IN THE GARDEN.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 19986, 22 July 1930, Page 8

IN THE GARDEN.

WORK FOR THE WEEK. [' : (SPECIALLY WBITTWI. *o*l THB PRISS.) [By J. T. SixctiiK.] .VEGETABLES. Hotbeds —The time. is fast approaching when the making? of one or more hotbeds will claim attention. For the guidance of those who have had little or no experience of- this work, a low remarks on' tho making of these useful aids to. the gardener in the spring may not be out of place at til© present time. Frosh stable manure is necessary if one wishes to have any sort of heat worth while, but this can bo helped out a lot by an addition of tree leaves that were saved wlieu theso were cleared up. These should be A\eh mixed together and turned over about every other day, making a point of throwing the outside of the heap into tho centre, and tho centre placed on 1 lio outside. Shake up thoroughly as the work proceeds. If the manure is at all dry it should be well damped with water as the mixing goes on. This will'soon bring up the heat, and the turning will get the whole into a proper state for the making of the bed. About tho middle of August is a, good-time to make up a bed for the raising of half-hardy, bedding plants, such as heliotropes, petunias, lobelia, phlox, etc., also not ; forgetting antirrhinums of various colours. When the bed is ready it is advisable to putin'about six inches of good sou, and stock plants of such things as salvias, heliotrope, fuchsias, Marguerite daisies, etc., can be taken -.out ol their pots and planted.in the bed by laying them flat in the frame, when in a short time these will L'ive plenty of cuttings, which can ; be taken off 'aftd struck in the same frame. For a siug'o light frame of sav. six -feet by three feet, tho bed should bo from 'eighteen inches to two feet wider all round when tho frame is placed in position. This allows for a lining to be put on all round tho outside of the frame, of the same material as the bed is made up of. This should reach, right to the top of the frame, and is most necessary in the early spring to help keep up the heat in the frame. Manure for hotbeds is fairly hard to get nowadays, but where it is plentiful, a good plan 'iß to start with the smaller frame, and in about a month's time —tho middle of September—another and larger bed that wjould accommodate a two light framo could be built up, and when readv could lie used to carry on the plants that havo been raised in the small frame, as by this time the heat in-this.will.be declining somewhat, but will still bo useful for growing on the plants that by this time should be ready for pricking oft' into boxes from the seed pots or pans. Good coverings should be put on every night, whether frosty or not, as this will materially help to keep the temperature of the framo from dropping too low during the night. If the frames are intended j'or the growing of melons and cucumbers, provision in the way of soil should be made for these when the bed or- beds are made. For melons ' last week's notes. For. cucumbers quite a different soil is necessary. This should be of a light, rich nature, viz., good turfy loam with plenty of leaf mould or vegetable compost mixed with .it. For an ordinary family, one light should be enough for. cucumbers, this being large enough to take two plants. If these are sown-'in three-inch pots when the bed is ready, and plunged «p to their rims in the l*cd, tltey soon oomo up. and when large enough, should be planted out in tho framo, wltero they will soon grow into hearing, • the first, cueunibersi -being looked lor. about tho third, week in October. ' 'Cfiro -should he taken at all times in tho matter of ventilation, and shading, as the sun's ravs get hotter in spring. Cucumbers need more shade than melons, and the' small seedlings and cuttincrs being grown in the frame call be easily attended to in this respect by a newspaper inside the frame.

FLOWERS. Th« >p>'ing is drawing near and one's thoughts in the garden turn to seed-sowing to supply plants to mak© a display during the summer. Unless one haa hent afc command it is soon enough yet, but preparations can be made at the present time by getting the soil wanted ready by mixing: Equal parts of loam, leaf soil; and sand should be prepared by mixing thoroughly and putting where it wjll not get drenched with wet in the I event of much rain. All pans for the ' reception of the seeds should be well washed and dried, also boxes should be, got in readiness, as it is much better to hare all these things done in time before tho actual sowing of the seed tis contemplated. Before sowing, tho | .soil should be passed through a half- } inch sieve. Havo the boxes or pans well drained by placing some broken pot or something similar in tho bottoms, placing the rougher material got bv riddling tho soil over drainage. Fill up with tho prepared soil and finish off with sorao finer soilput through a very fine sieve, pressing moderately firm before, sowing. - Seeds (should not be sown too deep. A covering- of about the depth of the seed is mostly about right. Very fine seed, like begonias, should not be covered. In sowing , these very fine seeds the pans should be prepared. and then be given a good watering through a finerosed can, allowing the soil to drain for a, time; then proceed by sowing carefully, no covering of soil being needed, but a sheet of glass is better to be put over the tmn to prevent evaporation. In dealing with packets of fine Seeds, it is always safer, when opening the packets, to do this over a newspaper spread on the bench. It is rather a ticklish job when hands are not too steady, and if an accident should orcur, 1 the seed can be retrieved from the paper. ■ Outside, if not already done, the ground for the sweet peas should b» got readv by. trenching, burying some gopd manure in the bottom as the Work is done; leave the top as rough as possible, as the frost and rain will help to sweeten the soil. !

FRUIT. The Fig.—The fig can be coupled with the melon as an uncommon fruit not much grown here. In the older countries it is considered a great acquisition to the list of dessert fruits. In largo establishments in England a house or houses are. used entirely for the growing of figs. Where an adequate arrangement • for heating is made, two.crops of fruit can easily:be secured during the >vear. In fact, where an early start is made in the year by. forcing, it is not uncommon to get : a third crop. It is not a very satisfactory fruit to grow outside in the Midland and Northern Counties, but on the South Coast they do extremely, well as bushes or small trees. The growth of the fi'g is of a rather succulent, nature, and if grown in .too rich a,soil the .tendency tb make sappy wood is aggravated, therefore' this suggests. the advisability of pil.a,ht: •lag in a soil of poorer quality; or taking some means of restricting ; the growth of the roots. Soil composed of a mixture of* loam and brick rubbish or mortar rubble is suitable, this being rammed -fairly- firm, and the surrounding ground-is-better.if left on-the firm

side, as the object is to get the tree to make short arm growths, as these are more likely to give a crop of fruit than wood of a sappy nature that is riot ripened well. Root restriction can bo ■ accomplished by making small pits of bricks and fillinc the insides of these with the prepared soil. A situation fully exposed, to the sun and wellsheltered should be chosen. They succeed equally well on walls, or in the open ground An ideal tree _ tor cropping is one that bristles with hard, ■short-iointed wockl. This can bo achieved by pinching out the points ot anv strong-growing shoots in summer, also by attention by pruning in the winter in the way of cutting out any weaklv shoots and not allowing the branches to become too close together. Only one crop can bte looked for in Canterbury and any second crop fruits that appear should bo ruthlessly picked -off- as these won't come to maturity and onlv rob the plant. By doing this Jn time the added strength goes to embryo fruits at the points of the young wood, which will eventually be i the crop'the following year. This will show the necessity of not cutting the points of the shoots but leaving tjiese intact. Brown Turkey is a snlendid variety to grow. White Marseilles.is a hardy sort, fruit roundish; and flesh white. If grown tin- an unheated house and given good attention. the second crop ripens perfectly. Propagation is carried out either by cuttings, layers, or suckers, cuttings root easily it' inserted in a well-drained rooting mfedium and will soon grow into bushes. Layers are perhaps the quickest way to secure a fruiting tree, as branches of a considerable-sifce .may be layered into the ground where, as soon as rooted,, these can be detached and planted into their permanent quarters. I