Practical Gardening.

Auckland Star, Volume LI, Issue 290, 4 December 1920, Page 20

Practical Gardening.

By DIANTHUS.

Correspondents will greatly oblige by observing the following rules in tending questions for publication in these columns: — 1. Letters should be addressed Garden Editor, "Star" Office, Auckland. 2. Write ou one side of the paper, and make all communications as concise a,? possible.

•1. Flowers, etc., sent for naming must be srnt separately, and, if possible, parked in a tin or icooden box — cardboard boxes are very liable to be brolcen in transit and the contents damaged.

... The full name and address of the sender must always be sent, but a ti— de plume or initial may be given for publication.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

DAISYttIiOT I Point ("liova'ieri asks fnl replies to the following: -111 Are very til!.leather shavings and dnsl oT iiianuiial value'; i_) If of use. wh-.il crops should it be used on. hon applied, and in whal unnntilb-sV—lll Leather, although it i-on-•talus nitrogen, is not much use i.. plants as food, because ii resists decay, and the iiutrlmen- does not become available. If Iv vers- Hue dust this decay w,,uld ...-car much more i.ulfkly ami tienitrogen become available more quickly. It possesses one property which makes its use viiliial-l.- .-ii siimly and chalky soil*, lor ii ii.al.--s I hem aliiiosi like .-lay when used in a powilerv iiindltli.n. The particles of soil .ling ingelh'-r. and do not dry >>.v so rapidly. O It is so slow In heooniliu: available thai It can he used nn tiny crop. It .should be scattered on at I Inrate nf 4 lo li 07. per square yard Just previous to digging the ground, preferably in autumn or winter.

H.l>. (Cambridge! sends some leaves off an apple Irce. and s.-.vs: "Assuming the trouble is sonic sort 'of fnngi.i.l lillght. I am spraying with Monti's •• mighty.' - The trouble is apple s.-.-ih. aa.l you .-incorrect in spraying with a fungicide, ir correctly applied and a good fungicide It shonld check the trouble.

THE FLOWERING COLEUS.

Coleus thyrsoiles is a blue owering form of coleus. Its beauty lies in the intense blue of its blooms" and their llowering period, which is in winter. It is not 'hardy, although it Mill stand more cold Can I hi- ordinary foliage coleus. It bus stood outside in a sheltered position in Auckland for several years. Tiie seed can be sown nmv, and if given fair good treatment "ill make nice plants by tin- winter, nnd will lie found very useful for tin- greenhouse. Tlie seed is very ,-unil!. an ! must, be cutefullv sow n in pots or pane- of sandy ri.-h soil.' U hen the seedlings are ' lnrge enough tic;, must be pricked out into boxes or pans, and grown on till large enough for pots. They can also be raised from cuttings of the young side growths. Put the cutting- in sandy "oil. ami shad.- until rooted. The plants must In- putted on in good li di soil, and if well treated will make phints Iwo or three feet high and as far through, which will give a profusion nf bloom. If planting mil. is thought of a well .-hcltei od position in full sun must

lEAM'tli-ic (Wunganiitl writes: I purchased and planted in .Inly last year a quantity ..f unions, an.l pri'.iliicod "a crop nt for anything. I .lid th.- same again this year, and lo my .surprise '.lie entire crop has gone to seed. I "nil you suv what is the .-a.lsr. of i! . .-s is ri If I! ran he |.r>vented in future V The cans,- is must likely In lie due |n the fact that Ihe s.--.l was saved from bulbs which had (his tc-uilcn.-y. if tbe seed is sown i.... early in autumn, and the plants are Inrge wlion transplanted, will also cause the trouble. I do not think I should pull llu-ni up, but rather cut on" tile ..diver lica-N as soon as they show. You will not get ..xllihlltoti bulbs. Inn yuii will get a crop in return for your trouble.

THE PERENNIAL CANDYTUFT. Iberis Cilirnltnri —. the innuveci.l onred perennial candytuft, whi.-ii flowers mi pn.fii.-ely in early spring, can lie easily raised from seed sou n at -he present time. It grows about a foot high, and makes a desirable edging plant. " Seed should be sown in shallow drills in the garden. The seed bed ought to In- shaded fur a few days until the seedlings are up. This prevents tin- need of excessive waterings, and. in consequence, the caking of the soil. The shading must be removed as soon e.s the seedlings arc up. When large enough prick them nut into a bed, allowing three or four inched from plant tn plant, with a foot between the rows. In the autumn they can be planted into ■beds or -borders, and will make quite large mat-ses and give a profusion of bloom in early spring and on for scleral months. Tliev like n sunny position, but will do fairly well in shade, although in such positions they need to be raised frnm seed vi-arlv. as the plants dn not last very long. ' In any case tbe results arc much ilicttcr if the plants arc raised from seed annually.

GREENHOUSE IN DECEMBER. All plants in this department are growing rapidly and need special care and attention to watering, airing, shading, potting, etc. They are in the pink of perfection. Ferns are better than at any other season of the year, while all classes of foliage plants have assume'l their summer garb and make a 'brilliant display. At no other season of the year is the greenhouse work more inter—ting than now. The beautiful tints of colour as the different varieties develop their new foliage is surprising. Anthuriiims with their massive.-, leaves, draeacnus of various shades, coleus. marantas, acalyphas, begonias, caladii.ms with beautifully spotted and gorgeous leaves, with many others, including l'andanus Yeitchei. aspidistras crotons. sanchizia. A few of the above "interspersed Willi ferns, l.vcopods. palms, and flowering -plants are all that is necessary for making a hrillinnt display. Epiphvllums and other cacti may also be introduced with good effect, not forgetting some eypr'pediiims and other easily-grown orchids. Amongst flowering plants gloxinias make :i line display with their handsome Jlowers produced in profusion and standing above their large velvety leaves. To grow these plants successfully they must -he placed in a. nee even temperature, sudden changes being fatal to their well being. Tuberous-rooted begonias are general favourites and are easily grown; when growing freely and flowering they require nluiiulaiico of water. In potting, ample drainage should be used, for with Ihe -frequent waterings the soil is liable lo become sodden. Fuchs'as. prim-l lllas, streptoearpus, and pelarg .niums] make a line display and are benefited' by an occasional watering with liquid manure. This will strengthen the plants and prolong tlie flowering period. Climbing plants need attention in trimming, training, and regulating their growth to prevent tliem becoming an entangled mass. Preparatory to the holiday season the house should receive a general overhaul. The whole nf the pots sh-uM be. well washed and .placed aside so thit the benches may also be cleaned. Tn rearranging Hie plants, so alter their positions as tn give a fresh appearance; crowding in all cases should 'be. avo'ded and every -plant placed in the position best suited to it.

BORDER CARNATIONS. Even if blooms of border carnations are not required for any other purpose than house or garden decoration it is advisable to carry out a little disbudding, so that the buds that are left may develop into fair-sized flowers. Staking and tying should also be attended to in good time.

\ CHRYSANTHEMUMS. j . These must be carefully watched and' the side shoots picked out if the blooms 1 are wanted for show purposes. Plants I that have not made a natural break must have the tops pinched out, and . ! three of the strongest shoots allowed to I grow on for bloom Inter, the rest being 1 removed. The plants do not require j liquid manure yet. but only surface cul-l tivation, so a<s to keep them healthy anil, in a growing condition. Deep cultivation would be a mistake, as the plants' are only what can be called surface rooting ones, and if deep cultivation was done, many valuable roots would be destroyed. I j The'top two inches of soil can be keptj loose with the constant use of the hoei with advantage. The young shoots arevery brittle in their early stages, and: need to In- kept well lied up to sticks or whatever .supports are used. Keep a sharp lookout for the leaf rolling cater-1 pillar, and kill it directly it is seen. It! is very troublesome, as it often destroy tithe buds at the tip ot the plants. SULPHUR AS A MANURE. "Aaristcr" writes as follows:—The use of sulphur as a manure must, be a •new llioiiuht io many amateur gar- , deners. .-—t:i 1 >t«. manure is extolled and j rightly so. as the mist valuable of j manures. Most artificial manures are i given their places, but sulphur seems to ; be left out. 1 would advocate the use - of flowers of sulphur at the rate of, say, : half an ounce to the square yard. Try ; it on the next potato crop and you will i be astonished at the results. On dig- 1 ging the potatoes give a liberal application of lime to correct any acidity ; before the next crop. .

SWEET PEAS. Sweet peas are now blooming freely. and if good long stems are wanted, -which means large- blooms, they can be got. by constant cultivation and the use of liquid manure. This refers to plant* that have been set out properly with at least a foot nf space between them. Cut off all dead blooms and seed heads. When using liquid manure give the ground round the plants a good watering fir—, and then apply the liquid manure next day. After this has been done hoe the soil over so as to stop it from caking and cracking. PROPAGATING KOj_L_TIOCKS. Choice double and single holly hocks can now be propagated from eves. Take off sonic of tin- ."-mailer and thinner stenirs. nnd. cut them into two-inch lengths with an eye or bud to each. This should be at the- upper end, and the stem need not be cut below a joint. Remove the blade of the leaf, and insert the cutting up to the eye in boxt-.-of sandy soil. Tlie boxes may be stood under the shade of a tree or in a cold frame, and simply kept watered.

ICELAND "POPPIES. j There are few flowers which are more] beautiful and dainty than tbe Iceland poppies. Sow the seed now. thinly in drills in a sunny border. The seed is small, and must be very lightly covered. Shade the seed bed fora few days until the seedlings are through, when theshading must be removed. When tho plants have made a few leaves and are largo enough to handle they must be transplanted, allowing three or four inches from plant to plant and about, twelve inches between the rows. Kept watered and weeded they should make nice plants by autumn, when they can be planted in beds, allowing about twelve inches .between them. Treated thus they will give a good snow of blooms next spring. They need a sunny, welldrained position, as they rot, off during tbe winter ii" the soil is badly drained.

IRIS TINGTTANA. This iris, a native of Tangier;-

Ise-mbi— a glorified Spanish iris. ' -i • blossoms are lovely, the standards being i violet-blue, and the falls a delicate i l-'rcneh grey, which colour is set oil by the gleaming yellow of the central blotch. The flowers often measure live inches -cross, and with the falls spread out ten inches. Although this iris has been known for many years, and is frequently grown, yet it is rarely that it can iie got to (lower successfully. Its period of blooming is in late winter or early spring, about August and September." This non success is. not <' ~n" lined to amateurs, for many professional." fail to (lower it successfully. niton only about two per cent, of the bulbs will flower. The secret of success appears to be in giving the bulbs as near as possible the conditions under which they grow naturally, and that is, it thorough long season of absolute rest. This is done by lifting the bulbs as soon as the foiiagc has died away, and then storing the •bulbs in a dry* shed until May or June. The bulbs will commence In show signs of growth before planting, but this does no harm, ill fact it is the best sicn to know the correct time of planting. The following is the method employed by a very sucee.-sfiil grower of this iris:—ln preparing the new bed a, deep lav-r of manure was .placed eight inches below the surface, and with the upper soil was mixed an equal proportion nf old mushroom lied manure, so that it was extremely rich. The bulbs was pu, in at a depth of three inches, and complete** surrounded by silver sand. The next ii'iir there were twenty-nine liowerspikes from thirty bulbs, and another year ch-siii out of twelve bloomed, and for years this iris has flowered superbly. The bulbs an. invariably lifted When the foliage has died down, and are kepi in a dry drawer until May. when they an- replanted. If they are left until the middle of June tin- tops will have begun to grow, but this does not appear to alTi-ct their blossoming.

The blooming season of iris tingitana is very erratic. Perfect blossoms are sometimes produce,! as early as July. and from that date they floucr until the end of October.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS. Brussels sprouts should be planted out. Select sturdy plants, not those that, are weak and spindly. Lift them with a fork to get good roots. Take out a

furrow, if the soil is dry. and dibble them in deeply and firmly. Water them immediately. The advantage of leaving a basin for this watering will be apparent. (See illustration.)

VEITCHS SELF-PROTECTING BROCCOLI.

The hardiness of this vegetable is one of its valuable qualities. Other recommendations are that, if planted now, it . forms a succession to Ycitch"s Autumn (liant Cauliflower, beginning to give a supply in May and continuing till June or July. It is, therefore, a late autumn and early winter vegetable of great merit. Heavy soil will be in its. favour, for cauliflowers and broccoli like substantial soils. j The variety under notice is called self-1 ] protecting because the inner leaves fold and twist over the curds, protecting tliem from night frosts, rain, and sunshine, thus preserving the clean white heads from injury. Tlie plant grows j strongly, so allow two feet apart each , I way. ' | j One important point about this' I autumn and winter broccoli is that it ! does not produce a glut, and then cease. | The cool weather is all in favour of a I long-continued supply, and tho plants j come along slowly. VYhen once they, i have got a 6tart, by watering or r.iiu. all they want is plenty of hoeing from time to time to keep the top soil loose, i whether weeds are present or not. \

PRESERVING TOMATOES. T. Rowc says: "In Auckland I frequently found that I could buy tomatoesin the market during a glut at a very lowprice, and we always pulped a good quantity in the following manner: Scald the fruit and remove the skins. Cut up the fruit, and put in a stewpan and boil for .'1 to ii minutes. Have preserving jars hot and fill with tho pulp to overflowing-. screw down immediately, and they will keep for years. Add'nothing, neither water, salt nor seasoning. By this means you can enjoy fried tomatoes or tomato soup all ihe year round"

THTNNING FR-TT. . The work of thinning fruit calls for a ■ j good deal of attention where it is desired to produce crops of the highest quality. It is not a matter for the exhibitor only, hut also for tlie smallest • grower who wishes Lo have fruit of good ' size and quality. The amount of thin- ' ning is. of course, governed by the ex- ' tent of tin- crop and the variety of fruit, hut in all eases where the crop is too ■ heavy it is essential to commence thin- ■ ning when the fruit is quite small. With ' apples ami pi-nrs no time should be lost ' now in taking these in hand. Where ' quite a number of fruit are set in one ; largo mass it will bo sufficient to leave ; one in the case of large- growing varic- . ties, but with smaller kinds two or three ,' : mav bo left. There is no gain by not thinning the crops well, for well-thinned fruit arc always more profitable, and as great a weight would he obtained, with 7he advantage that the fruit is of superior quality to the small, and oftentimes almost worthless specimens of the iiiiihimu'd tree. Plums also pay for thinning, especially where extra fine specimens are wanted frvr dessert purposes, and in the case of trees that have si-t heavy crops a large number of fruits will have to be removed. Thinning will in- found not only to improve the size of the fruit, but the general quality will be enhanced also.

U_EF__ HINTS.

BIRDS AXD BLUE PAPER. Birds are often little nuisances in the garden, welcome though they are. on account of the manner in which they attack flowers, seeds, and fruit. A fact which lias recently been demonstrated at a British experimental station is that sparrows and nearly all common birds have a perfect horror of blue paper. Over seed beds lengths of twine were sirclr.'led, and from these strips of blue paper were hung, and the birds left tbe situation severely alone. In the same way pieces of bright blue paper were Tning about fruit trees, and not a single bird approached. This fact is certainly one that it would pay the gardener to liote. for hirds have been the most difficult of all things to deal with, seeing that they so soon get used to scarecrows. TIOW TO COOK SPIXACH. Many nf us dislike spinach, havingliad it ncr\erl only as a nasty, messy-looking compound, both unappetising and unattractive, when, if properly cooked, it is especially good for growing boys and girls on account of its many mineral salts. Try it cooked in some of the various ways, as they do on the Continent. Spinach Boiled French Fashion. —■ Thoroughly wash the spinach required, removing the mid rib unless the bitter llavonr is liked, put into a .big saucepan, but, do not add any water, as enough remains on the leaves after washing. Put on the saucepan lid. cook over a gentle heal, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. When quite tender rub through a. colander, pressing out every drop of liquid. Chop it well, put back into ibe saucepan, sprinkle over loz of flour, salt to taste, mix well together. then add loz of margarine, stir all well, conk for a few minutes, turn into a very hot dish. Spinach with Rice. —Cook 4oz of rice in slightly salted water until quite soft, drain very carefully, season nicely with pepper and salt to taste. File some spinach in the centre of a deep dish after cook inc. us directed in tbe previous recipe. Put the rice round, sprinkle over a little finely-grated cheese, put into the oven until the cheese toasts. Serve very hot with fingers of toa*—. 'Spinach and Potatoes.—Couk the spinach required. When cold, grease a pie dish, put tlie spinach in. sprinkle over some finely-grated cheese, season lather highly with pepper and salt, cover with a thick layer of nicely-boiled potatoes, mashed with a little milk, seasoned tn taste. Scatter over some grated cheese, "lake in a quick oven until golden brown. —"Housewife."

SILVER LEAF DISEASE. Silver leaf discaso js due to a fungus named Stcrenm purpureum, which attacks many kinds of cultivated fruit trees, but is most; severe on the plum. Whenever a branch is seen carrying the characteristic, silvery leaves i: should .lie cut back to a- point below any discolourpr] wood: and all the pieces cut off should be burned a.. once to prevent" the disease sprea-ding t > healthy trees. Tar the cut surfaco n" the tr—. BEE ANID WAS? STINGS. The. sting of a bee deposits an a.-. 1 in the part stung. Its effect mar hcounteracted by using an alkali, sne-h «s the juice of an onion, ammonia, spirits of hartshorn, smelling salts. washing soda, or tomato juice. The sting of a wasp is alkaline, therefore use an acid, such as vinegar (acet'c acid). The person stung should keep quiet and cool for •"*' hours. HINTS FOR TEE GARDEN. Iveers the lawn closely mown. Bomove all old (lowers. Do not allow seed pod 3to form on swectpeas. Xow is the time to apply nitrate ot soda or sulphate of ammonia. One ounce to the yard of nitrate of soda applied to cabbages, lettuces, cauliflowers, or any vegetables will w n rk wonders. iMotto for applying liquid manure to plants: "Little and often.'' Keep all plants in the flower garden and elsewhere neatly staked. Keep the line going. —any people leave off hoeing during showery weather: it should be used as much in showery weather as in dry.