THE GARDEN

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 60, Issue 251, 31 July 1940, Page 3

THE GARDEN

GENERAL ROUTINE WORK.

(Written for tl!e “Guardian” by W. B. BitocKiE, N.D.H., N.Z.) PLANTS UNDER GLASS. Begonia tubers may now be started in heat. Under cool greenhouse conditions, however, it will be early enough to start them at the end oi August. Place tn-e tubers in boxes of light soil composed of equal proportions of sand and leafmould with a little fibrous loam added. The tops of the tubers should be just slightly above the level of the surface. Give them one. good watering with tepid water. This should suffice until top' growth commences when they will be benefited by light spraying overhead daily. When root and top growth are well advanced transfer them to nots using a soil mixture that is rough, rich and light. Ornamental foliage plants such as palms, aspidistras, ferns, dracaenas and cyperus are beginning to show root activity and it is at this stage when the days are lengtheneing that they may be safely repotted. Primula malacoides will soon be in full flower and it is at this stage, when the flower stalks are developing, that particular care should be taken to avoid over-watering. Few broad-leaved plants, especially among the primulas, are so pronei to damage from over-jyat-ering as P. malacoides. Weak liquid cow manure given to the plants once a week until the height of their blooming period will ensure vigorous development of the flower stems. Cyclamen, cinerarias, lachenalias and Primula obconica will also- be benefited by weekly applications of liquid manure, but this should be discontinued after the period of maximum bloom. THE FLOWER GARDEN. All species and varieties of Clematis prefer a position where the roots will be cool and moist during the heat of summer. Top growth, however, should be in full sunshinfe, As they will occupy their positions for many veays the soil for them should be well prepared and enriched before planting, j Naturally poor soil should be replaced with good fibrous loam to a depth of about two feet, but in the case'of most garden soils all that is necessary is to- mix in a good quantity of thoroughly decayed. manure ior vegetable (refuse to that depth over an area of about a square yard. Lime is also beneficial to clematises and is best applied in the form of coarse limestone rock debris or mortar rubble. A small barrowload to each plant is not too much w>hfen mixed through the soil. The pruning of roses should be undertaken without delay. F'iyst cut out from the base all dead wood and old stultified stumps bearing weak growth. If there is overcrowding of branches these should be reduced to leave the remainder evenly spaced and inclining outwards from the centre of the bush. Aim at keeping the young vigorous wood' as low down in the hush as possible. This can best be achieved by pruning hard back to about four buds from the base all new wood springing fjrom or near ground level. Soon, two or perhaps three of these buds will produce strong flowering shoots which, in turn, at this time next year, may be selected to replace old and worn-out wood.

It is early yet to renovate the herbaceous border but orders should he placed as soon as possible for new varieties of delphiniums, phlox, oriental poppies, michaielmas aquilegias, etc. When the ground' is drier, old clumps of midhaelmas daisies and heleniums should be lifted and replaced with small portions. Before doing any replanting, however', the whole of the border should he dug over and if necessary enriched, with farmyard manure. Spaces near the front of the border can ibe reserved for latejr planting with annuals or filled in with low growing perennials such as genius, aquilegias and 1 dwarf perennial asters. .Deciduous trees and shrubs are in many cases already beginning to swell their buds so no time should be lost in completing the work of transplanting. Any pruning to be 1 done should also be attended! to as soon as possible. Sweet peas sown in .autumn and grown on in boxes or pots may now be planted out along the trench prepared for them. If the soil is wet and sticky however, it will he safer to defer their transplanting for a week or so. The plants may be set out one foot apart. 'Small tw'iggy branches should be. pushed into the soil all along thei row to provide support until the plants can get a grin on the wire netting or other supporting structure. If the soil is in good order a . sowing of sweet peas may be made but it is important that at this time a warm situation should be chosen for them such as a border on the north sidei of a house. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. Soil in which green peas are to be grown should be given a fairly heavy dressing of lime if it is deficient in .that substance. Half a pound to the square yard will be ample. It is best sprinkled over ground tlrat has already been cultivated, then, when the time comes to sow, necessitating surface cultivation to break up lumps and 'level tile area it can be forked in, thus ensuring that it will lie well distributed among the soil uarticles. On 'well-drained land a sowing of an early variety of green, peas m#,y be madg now. In wet cold ground, especially if it is of a heavy nature, green peas are liable to rot, though much depends upon the vitality of the seed. Some years ago I sowed at this time a row of the variety Selected Daisy obtained from a seed firm of excellent repute. The ground was wet and sticky being of heavy clay, and subsequent rain after sowing made matters worse. Alongside that, row I sowed another using seed of the same variety 1 bad collected the previous summer. When collected, the pods were still green and the. seeds inside had not yet become wrinkled. After drying, the seeds were of a rich green and retained this colour until the. time of sowing. The bought- seed on the other band was of a pale rrreeny cream colour. Boar were sown at the same time ancl under the same very adverse conditions.. 1 The result was tliat every one of the rich green coloured seed germinated and pushed their way through the sticky clay soil while all of the pale coloured seed, except for about half a dozen of them, just rotted in the ground. Under favourable soil conditions when the weather was warmer the pale coloured seed gave almost 100 pro cent germination thus proving conclusively that

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the difference' between the two lots of seed was purely in respect of their vitality. . , . TT (Plant Jerusalem artichokes. Use medium sized tubers and plant them six inches deep, 21 inches between the sets and the rows 3 feet apart. Parsnips may be sown when soil conditions are suitable. This vegetable likes a deenlv cultivated piece of ground that was well manured last year such as an onion bed or where celery lias been grown. Space the rows at least 18 inches apart and sow thinly. These early sown parsnips always produce the largest roots. In sheltered sunny positions make a sowing of lettuce, radish and Early Milan turnips. Push on with the work of digging and manuring all vacant plots. Where potatoes are to be grown the ground may be left uncultivated until the time of plaptino- when digging and planting can be done in the one operation.