HOME GARDENS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 15, Issue 78, 4 August 1950, Page 6

HOME GARDENS

(By J. S. Yeates, Massey Agricultural College)

FRAMES AND GLASSHOUSES At this time of the yeai’ it is appropriate to refer to the use of frames and glasshouses. Not only do these structures allow us to grow many things we otherwise could not but also they give us a chance to start our young plants earlier in the spring than we otherwise could. Of course not every gardener by a long way is interested in frames and glasshouses. That is why they are rarely mentioned in these columns. The keen gardener may already have both, but there is always someone anxious to build them.

The frame is of course simplest and cheapest. You should to able to buy a sash ready glazed for well under five pounds. The common size is six feet by .three feet. Yo\a can then build your frame to suit it. The sash should be made of good timber. Redwood is my choice but totara is also good. The frame to fit it, in its simplest form is a box-like affair, at least six inches higher at one end (the three-foot side of the sash is the end) than at the other. There should be a scant - ling about two inches below fthe upper edge of both sides, and the higher end, but flush with the lower end. This is for the sash to fit on and slide along. I have made my; own frames of totara board and scantling. The higher end in my case is two feet over all, and the lower one six inches less. That height is enough to take most plants. The closer plants are to the glass the less likely are they to be “drawn up,” so you may need to put boxes of seedlings on top of the other boxes.

The building of a glasshouse is too big a job to be dealt with fully here, but at least the gardener can have a few hints. •

First of all, the type of house depends on what you are going to 'grow. If it is grapes or tomatoes, then you need a house with vertical walls and slope both of glass. If it is for growing plants on benches, or for propogating, then the walls are best made of concrete or brick up to bench level, or slightly higher. You can then run your glass in a straight line from the top of your wall to the ridge, saving quite a lot of work. A handy size is to have walls four feet high, bench about nine inches lower, the total width of the house about nine feet, and height in centre between eight and nine feet. This givs a handy small house with three-foot bench on each side, a three foot path for barrow down the middle and enough height not to feel cramped. If you think of building such a house, have a look at a good one to get some ideas. Use only the best timber —redwood or totara—and galvanised or brass nails or screws. If you happen to have two different levels on your land it is often possible to build a glasshouse that it not only very good, but also cheaper than usual. This is done by excavating a trench say three feet wide and three feet deep, starting from the edge of the higher ground. The trench will be your centre path, the benches will be the earth on each side, and you need not build any side walks. Such a hoase retains the atmosphere humidity better than the ordinary type, and that is a hdlp in the summer. Prepare For Spring

The busy season in the vegetable garden is now approaching, so an effort should be made to have all possible jobs kept up to date. Unused ground should be dug over when the soil is not too wet. After digging ieave it rough for the frosts to work on it. Clear away all weeds and rubbish. If your compost heap is well rotted, dig plenty of it in when you are doing digging. It is a good idea too, to buy in some manure, so that you have them handy when needed. I usually buy super by the sack (the 100 pound paper bags are handy), dried blood likewise by the sack, and potassium sulphate in a smaller amount. Ammonium sulphate may well be bought by the sack if you use it on your lawn as well as in the garden. Sodium nitrate is used mainly for forcing some of the greens, and only a few pounds are necessary. Dried, blood is best kept by putting the sackful in an old 44-gallon drum and covering with a lid. That prevents rats, mice, or even dogs from making a meal of it.