THE GARDEN

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 62, Issue 305, 7 October 1942, Page 6

THE GARDEN

GENERAL ROUTINE WORK. (Written for the “ Guardian ” by W. B. Brookie, N.D.H., N./5.) PLANTS UNDER GLASS. Cactus and succulent plants requiring repotting should be attended to before growth is active. They are better left alone, however, if they appear to have sufficient energy to carry them over another season. A restricted root run is conducive, to the formation of firm growth, in which condition' the plants produce flowers more freely. Good drainage is essential, so, when potting, use very free soil. A good compost for-them is made up ol three parts fibrous loam, two parts sharp river sand, one part made up of equal portions of lime rubble, charcoal, and small pieces of brick and a half part of drv, finely-sieved cow dung. The pots for cacti should bo .just large enough to balance the weight of the plant so that there will be no danger of them being overturned. Chrysanthemums should now be in six-inch pots standing in an open frame fully exposed to the sun. On warm days spray them overhead with clean water. They must at no time suffer from dryness at the roots. Provide each plant with a light stake, and secure with a loose tie of raffia. Freesias in pots should be stood outside in a sheltered position. The bulbs may be left undisturbed in the pots for two or three years. iDuring the summer little watering will he needed if the pots are plunged to the rims in a bed of sand.-

Maintain a free circulation of air in the greenhouse during the daytime. Floors and benches should be damped morning and evening to prevent overdryness of the atmosphere and to discourage the entry of thrips and red spider. THE FLOWER GARDEN.

In the mixed flower border plant larkspur, stocks, clarkia,' antirrhinum, nemesia, calendula and scabious. Hciv baceoufs perennials may still be planted, but -there should he no delay in getting them in. See that they are made very firm at the roots. Delphiniums are growing fast, and wilL ‘require staking and tying. Hoe frequently between the plants to suppress -weeds and to maintain, a tidy appearance. Michaelmas daisies, heleniums, delphiniums and other perennial plants of a similar nature should have the shoots reduced in number if these are excessive. For miehaelmas daisies five shoots to a clump is quite sufficient. Later each shoot should be given a thin but strong stake to itself and kept tied in: as growth proceeds. ) _ Give rose bed’s frequent cultivation with the hoe. Blood and bone manure may be applied as a. top-dressing at the rate of a handful to the square yard. This should be forked in to a depth of about six inches. Box edging should now be given its annual trim with the hedge shears. First cut the top to the desired height, then trim the sides. ‘ Where chrysanthemums are grown in an outside border the space between the plants may be filled with summer flowering annuals which will be cleared away before the chrysanthemums come into flower. Viscaria, stocks and clarkia are useful for the purpose.

In odd places in the,' garden sow candytuft, Virginia stock; mignonette, limn, ncmophila and dwarf nasturtium. These will require thinning when the seedlings are about half an inch- hig'h. The soil should be cultivated to a fine tilth, before sowing, and it may be an advantage to add some manpre. Old branches of forsythia, flowering currant, Prumis sinensis and spring flowering shrubs of similar habit may be primed as soon as the flowers have withered. For the first three or four years after planting no pruning is needed. Past that age, however, the wood begins to deteriorate and can well be replaced with young growths. Removal of the oldest wood from near ground level will encourage the production of these: new shoots and allow the passage of light to ensure hardy development. Straggling growths, should also be out back at this time. Plant violets in ground enriched with rotted manure. Old; plants may be divided, and single crowns wit'n roots attached spaced 10 inches apart. Plant firmly, and during dry weather water overhead frequently through the summer. Rhododendrons may still be transplanted provided they are lifted with a. large ball of earth. In the rock garden maintain a tidy appearance by stirring the soil around the plants with a small fork. Some gritty soil placed around carpeting forms • such as the Kabschia” saxifrages .will be of benefit. Most saxifrages like some lifiie -in, the soil. Tins is best applied in the form of limestone debris or lime mortar rubble.

THE KITCHEN GARDEN. Sow summer beans nine- inches apart and two inches deep. To obtain large well-shaped pods up to exhibition standard the ground must be given extra care in preparation. A trench two feet deep and wide should be taken out and the bottom well broken up and enriched with bone meal at the. rate of a handful to the square yard. Replace a foot of the soil, and in this fork in a liberal quantity of decayed manure. Tramp firm, then complete the filling of tlio trench. A top-dressing of superphosphate may lie raked into the surface before sowing. Plant tomatoes in a. sunny position sheltered from strong wind. The plants should he set 15 inches apart in the low and tied to a four-foot stake immediately. All basal and lateral growth should henceforth, be removed while it is quite small. Keep the single stem well tied in to the stake as growth proceeds.

Sow dwarf beans of tile Canadian Wonder type and butter beans. These may he sown in a double row with eight inches between the rows. The plants' will require thinning later to eight inches apart. Vegetable marrows and pumpkins need rich, deeply-cultivated soil. The seed requires only to be pushed! into the surface about an inch deep with the round end uppermost. Pot-grown plants may also be planted out, but it will bo advisable to cover them at night for a while as a precaution against frost. A wooden, box is useful for this purpose. Prepare celery trenches for a. planting about the end of the present month. The trench should be IS inches wide and nine inches deep. In the bottom mix in a liberal quantity of rotted manure and fork over this manured soil two or three times before

planting. The ridges on either side of the trench may be planted with lettuce. A sowing- of maize, besides providing corn cobs, is excellent forgiving shelter and light shade for later sowings of spinach, lettuce and radish. Keep up the supply of green, peas by sowing once a fortnight.