically. In largo gardens good use can bo made by grouping the birch, oak and beech, and so produce contrasts with the more sombre colour of pines and other evergreens. The maidenhair tree Ginko biloba, planted in tho foreground of yews or pines makes a magnificent sight with its golden foliage in the autumn. This remarkable tree is fairly slow in growth and can he used with safety for a number of years in even very small gardens. . The golden ash is an old friend bur requires plenty of room. For small gardens the richest of golden effects Fs obtained by planting Fothergilla major or Acer cissifoliuni. Then there comes tho scarlet oaks, Quercus rubra (red), Q. coccinea (crimson), and tho other two species lietcrophylla and palustris. If these are too large then we must use such plants as Fnkianthus which belongs to the heath family and has beautiful wine coloured foliage in the autumn. Companion plants would include Fothergilla alnil’olia, Rhus glabra, Rhus typhina, Rims tricocarpa, Acer rubruni, ox,>dendron arboreum, Crataegus prumfolia, Amelanchier canadensis, ( Berberis, including B. Wilsonae, B. concinna, B. Francisci, Fcrdinandu, B. Tischlori, B. Prafctii, and B. brevipaniculata. ' It is very difficult to know where to stop when’ listing autumn foliage plants, for one must certainly not overlook the spindle woods Euonymus enropaeus, B. latifolius and k. yedoonsis all with purple red ioliage. For very small gardens several of the Spiraeas will ho found excellent at tbli time of the year, more especially b. Thunbergii, S. Van Houttn, and b. pruni folia. Autumn Berries. Besides giving rich autumn coloui there are a number of plants, especially among the Berberis and Cotoneasters, which give a wealth of berries as well, and what is more, some of the species such as Cotoneaster scrotum and Ilex verticillata (deciduous holly) which hold their berries right throughout the winter. If readers wish to select some good borry-bcaring trees and shrubs hero is a list giving the approximate coloui s. Cotoneastors, especially C. horizontal is, C. rotnndifolia, C. scrotina (red), Berberis special (red, black and plum), Arbutus unedo (orange and red), Acer Pseudoplatanus-erythrocarpum (red), Clerodendron Fargesii and C. tricliolotomuni (blue), Hex (red and yellow), Rosa (red and scarlet) especially R.

Moyesii and 11. Davidii with beautiful long hips, Hippophae rhamnoides (orange), Pernettya mucronata (crimson chocolate and white). All the crab apples (crimson and yellow), Pyrus of the Aucuparia section (red and yellow), Staphylea and Collutea (brown bladders), Symphoricarpus (red and white), Vitis heterophylla (porcelain blue), Pyracantha (scarlet), All Crataegus (red and yellow) and Cornus (blue and red). Most nurserymen have good supplies of berry-bearing shrubs in full healing at the present time and a visit would go a long way in helping readers to choose subjects suitable for their special requirements.

Sterilise Soils for Seed Beds. While there is little planting to lie done in the vegetable garden let us turn our attention this week to the question of soil sterilisation. Clean soil free from weed seeds, fungoid, and insect pests is a tremendous boon to all growers, especially where early crops of seedlings are required m frames and beds. There are several methods of 'itemizing soils, but that which is carried ou; bv steaming the soil is perhaps the best and covers much more ground in, the way of destroying those factors so detrimental to good germination ami. growth. Large plants for steam sterilisation are known from one end of New Zealand to the other, hut Wiese are too expensive for the small grower, and other arrangements must be made Where bedding plants are being raised a small boiler capable of 801bs pressure to the square inch will treat r. cubic yard of soil in twenty minutes The soil is placed in a brick bin httec, with perforated pipes on the bottom, and over'this is placed a perforated iron bottom on which to rest the soi. This of course means double shovelling of the soil in and out of the bin,- but, this can be reduced if necessary by using 40 gallon drums. Each drum is filled with soil and a three pronged set of half inch perforated pipes leading from the boiler and then pushed uowo in the drums, treating one at a time. Once the steam is turned on it only takes twelve minutes to thoroughly sterilize the soil in each drum. A teries of drums filled with sterilized soil ia great boon to any grower both for vegetables and flower garden work. Supposing the above method cannot be carried out on account of cost or perhaps one requires just a c. yard or two sterilized soil? What then? Ihc matter can be got over by making a home made plant. First secure an old copper boiler, have a tap nttec m the side but well down near the bottom and have a perforated plate made to sit in the boiler nine inches from to 1 bottom. Fit this arrangement over a arc, inbelow the perforated plate with water, (ill up to tho top with soil, place a sack over the top and keep a good fire. Lie steam from the boiling water will work through the soil and thoroughly s.en - ize it in about half an hour from Aae time the water boils. Now supposing even the above is noavailable, what then? Well try baking the soil over a hot sheet of iron in die open. Build up some bricks on whicn to place the iron, set a good fire underneath and place the moistened sod m top. Watch that it does not burn (otherwise valuable nitrogen compounds are lost into the atmosphere) by keeping it frequently stirred and turn;over with a shovel. A harrowful ol soil should take about twenty minutes to do by this method. Steaming or baking the soil ov toeabove methods kills all insects and spores of fungoid diseases, but does mu affect the beneficial bacteria. Liev.i after a few days become very active, and on account of the soils being lice from many of tlieir enemies, such as protoza for example, multiply at a rapid rate. A further type of soil sterilization can be carried out by watering .Leaps of prepared soil with a 2 per cent solution of Formaldehyde. Keep turn ing the heap as the solution is being applied and then cover for a day or so with sacks to keep the fumes in. Such soil should not bo used for seedsowing until several days after the covering has been removed. J hou/.!: killing all insects and fungoid pest; the formaldahydo will not kill seeds of weeds as is tho case with the steaming and baking process. Lastly there is a good fungicide known as Cheshunt Compound, which caii he made up at short notice by any chemist. It is the outcome of expe-d----nients at the Chesnut. Research Station, England, to combat damping off of tomato and other seedlings. It consists of one part by weight of copper sulphate and eleven parts by weight of ammonium carbonate. Both should be finely powdered and left alter mixing for at least 24 hours. Use one ounce of the compound dissolved in warm water and make up to two- gallone. It kills all living mycelium and thin walled spores. Soil heaps, seed boxes and young plants in boxes or pots may bo watered with the solution for it causes no injury to even die tiniest seedling. Ihc compound should be stored in glass bottles. There are so many diseases in the soil that one of the above methods should be tried especially where soil is being used to raise early crops and seedlings of lettuce, etc., which must stand over the winter in 1 rallies or beds before being planted out.