Practical Gardening.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVI, Issue 68, 20 March 1915, Page 15

Practical Gardening.

Information and News for Amateur and' Professional.

By DIANTHUS.

THIS WEEK'S WORK. Sow the first batch of Bummer flowering sweet peas. Sow the first batch of ten week stocks. Chrysanthemums sbonld be disbudded, and attention given to staking and tying. The chrysanthemum needs a little attention Just at the present, but there is no flower which can take its place. The ""Queen of the Autumn" is the apt and undisputed title of the. chrysanthemum. When disbudding singles do not be too severe; singles are essentially for cutting purposes. The aim should be to get good but no coarse blooms. The plants require some aid Iα the way of manure; just what is more to be decided by what is at hand. Where it can be obtained soot should be used for plants in the open ground; it is best dusted aronnd the plants when the ground is damp. Wood ashes can also be need. A good dusting of these will be of great value. If, however, a concentrated manure is required, one ready to hand, one of the best to use is Clay's Fertilizer. This is obtainable in small or large quantities of most seedsmen. Stop all manuring ac soon as tne colour shows in the bud. Dahlias are very fine this year, notwithstanding the dry weather and the restrictions of the local authorities. Keep liquid manure going on the dahlia. The dahlia is a very gross feeder. Keep the old blooms cut off, and also an eye on the young bnds for any grub that is eating its way in. A certain amount of disbudding is necessary; for one reason it helps to keep the open bloom more conspicuous, many of the cactus varieties being disposed to hide the blooms amongst the young growth. Keep the plants firmly tied and staked; the chief point is to keep the plants erect and to prevent swaying. • Once a plant starts swaying tne danger of breaking is present. Anemone and ranunculi tubers may be planted now, and the present is a Rood time to sow seed, of the same plants. Cinerarias must be watched for aphis, for if there is one failing with these beautiful flowers it is the tendency to Insects. Cinerarias need heavy shade. A good position to grow the plants on is the south side of a hedge or fence. Cyclamen should be started at once. Cyclamen when growing need abundance of water and protection from the hot sun. Begonias in pots will soon need to be dried off. As soon as any signs of mould or decay of the stems show the watering should be stopped. Carnation layers should be planted as soon as they are ready. The sooner the plants are in the better. an In ■ ■the-i.yejjetable. garden things ..*re'i4iuiet.-but,the".hoe .should receive no rest The autumn is often a time when the garden, especially the portion allotted to vegetables, is usually allowed to run wild. . Marrows should be kept cut as fast as they come to a usable siie. ■" Occasionally lift the tops of knmaras to prevent them rooting from the nodes. Hedges should be trimmed and cleaned up for the winter. Ground for summer sweet peas should be worked at once, so that it will be ready when the plants are ready for planting.

ONIONS. ' Onions are one of the most important crops in the garden, and no matter whether it be' a large or small garden, onions should be planted. Onions are of such importance for culinary purposes that they are in use every day. The onion in some form is, perhaps, the most ancient vegetable that we cultivate, having'been cultivated from time immemorial. They are mentioned in Numbers xi. 5, tite Israelites craving for some during their wanderings in the wilderness.

There are a tremendous number of different ideas' on onion growing, every grower seeming to have some particular detail of hie own upon which the success of the crop depends. Strange to say, to judge by results, the majority of these growers are correct, for the results are creditable to their methods. The onion does not seem to be particular to soil, for as good crops can' be obtained on. heavy clay as on sandy soil. The only soils that onions seem to dislike are "peaty," or one which is largely composed of decaying vegetable matter. Onions are a crop which, unlike most others, can be grown year after year successfully on the same plot of ground, providing a certain amount of manuring is done. In earlier days when a piece of ground was obtained that suited onions it was well worked and retained for that purpose year after year. This policy, however, is not one to be followed too closely if it is possible to arrange differently, as it is liable to aggravate attacks of mildew and other disease and pests which are so prevalent nowadays. The ground for onions cannot be too well worked; in fact, it should be worked as well as possible. As regards manure, onions will do with almost any kind of manure, but it should not be fresh and rank, this being very often the cause of disease and thick-necked bulbs. The best method is to let the onion crop follow on ground that has carried a crop that has been well manured; ground that has carried a crop of potatoes is a very good place for onions. In this case no stable manure should be dug in, but the ground should be well prepared. The lumps should be broken with the spade and the surface worked to a regular and finely crumbled texture. Light soil should be lightly trodden to consolidate somewhat and the surface carefully gone over widi the rake. The best method is to sow the seed in a small bed, from which nIL? a »*fr. c« be taken and t « ,B * mUch more satisfactory method of growing onions to transplant di™nt ~*? the Beed in the !*d directly and to thin out when the plants

are large enough. Transplanting isinuea more economical, and a more even bed' can be obtained. y The seed should be sown during March. for, although onions sown at any time in the year will produce more or less of a crop, the best crops are obtained from seed that is sown in March and the pints dibbled out as soon as they are large enough to handle; of course, assuming that the weather is favourable. Th?weather has a distinct bearing upon the young plants, and no operation should be performed if the condition of the soil or the weather is unfavourable/-'-'--''.' Of course}, no specific remarks can be given which would apply to all soila, toili being of such diverse textures that'eseh-I and every one can only be properly understood by personal acquaintance. Ths-. young plants should be got out into thebSpermanent places as soon as possible after they are large enough to handle. Intni Auckland district the plants should b» I firmly established before hot, dry weather 'sets in. The drills for the seed should be ia | shallow as possible—just sufficiently deep 'to allow the seed to be covered. -After-? sowing the seed the bed should be lightly raked to remove lumps, as the onion seedling is a very tender subject in its young .state. . "~s

When planting the onions the ton should be eighteen inches apart and tin onions should be nine inches spirt in tfc rowe. Care must be taken in planting that the plants are put in at shallow at possible. The onion bulb should tit <>a the ground, not in the ground, and only the roots should be put into the toiL Jα onion bed needs to be kept free of weed* from the time the seed is sown, till the onions are harvested. Weeds and oniont cannot be grown together. Probably more onions are unknowingly spoilt br weeds than anything else; the bulbs nttd air and light right down to their bate, where the fibrous roots leaw thetmlbt; it is for this reason that an anion bed ■ should be without lumps, stone, or weed* on the surface. ; ■ •— .:■ •; - ' There are two or three fertilisers which are of particular value to onions; titer are salt, soot and wood ash. With thee three fertilisers good onionscan: be grow* on soils which are poor and have received little else than a good workingwithtsji spade. Salt should be applied oweer twice during the spring; a slight rpriib ling is sufficient; it is: best applied dlf«'•>' ing a shower of rain. Sodt can fe I|> plied before the onions are planted (at again during the growing, season; «e«t acts as a check to the onion. maggot u4 also to. a certain extent aa a fungicide. The soot should be obtained from the to of an open grate, that taken •Eronvixlotti' ; fire being of no value. Wood ashes miy be applied three or four times dnruic tbt growing season. Wood ashes, toTS' o| value, should be applied before tter get. wet. The beet method is to apply tbt ashes' whenever they can be obtuaedt " Mildew is very prevalent in Anddaad, -V\ and the onions should be Bpraj«ed w|tk • solution of potassium sulphide, lc* to tte gallon of water. 'Spraying should SiTeps* '. menced as soon as the plants in a tot inches VIOUkS. / The viola, as a plant for bedding, -to make a show during the early part of tht spring, is not used to the extent: tS»t tt merits. As a summer plant it ii Ml altogether a success/the hot, try weatter not being altogether to its liking. VWtl like a most soil and atmoepheie, l and s soil of which decaying vegetable eattw forms a large proportion. !*• ~mii]4~> violas sown now will prodae* plaatt' which will flower and make a good tJ»» next spring. "Violas are paneies for planting in masses, the heiit of the plants being , and*es;a rule they are more floriferous. Tkli* are in Britain named varieties of riota; these are very fine, and are piuyapM from cuttings year by yet*. Bei» *l '

the beautiful bedding scheme of til public parks are in a measure due 'tp tMI: ':- flower. One thing for which it is largdJ uaed is for "carpeting"—that is, bed* pi bulbs or other plants are made, andthe violas are planter fairly thick in betwaee the bulbs or whatever may be-in the bed..,••■■ In this way the violas make a fine.ehOW ; previous to" the other plants coming into, ; bloom, and in the case of bulbs the plaatlcome through the carpet of violas, v?h:cY : covering the bare ground, and; having .. flowers of a good blending colour,- add greatly to the effectiveness of the I*4. , : Viola seed can be obtained to come 'airly . ; true, especially in the colours of. fclW» ' yellow or white, and occasionally aireep* - cially good variety may be obtained w/ii?*;,: will be worth propagating by cuttingß cr, dividing the roots A border of viola* >» also very fine; in fact, any method tfc>* calls for massing can be filled vrith tht • ;. viola. As an isolated or dot plant tit ; viola is not altogether a success, tl* : growths becoming loose and straggly.