IN THE GARDEN.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17629, 5 December 1922, Page 5

IN THE GARDEN.

WORK FOR THE WEEK. (Bpeciallt written for "the pews.") (Br J. T. Sinclair.) ANSWERS to correspondents. Polyanthus.—Make the sowing in pots or boxes filled with a mixture of loam, leafniould, and pand that has been passed through a fine aievo. First fo&Jc the soil with water, then sow the c eed, and stand the seed pan in a ccld frrime or glassc? oil an '* bottom. Cover the pot 3 with glass, and the glass with paper. When the seedlings nppeur rcai°j° &* ass * continue to provide ?j j during times of bright sunshine. ■Harden the seedlings gradually.

VEGETABLES. Early Potato2s.—lmmediately the tubers of a particular batch are large enough for digging, the crop should be lifted and stored, it does not matter if the skins rub a little, but no good would result from leaving them in the ground, which will thus be immediately available for some other crop. Mould up the late plantings as the plants come to the proper stage of development, and where cauliflowers or other greens have beea placed between the rows of mid-season potatoes, the halum may be lifted up and a fewStout stakes placed at intervals to secure a string. This will allow more light to reach the plants. Runner Beans. —The earliest plants should now be running freely up the stakes. A good mulching of decayed manure placed on eitl er side of t e row will prove beneficial, and should be applied whilst the ground is moist. Those sown later should be staked immediately the plants require support, and in showery weather the young growths and surrounding soil maj be given dustings of soot. Cauliflowers.—Continue to plant out cauliflowers for late supplies, making each plant thoroughly firm in the soil. The hoe must be used frequently between the plants, and plenty of water must be supplied to the roots directly they are in need of moisture.

FKUIT. Vines out of doors. —The season, up to the present, has been all in favour of outdoor vines, and should fine weather continue there is every prospect of the berries reaching full maturity and ripening, which, m some seasons, is an impossibility. As soon as the bunches are clear of the foliage, and it can be determined which are required for the crop, the others, together with the surplus growth, should be removed. Leave those bunches that are best placed. One of the chief mistakes in growing vines out-of-doors is permitting overcrowding of the foliage, which is harmful not only in excluding air and light from tlie vine, but in harbouring insects and favouring mildew. Mildew is a common disease of outdoor vines, and unless it is checked, either by. spraying with lime-sulphur, or dusting with dry sulphur, may entirely ruin the crop. 1 do not advise the training of the young shoots until the berries are set, not only because they are brittle, easily snapped, or. liable to be twisted out of their sockets, but a hanging bunch has a better ohance of distributing its pollen through the whole, resulting in a more even set of the berries, and a better shaped bunch. The laterals should be pinched at two or three leaves beyond the bunch, according to the space tliey are required to furnish. Ail sub-lat-erals growing below and against the bunch should be rubbed clean out as soon as they develop: those above the bunch should be ' stopped to one leaf. When the bunch approaches the flowering stag** pinching the shoots should be discontinued until the berries are set, otherwise the vines may experience a check, which will'prevent the capsules being thrown off freely, and the berry, if it sets, will become illshapen. It is always best to train r young canes on outdoor grown vines. These shoots should be tied now and stopped when they are from 4ft to 611 long. The pinching and stopping of outdoor vines are as important as in the case of those grown under glass. The wood scarcely ever becomes sufficiently ripened to prevent bleeding when pruning is practised, therefore the less winter pruning the better for the crop. The bunches may be thinned, aljftwiing (not pore <tha|n ojne on a single lateral, in eveiy case choosing the first formed'. This will secure a more even crop, which in itself.has many advantages, whilst over-cropping, as in all fruits, produces harmful results. These vines are usually neglected as regards moisture at the roots. Planted as they often are in sheltered places, they do not get as much rain as plants in the open. If for no other reason they should be well supplied with water.

PLOW££S. Cyclamen. —'l'iie corma which were resieU alter flowering snouid be iuwsa Run tiie oici soil ijiiaiieu away. Ally oiu decayed roots stioiuu be cut bacii. Tue conns snouid bo replanted so tiiat the crowns are just above tne surface in a border wiiere ieai-soii and sand lias been worked in. With the exception oi giving a watering now and again tney will give no further trouble ior some time to come. Chrysanthemums, —The plants intended to produce large blooms should now have their final potting. Begin with 'the most forward plants, and when 'turning them out of the pots carefully remove the drainage, as mutilated roots are a serious check. The following proportion will be found to make a good compost for the potting: Two barrow loads of good fibrous loam, half load each of leaf-soil and well decayed manure, one nine inch potful of bone-dust, five inch pot of soot, four inch pot of superphosphates, half' bushel of coarse sand. Plants of Japanese varieties to carry three flowers should be put into 10 inch and incurred into 9 "inch pots. All types require good drainage and firm potting. Well water the plants before turning them out. Stand in a .shaded place for a dav or so after heing potted, then bunch the pots close together for a week or so before setting them out in their summer quarters. Syringe overhead now and again, and he careful not to overwater or the soil will become sour and many of the roots —This is a good time to clip box edgings. If it is done early in the snrina the tips are liable to turn brown. "When box has been neglected, it is not easily got in order again. If it must be cut hard back, showery weather should be chosen for the purnose or it should be watered heavily and frequently in the evening m order to Tielo the young growth. Even then 'some of the old wood m»y not be able To break and may die. It is, therefore, safer to cut back gradually, a little one vear and a little more the next. Box edging is a favourite retreat for dugs during the day. F°r wh,ch reason it is often condemned but on the _ ionj it simnlifies the task of such as anbretia and awbis, must also be cut back occasionally, when t*°y encroach too much on the path. The shoots taken off can be as cuttings. if a shaded corner can be found f °ArS'roo+s readily, Tvnt anbretia . rather wro A.flVnJvJS.HV if the poll is heavy. This, however is the only way except layenne, as the varieties do not come true from seed.