Your Problems Please!

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 286, 3 December 1938, Page 12 (Supplement)

Your Problems Please!

KEEV (Avondale) writes :—May 1 Express my appreciation of your notes, especially that on cauliflowers a few weeks iigof Would you give tne some information on care of the soilt lie hear plenty about, how to nurse the plants hut not much about the soil. I follow a rotation of crops. I do not know best how to use the manure available, what to mix with it, etc., and what I particularly want to know is how to apply lime and when. I manure ever;; crop, using fowl manure, super and potash for most things, excepting peas and beans; the ground is usually good enough for them. The soil is heavy loam and it is difficult to work, as it cakes and takes such a lot of breaking up in the spring. How can 1 ascertain when the soil needs limef At present 1 have potatoes in one plot, and when they are out I intend planting cab bage. so when should this piece be limedt / have another plot in potatoes, peas, beans and lettuce. How should I prepare this for main crop cauliflower, seed of which I sowed last weekf I dig the garden to the f depth of the spade. Should ground be fallowed in winter or sown down in green manuret Thanks for your appreciation of these articles. It depends upon the particular soil one is dealing with as to the treat- ' nient required. The system of rotation so as to eliminate the necessity of the same crop occupying the same ground twice in succession is one of the best systems of soil management, and. although a little slow to depend upon entirely in thesn days of speed, it would actually allow of continuous cropping with little or no manure. Lime can he applied at almost any time, but It must l>e understood that lime is not a manure, and there is a lot of truth in the old saying that Lime and lime without manure, Will make both land and farmer poor. I If ground needs lime to correct acidity, or for a particular lime loving plant, then lime is useful, but to apply lime indiscriminately, without knowing why, can be just as harmful as giving none at all. The best time to apply lime is immediately a crop has been taken off the ground, digging following immediately afterwards. I n applying lime, it must be recognised that if lime or li*e compounds are used as slugicides or other purposes, such must be taken into account. Lime releases nitrogen and helps to decompose humus, consequently the application of lime shoul be accompanied by the application of some material that will produce humus also by applications of nitrogenous manure, such as sulphate of ammonia. If the cabbage is Immediately following the potatoes I do not think you will need to use lime ; apply

lime after the cabbages are over. The plot now in peas. etc.. in which you intend to plant cauliflowers will need light forking over to bury antl an application of manure such as sulphate of ammonia loz. and super iloz. per square yard, or three yards of run of row. It is'better to sow the gr«>und with green crops for the winter This checks the growth of weeds and. of course, adds humus. With our mild, moist winter, weeds grow too vigorously to allow ground to lie fallow throughout the winter + P.D.P. Anxious asks: Could you tell me what the enclosed grubs are, and how to get rid of themT They burrowed into the stems of my pumpkins. This year they are here in thousands and attack most plants, lettuce and cabbage included. They are grubs of the bronze beetle. You can control them by spraying with a solution of arsenate of lead, one ounce to a gallon of water. If you have any fears of using the arsenate of lead, use Derris dust, as it is non-poisonous. * + ♦ ♦ J.F. (Otahuhu) asks: My lemons and poorman orange trees had red scale last year. When can I spray with white oil and what strength should I usef Should I pick off the lemons before sprayingt Tou can spray the lemons as soon as thev have finished flowering. Use it I—Bo.1 —80. It is not necessary to remove the lemons already on the tree, but it would certainly be an advantage as it assists the tree and produces a more even crop. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ST. HF.LIER'S writes:—My carnations during the last few days have become shapeless, the petals curving downwards over the stem instead of spreading out at right angles. The flowers have gone much smaller. Of course, there m a certain amou,nt of rust, but not much. They are grown in welltrenched beds, with sunken paths. There is nothing wrong with the carnations so far as disease is concerned. Many of the Nice and Chabaud strains have this type of flower, with weak guard petals. Good, large, broad and firm outer guard petals with the blade at right angles to the stem is the sign of a first-class flower. Tou can do nothing with these sorts, the; only alternative is to obtain and grow only varieties which hold their petals firm. Of course a sudden hot spell, causing the blooms to open quickly, would aggravate the trouble, especially if the blooms in the first place were not first-class. If you could shade the blooms it would probably help. In the autumn, with cool weather conditions. the blooms will improve. From now on. for the next few months with hot weather, you will find it difficult to get first-class blooms unless you can shade.