IN THE GARDEN.

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 19502, 26 December 1928, Page 7

IN THE GARDEN.

WORK FOR THE WEEK. (SPECUiLT WKI'i'IJLN 708 TBE lEISS.) (By J. T. Sinclair.) ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. H.W. —You can give your asparagus beds drenching: witb bedroom slops, but the latter must be well diluted or damage will be done. You can do this every three weeks, making surs that the soil in the bed is moderately moist before applying the liquid. VEGETABLES. Celery.—Varieties such as Henderson's White Plume and Golden Selfblanching should be in good condition for 'pi antin £ out Give the 8011 which the plants are growing a good watering an hour or so before lifting the plants. After lifting them carefully with a trowel, break off any sidegrowths which may have formed. Nine or ten inches is ample space to allow between the plants, and the soil should be made moderately firm about them in the trench. A good watering can be given after planting is sone, and it a slight shade can be given tor a. day or two it will be an advantage. Light stakes of brushwood, laid across tne trenches will afford efficient shade, a dusting of wood ashes, given carefully a week or so after planting, will oe beneficial, and the application of soot is calculated to check the ravages ° r celery fly, as well as stimulate the plants. , , . Peas. —The variety of pea put in now should belong to the second early section, as the season is too far advanced to put in a late sort. Crops podding should be given a good soaking or water whenever the soil is dry. Potatoes. —Plantations of all kinds should be earthed up when the plants are fit. The crop- will be increased in bulk and improved in quality if the soil between the rows gets a dressing of potash in some form. Wood ashes ar© excellent for the purpose. FLOWERS. Wallflowers.—Sow these in ordinary garden soil without manure outdoors, give the bed a good dressing of lime, raking it well into the soil, tread moderately firm, and sow very thinly m drills Bin apart and Jin deep. The Greenhouse.—Ventilate freely during the day, and also at night, when the weather is mild. Only when stormy winds occur should the ventilation of air be restricted now and onwards. Keep the floor, walls, and stages frequently wetted to provide atmospheric moisture when the outer air is hot and dry. Syringe shrubby plants in the morning and evening. Winter flowering plants, such as azaleas, will be better accommodated in a frame than in the greenhouse during summer and early autumn. They should be set on a cinder floor, which must be kept moist when the outer air is dry and warm. Watering must be carefully attended to, plants in pots that are filled with roots maj require more than one supply of water during the day, and there is little danger of overdoing the supply if the drainage : s good. Fuchsias and njany other soft-wooded plants may be increased by cuttings readily now if wanted. An old packing case covered with pieces of glass to secure a close atmosphere will serve very well as a propagating case. bottom heat '.vill be required, but the bottom of the case should be covered

with sifted ashes deep enough to plunge the pots to the rims. When the cuttings are in keep the case close and moist and • shaded from the sun's rays till the cuttings show signs of having emitted roots, when air can be admitted by degrees. When fully rooted transfer young plants to other pots and as they make progress pot them on. Old tubers of gloxinias will soon be throwing up blooms. If .carefully hardened off they will last in flower for a long time in dwelling rooms or windows. Plants raised in heat in spring will soon be large enough to transfer to their flowering pots. Five-inch pots , are the most suitable size for these ! plants. Cockscombs intended for decorating the greenhouse during February should also be placed_ in their flowering pots. If it is possible fo plunge the pots in a.gentle heat much finer will be developed. Watering.—The recent rain has done much to improve the appearance of the garden. It has ■ provided much needed moisture for the thirsty soil, and its beneficial effect, already considerable, will be completely realised after a spell of warm weather. To keep the garden in its present condition during a-long, hot, dry spell artificial watering must be resorted to. Rapid-growing plants soon , suffer when sufficient moisture is lacking. Seedlings, too, soon wilt in dry ground. All newly-planted seedlings give more or less anxiety until they have become firmly established arid are beginning to grow well. By neglect or stint of watering, scores of carefullynursed seedlings may be lost in one hot day. The best possible start is given these small things in dry weather by soaking the soil the evening before planting them. Thereafter, water them copiously every evening while the drought lasts; and there should" be little trouble.

It would be a good thing, of course, if artificial watering were never necessary. But, unfortunately, the need of it does frequently arise during a fine summer, and it is well the amateur should eschew the worry and adopt the right methods when watering is urgently required. Exparts will tell you to beware of the indiscriminate use of the hose-pipe, and especially of the practice of sprinkling the surface of the soil through a fine-rose spray. This process, they very rightly contend, merely damps the surface, and does not allow the moisture to penetrate to the roots. Some, however, are not satisfied with uttering ■ this warning, and proceeded to condemn the use of the hose altogether, and suggest a reliance on the watering-can . and water which has been made warmer in the sun, and a preference for rain water. Excellent advice—if it were practicable. Unfortunately, it is not. Most amateur gardeners do not possess a water butt; nor do they employ a staff of under-gardeners ready at their beck and call to fetch and carry large quantities of water. They have not the leisure in which to do tne work themselves, and they find the garden hose indispensable. But the hose must be used intelligently. It is a mistake to water plants I in bloom overhead when the sun is shining fiercely, to depend solely on the finely-rosed spray, to be content with a mere sprinkling of the surface, and to direct a cold stream directly at Ihe plants. The right methods are: 1. To water late in the evening. 2. To water thoroughly, so that the moisture shall penetrate right down to the thirsty roots. 3. To direct the .water to the soil rather than at the plants and their foliage and flowers. This suggestion applies only to periods of very hot weather. If the atmosphere be dull and cool, there ia little danger of chilling the plants and causing injury by directing the spray over and upon the foliage. Indeed, the light stream will act as a cleanser of dust and insect pests, and the health of the plants will benefit accordingly. 4. Water the garden, if it be a large one, in sections. Completely saturate one section at a time, and repeat the process on succeeding evenings until the time comes to operate on the firstsection again. 5. Stir the surface of the soil thoroughly at frequent intervals. Hot sunshine speedily cakes and hardens the surface of damp ground, and unless this be counteracted the plants will suffer more than if they had never been xatereS,