GARDENING

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXIX, Issue 13240, 16 January 1941, Page 7

GARDENING

(By C. CAMERON).

the vegetable plot January is one of the most important months in the vegetable garden. Apart from the hundred and one jobs which have been neglected during the holidays and which mast be attended to at the first opportunity, this is a very busy month as reI gards providing autumn and winter supplies. Sowings should be made of cabbage, cauliflowers. French or butter beans, carrots, parsnips, lettuce, radish, turnips, peas, leeks and swedes.. Soak the soil well before sowing or transplanting plants. The past month has been a very drying one for the gardener and those who have kept the cultivator busy will feel the benefit. Surface cultivation, and particularly the continual use of the hoe, breaks up the surface into coarse-grained particles with such large inter-spaces, that capillary attraction ceases as soon as it meets the upper layer of the well worked soil. Conscientious and untiring efforts with the hoe are more remunerative in times of drought, than the severe labour and serious expense incurred in watering any large extent of ground. When soil is nearly dust, dry nitrification ceases; cultivation in dry weather not only preserves the soil moisture, but also keeps the nitrifying organisms busily employed. In warm damp soil, the rate of nitrification is very great, while, cold and drought retard its activity. It is very necessary to keep the tomatoes sprayed against blight and caterpillai' and keep them securely fastened to the stakes or the heavy winds will soon loosen them and allow the air to penetrate to the roots which is fatal. The best spray for tomatoes and one which can be readily made in every home is—to one gallon of water add enough Condy’s Crystals to colour the water a deep rose pink, and one tablespoon full of powdered ' allum, this will prevent both blight and caterpillar, spray about once a fortnight. The early onions can he harvested as soon as the tops begin to turn yellow, there is nothing to be gained by leaving them in the ground until they burst or run to seed. THE FLOWER GARDEN In the flower garden work -should be pushed on with the sowing of annuals such as antirrhinums, pansies, violas, Iceland poppies, primulas, wallflowers, anemones, ranunculus, cinerarias, stocks, and early -flowering sweet peas. The greatest care is necessary in sowing the very fine seed at this season. It is better to sow in seed boxes as it is the more under control. Keep the boxes in the shade, or shade with some material such as scrim, etc., and be sure and protect the young plants until they are strong enough to withstand the elements. Anemones arid ranunculus are amongst the favourites for early spring blooms, and although it is a little more trouble to raise them from seed than by planting the bulbs, the results will amply repay the little extra attention required. It is best to sow a little seed now for early blooms, but the main crop should not be sown until March. Both anemone and ranunculus require a well drain‘ed, deeply dug soil, they like plenty of moisture but will not stand stagnation. The stock is another first favourite, and is very valuable for early blooms. On account of their delightful fragrance and wonderful range of colours, the stock has become one of the most popular flowers in our gardens, although they were in danger of losing their popularity owing to their susceptibility to collar-rot and wilting, but with the application Chestnut compound this danger is easily kept in check. Stocks like a good rich soil and plenty of lime. To get good sturdy plants, it is necessary to transplant from the seed box into a well prepared nursery bed before transferring them into their flowering quarters. Never discard the small plants, the weaker and smaller plants of a batch of seedlings almost invariably * * produce a large percentage of doubles. In selecting doubles there are two distinct types. One type has a leaf which is distinctly wider at the top than at the bottom, in the other type the reverse is the case. The former are invariably doubles. The latter seem to work on about a 50-50 basis of singles and doubles. When transplanting from the seed box, .select the'right type,.lift it carefully and snip off with a pair of scissors about a quarter of an inch from

the tip of the tiny tap root. If you plant without this precaution the tap root will go on lengthening and when your stocks are put into their final quarters they burrow deeply into the sub-soil and will not make surface roots. Long tap rooted stocks in which the doubling character has not been absolutely fixed bear single flowers nine times out of ten.