FOR A BETTER GARDEN...

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 173, 24 July 1941, Page 19

FOR A BETTER GARDEN...

FEW inquiries that have recently come to hand have concerned green crops; that is, crops like rape, mustard, legumes, Italian ryegrass or lupins which are dug mto the ground in a green state and allowed to decay there wwn Pi' actic . e has been growing in tl > n( -' and lam n ot at all sure ,-nvi,- ■I? a wise one if Practised indiscriminately. It has been established, for instance, that mere digging in of a green crop does not automatically increase the soil fertility for the following crop There are. unfortunately, a few snags in theory, of course, if a green crop is dug in, the soil benefits bv mcreased nitrogen and humus—more nitrogen if the plants are young and less nitrogen and more humus if the plants are at a more leafy and bulky Here j s one of the snags. The soil itself may be deficient in some of those elements required to break down the leafy mass into plant food —elements in themselves essential tor the proper nourishment of plants bo there may be a period of intense competition which produces unsatisfactory results. Must Allow Time One- point is clear. Time must be allowed for the decomposition of the green material before the soil is used. To shorten the time down and get the best results from green crops, compost should be added at the time it is dug in. Even a thin layer will do the trick. And never dig green crops in deeply. Merely turn the surface lightly over. Personally. I cut the green crop when it is at its leafiest stage and use it for making a compost heap It's safer. I * * * * Early potato crops are now looking a sorry mess. Aucklandcrs, e-ncour aged by the mild winters of the p3Pi few .years, have been sneaking tin potatoes in earlier and earlier. Now unfortunately, prospects for that potful of marbles in October oi November don't look so rosy. It is in thawing rather thaifreezing that damage is done to the tender leaves and by shading then from the morning sun the thawing takes plg.ee gradually and the lea: tissue is not destroyed. Watering May Help Watering the foliage of lightlj frosted plants with cold water before the sun gets on to them is wortl trying, for though the frost will no destroy the plants entirely, it give: them a nasty setback. Straw litter or grass clipping; drawn over the young plants whei danger appears is a useful precau ! tion against frost' damage. * * * * Many gardeners are apparentl; having a struggle to make thei green, diseased, or pest-infested rut bish burn. A man in Epsom, who had waste* Saturday afternoon and a box o matches, sent an ultra-polite not asking how I would burn a heap o sodden, muddy rubbish. Well, here's a plan that may helj Lay down a double row of bricks th width of the intended fire, and plac a few bricks at intervals across ther with wide spaces between. ! .

•The tunnel should face the prevail- . ing wind. Pile your rubbish on this, with the dry stuff at the bottom. Set it on fire and let the drv stuff burn well, then gradually add the green 1 stuff until it is well alight. L This can then be piled up with more, a bit at a time, until it all goes i up with a roar; so, too, will vour , neighbour, if the wind happens to be 1 blowing his way. * * * * Another inquiry was about forcing - rhubarb—a simple process really, [ which, at this time of the year, pro- ; duces Jong stems of a delicate blanched pink colour. 1 Scrape the soil away all round the clumps to a depth of two inches, i till in with manure, mound the soil 1 all round about a foot awav from the 2 outer edge of the clump to hold the r water, then cut out the top and bottom of a kerosene tin and place I this over the clump. As tins are t lair I y scarce in the city a box will v do the trick equally well. 1

I Modern Fruit Trees Designed For I Small Gardens t pLANTING of fruit trees, which g was held up for some time on 1 account of bad weather, is now going ahead rapidly in Auckland, e and the next two months should see many young orchards estab--1? lished. , There is one point, however, that the enthusiast should bear in mind Imagine the fruit quarters some 10 „ years hence, with trees and bushes ;.. fully grown. Picture the room they t will need then and remember that e now is the time to space them . correctly. ■j When planting any kind of fruit r tree or bush at this time of the year the points calling for greatest n emphasis are: Dig the ground e deeply, breaking up any hard subn soil, and work in some rotted manure or good top-spit soil where the 1 ground is at all poor and starved. Plant firmly and not too deeply; mulch every tree and bush when planting is finished—that is, spread some decayed vegetable matter on v the surface; and give them ample ;* space. )t Dwarf-Growing Trees ?s Many persons have the idea that a big garden and a lot of open space 's are essential to grow fruit. That is n not the case nowadays, of course. >> It is safe to say that there are few gardens so small that a useful quantity of fruit cannot be produced in ly them. ir With apples and pears, most b- people find the dwarf-growing bush and pyramid-shaped trees most suit.'d able. 3t" Better still, cordons or espaliers te can be planted in ji line along the of path-side, against the house wall, or as a division between the flower and p. vegetable plots, to screen off a ie corner, and so on. ze The big standard plum and cherry m trees are fine in a roomy garden, but bushes and the space-saving fan-

Feed the plants from time to time with sulphate of potash, and the sugar content with be greater. j Many inquiries are still being, made about pruning fruit trees. An I interesting one concerns pears. The j writer, from Henderson, says that i some of the branches of last season's growth are long and bend downwards. This is, of course, common with j some types of pears. But if the tree is bearing well it is best to prune only moderately. Shorten the leading shoots of the past summer's growth, those at the ends of the branches, to 3 2 inches. All side growths on the main branches should be cut back to about three buds. If. however, the tree has been fruiting badly and makes excessive growth, cut the shoots even less j severely. Root pruning might help these along as well. Yours for a better garden— \V. GORDON*. — '

trained trees against a wall or fence are easy to manage, cast no shade over other plants, and are, as a rule, much more dependable croppers. Gooseberries and red currants can be grown in the smallest gardens. Raspberries take up little more than a row of peas or beans, if planted 18 inches apart in a long straight row, and will last for seven years or more in full bearing. As for loganberries, boysenberries and the other "climbing" berries, these can be trained over pergolas or archways, and will provide many pounds of welcome berries every summer. Excellent grapes can be grown outdoors against a sunny wall or along a fence. With established fruit trees, feeding is necessary now to strengthen the blossom buds. A good mixture is 4 parts superphosphate, 2 J parts sulphate of potash and l£ parts of sulphate of ammonia, well mixed and given at the rate of Jib to each square yard of ground occupied by the trees.