Useful Hints For Gardeners

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 304, 23 December 1943, Page 3

Useful Hints For Gardeners

gALSIFY, sometimes known as the vegetable oyster, is a useful root crop to sow now for the winter, and makes a good VEGETABLE substitute for parOYSTEK • snip. To grow it well, a porous soil of a sandy or peaty nature is best, but heavy ground that has been well broken up will serve quite well. No manure should be added to the soil at sowing time; the plants are most profitable in soil that has been manured for a previous crop. If the ground is definitely in need of manure, some can be buried a foot below the surface so that the salsify roots do not reach it. too quickly. Sow the seed about an inch deep and four inches apart, in drills 15in apart. The roots should be lifted before there is too severe frost and stored in the same way as other root crops. * * * * JT is doubtful whether there is anything conimqnly grown in our gardens which is so rich a source of vitamin C as VALUE OP parsley. This is the PARSLEY vitamin which tends to be lost when foods are cooked, preserved or dried, therefore parsley should always be added at the last minute just as the dish is to be served. An English authority points out that for anyone run down or anaemic a parsley sandwich will do the work of an iron tonic much more agreeably and cheaply. The seeds should be sown now, preferably in a box, as they are slow to germinate. When large enough to transplant, set the seedlings out in a sunny position about 9in apart. During dry weather never allow the bed to become dry. Parsley does best in a soil fairly rich in humus, and makes an ideal edging. * * * * CHRYSANTHEMUMS grow best in full sun and away from other plants. Their culture is simple. Soil should CHRYSANTHEMUMS be friable, deep, and contain leaf mould, cow manure or bonedust. Compost can replace the cow manure. During the early stages of growth fortnightly applications of liquid cow manure and soot water will benefit the plants, but this should cease when the buds begin to show colour. Give liquid manure only after rain or a thorough hosing. Chrysanthemums need water in a dry spell, and plenty of it. To spinkle, specially at night, usually brings on mildew. * * * * HTHOSE living near the sea should use as much seaweed as possible for fertilising. Salt-loving plants, such as asparagus, sea SEAWEED kale, beet and celery FOR MANURE thrive on it, but it is a fine fertiliser for almost any crop. Rich in nitrogen, potash, iodine and other salts, seaweed decomposes at a rapid rate and thus becomes quickly available as a plant food. It can readily be converted into compost, but is usually dug in in trenches, ft is particularly good for encouraging the quick growth of potatoes. * * * * IVOW that early summer warm and moist conditions are again prevailing, lawns are growing with a will. This is the TOrDRESS time to cut the grass YOUR LAWN short and apply a thin topdressing of light soil which will not dry hard and crusty. Do not use sand alone, because it is of too shifty a nature and keeps moving into hills and hollows, forming an uneven surface. It also causes a spongy condition which makes the job of mowing haidei. Use soil with a bit of body and substance in it. After the grass has been cut as short as possible place a layer of topdressing about halt an incL thick evenly over the whole surface and rub it in with the back of the rake Do not water the lawn until the grass grows through the top dressing, after which systematic . watering, rolling and cutting wilj assure a lawn of which you will be proud. The cutting part is easy ii the surface is kept firm and leve and the mower is kept sharp anc properly adjusted. + F there is any sign of pear leech on pear or plum trees spray with arfenato o^l^^he^ove HOME apple trees and thin SHE'S ?.„„, should be removed. Use a Spray of arsenate of lead, one tea goonful to the gallon, to contro codlin moth.