IN THE GARDEN.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20620, 9 August 1932, Page 5

IN THE GARDEN.

WORK FOR THE WEEK. UfECIAIJ-f WHITTIX ■ you TSB MIESS.) [By J. T. SiNOLAia.j ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS ScJiizanthuß—Yes, they can be used in bods and borders • for summer decoration. Itaige in boxeß in your greenhouse about the end o£ this month. Sow thinly, transplant the seedlings into other boxos when large enough, and plant out where to flower in the second halt of October. You can also sow the seeds, where th» plants aro to bloom, about tlio middle of next month. Tina—As there was no pest, either insect or fungoid, on your vine last season, the rubbing of the bark off the rods need not bo severe. You will, however, have to be careful not to injure the eyes of the spurs. It is a pity yon delayed pruning so long, for although there is no bleeding nt the wounds «t present, it might occur yet when tlio sap begins to rise. As the buds grow tho bleeding will stop. Cheviot—Spread carbide is good for 1 the garden, if used sparingly, about two ounces to the square yard. It contains lime, and combines with nitrogen gas. Trenching a vegetable garden every year is, of course, beneficial if time to do it can be spared, but the plots to contain the root crops aro tho ones which should always be treuchad. Fowl manure cao be used direct from tho fowlhouse. It is best spread oti the surface and hoed in, before sowing or planting, at the rate of half cwi to the rood. It can bo stored for future use, but should be kept under cover. CURRENT WORK. Plant shallots in rows a foot asunder, or as an edging, allowing six inches between the sets. It must be understood that all operations mentioned should be only when the ground is in fit condition. Sow peas and broad beans, the lattci, if possible, in heavy land. Sow a few cabbage and cauliflower seeds on a warm border facing north. Complete the arrears of digging and trenching with the least possible delay. Prepare ground for new beds of asparagus. , , New plantations of rhubarb can bo made. Keep the crown two inches below ground level. If old cro\vns aro being broken up, use pieces with one or two good buds. Autumn-sotvn onions can be transplanted; allow 12 inches between the rows, and from four to six inches between the plants, according to tho size of the bulb desired. Seed beds can be prepared; those for brassieas can be dressed with lime to prevent club-root. Rose pruning can be undertaken, and climbing roses not yet attended to should be seen to at once. Hedges can bo cut back and trimmed now, both evergreen and deciduous. Roses can still be planted, as also can fruit trees and bushes, ornamental trees, and shrubs. Frnit tree pruning should be completed as soon as possible. Spray fruit trees to ward oil'.insect posts. Red oil emulsion is best for present spraying. VEGETAPLES. Broad Beans —If broad beans are wanted for summer use, it is essential to sow them early. For beans the soil requires to be in good heart, and heavy soils are lietter adopted to their requirements than the lighter qualities. If the soil is light, liberal matiuring is therefore necessary. I It is a matter of taste whether the seeds be sown in single or double rows, but overcrowding of the plants must bo avoided, as beans crop best when they have plenty of growing space, and, as in the case of all crops grown in drills, these should* where possible, run north and south. If they aro to be sown in single lines, the drills should bo drawn at not less than two feet apart, and the seeds inserted not closer than six inches. If they are sown in double rows, a broad, flat-bot-tomed drill, three inches deep, may be formed, and the seeds inserted in two parallel rows about five inches apart, , w ith a distance of nine inches between I the seeds, which should alternate in the rows. Cover tho seeds and make tlio soil firm, but not compact, and rake the surface level. If double rows are adopted, the distance apart tof these should'not be less than thirty inches, but it is a good plan to sow beatjs at wider intervals, and to utilise the ground between the lines for growing vegetables which prefer a little shade, snoh as lettuce or spinach. It may be mentioned that spring-sown broad beans are not so subject to rust as are those sown in tho autumn. Early Peas—These are best grown on a border with a northern aspect, and preferably on ground that was deeplv dug or trenched, and liberally manured for another wop the previous season. A dwarf early variety should be used, such as English Wonder, William Hurst, and Litt e Marvel. Another fine early variety, is The luot, but this is, however, twice the height of tho others. The succeeding sowings should be made at intervals afterwards, a good rule being to make another sowing after the last one is well through the ground. The first sowings should be ot dwarf early and second-early kinds, and, if stakes can be procured, followed by the tall-growing main crop varieties, and finishing up sowing for the season in the early part of January by reverting to the early dwarf kinds, lhe earliest sowings should be rather thicker than the later ones, as the thicker the plants are placed the more moisture they need, and no artificial moisture will be required for the early sowings for some time to come. Supplying late peas with water during all stages of their growth is usually necessary. After the ground has been levelled, draw a drill the full width of the drawhoe blade, fully two inches deep. Scatter the seeds evenly over the bottom oi the drill and cover with soil, slightly firm it, and finish with the rake. If dwarf peas alone are sown in parallel rows, their distance apart should be at least two feet for the dwarfest kinds, a row of some other vegetable, such as lettuce,' cauliflower, or other suitable kind, being introduced later in order to occupy the ground after the peas have been harvested. In the case of tho early sowings, should cold winds prevail after the plants havo got above tho ground, a little soil may be drawn up against them for protection. It must bo understood that when the intensive system of growing vegetables is adopted, that is, growing two different crops in the samo ground at the same time, the land must be in first-class condition. FLOWERS. Rose Pruning—Although there is not much difference of opinion as to the time of pruning in fche case of rambler roses of the Wichuriana type and some others, there is considerable diversity of view among rosarians regarding t e time when the dwarf kinds should be pruned—that is, the hybrid perpetuals, hybrid t#as, teas, and several othera. In the case of the ramblers ot the Wichuriana typo and others, theie is no fixed time of the year for pruning, as they are not perpetual flowering Their llowering periods, which last only for a limited time, vary, some being much earlier than others. Pruning consists mainly in cutting out at ground level the shoots which have served their purpose, so as to throw

the whole vigour of the P li ? nt ' 1 the younger shoots, from which to best flowers are produced J n u ° case of the Wichuriana and othei» o that tvpo this should be doue a montli or so al'wr the flowering period k over, in-order to afford sufbcient tin o during the growing season JoiJ younger shoots to make as , ' growth as possible, and not to am,. the energy of the'plant i» produciii« material which is not wanted. When wo come to deal with to dwarf roses, which arc more genei.i j grown tiian any of tlx; others, no ma - ter what tho typo may be, ve aro faeed with a dilfcrent problem. ,J» the ramblers tho main shoots vni' 1 are produced from the root, or fioni tho shoots near the roof in 0110 season, produce flowers from the lntoials m the following season. vSo do tlio dwarfs. But as the desired object 111 tho case of the ramblers is a ,m<i ss of bloom, there need be no restriction of tlio natural growth of the main stem. It is irue that in tho ease . 0 ' eomo of the dwarfs the same practice may bo followed, ami magnificent displays can be obtained by pegging down somo of the strong-growing shoots. The general rule among growers Is to commence the pruning of the dwarf roses tho first half of August Some hold the view that pruning may be done much earlier. The great danger of early pruning, however, is that it a spell of very fine weather sets 111 after it is dono the buds may bo stimulated into premature growth, and, were severe frost to follow, they would sustain a severe check, which would probably retard their after-growth to a much greater extent than would tho removal of fresh growth by late pruning. In the case of Wichuriana and polyantha ramblers, and so on, there 18 less chance of their being damaged by frost at tho height they are trained from the ground than there is at ground level, for it is at the surface of the ground, more especially in clear weather in spring, that tho air falls to its lowest temperature, and all lowgrowing plants suffer most injury. We have a familiar example of this in the blackening of the leaves ot early potatoes which sometimes occurs in November, when the atmosphere is very clear and nocturnal radiation is very active. In the case of dwarf rose? there is much wasto of material involved in pruning, but in most cases it is unavoidable. With hard pruning most of the shoots formed in tho previous season are removed. The amount of material thus formed is, however, a fairly safe guide to tho pruner as to how severe the pruning should be. If he is dealing with very vigorous-growing kinds it would be folly to hard-prune the plants, as be would probably thereby induce them to produce still stronger shoots, with few, hut probably good flowers. In order to avoid this, the pruning should be as lightly dono as possible, or a hotter plan woul.l bo to peg down tho shoots and thus cause the buds ulong the shoots to develop as flowering shoots. On the other hand, if (he plant is a weak grower tho buds which aro allowed to remain muse bo small in number, for if the plant has iin inherently weak constitution it would be folly to lay it under tho exhausting task of carrying a larger number of shoots than it can carry. If the plant has a weak constitution, it will give evidence of this in its behaviour, and tho pruner must act accordingly. Tiie rule, therefore, must be to studv the character of each variety as regards its constitution and habit, and apply the Kind of pruning which will produce tho desired result, and the weaker the constitution, other thing* being equal, the more severe must the cutting-back be. In every oaso the .shoots that are to originate tjie new growths must be carefully .selected, and all the others, including all weak, spindly growths, should be excised. The cases mentioned aro the two extremes of vigour, and between them • tliero lie .1 large number of varieties of moderate growth; and in tho case of tlio majority of these, after the shoots which aro to I>o retained have been selected, and all the useless sprays cut out, they may bo pruned back to from half a dozen to nine buds for ordinary garden decoration or cutting, but if exhibition blooms 11 r 0 wanted the number of buds must bo further reduced. The centre of the plants should lie kept, open, and the bud left on the end of the shoot should point outwards; Jn every case, however, newiv planted dwarf roses should bo cut hard back at the first pruning. Standard plants are pruned in precisely tho samo way ■as dwarfs, with the exception that if the heads aro becoming unduly large the shoots ar c cut a little harder back.