IN THE GARDEN

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20988, 17 October 1933, Page 5

IN THE GARDEN

WORK FOR THE WEEK vSCKCIALLY WRITTEN FOII THE PRESS..) (By ,f. T. SINCLAIR.] ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS Amaryllis—As soon aa your li i pj>bosl rmilfi, or amaryllis as you fall llifin, go out of H'iivit, place tlum back in Iho greenhouse and encourage them to make n good growth bv a plentiful supnlv of water, and they should hare some manure water ofciipionallv to lu'lp tlipm along. Continued success with tho.-e I'lants (k'lipnils in a great measure on good cultivation (luring the growing Salsify—The, best time to sow tin; seeds of salsify is at the end of this or the bo. ginning of next, moutl!, and as in the ca-e of tap-rooted vegetables gpnprally, ilit- ground for their cultivation should bo five from fresh manure, but. well worked. Sow the seeds thinly in shallow drills drawn about. 15 inches apart. Subsequently thin out to from nine to I-J inches apart. C'.lf.S. —lf you desire to sow your own polyanthus seed, now is the time to select the llowers to produce seed. Any plants witli flowers above the average, or with colours which you fancy should be marked, either by placing a stake at them or bv I ving a piece of worsted round the stem. I'.W'.M.—liarbarosa grapes require stopping, tying down, and disbudding the same as the Hamburg. When thinning time comes you will have to loop up with ral'lia, the top shoulders to the wires. If the bunches an- large, the. secondary shoulders will need to be looped up also. The safe rule for amateurs its regards the v. eight to take off each rod is lib to Ift of rod run. That is. if your rod is I (ifi long take off l"lh. When a heavier weight is taken off liarbarosa tin) colour of the berries is not good, the bloom is not good, and, altogether, the bunches have nol a good finish. The .idlc-liko nodules vou see adhering to leaves and stems are natural. It you sulphur vour house, these nodules will probably go black but no harm will Azabuis—When the Indian azaleas in your greenhouse are past flowering, syringe th.-m frequently in encourage iheui to make good growth. When growth is tinished. give cooler quarters for a tin;", when they can be placed outside until the autumn. Croat car.- is needed to see that they do not 'want for water. Anxious —The nnlv wax. other than poisoning the ground, to get rid of the patch of horse radish is to keep the Dutch ir.i going, and never allow a leaf to ■-hmv above ground. If you do this voi: v, ill get rid of it. dnee horn' radish become- established persi.-tent hoeing is tl nlv means of eradicating it without u-ing a wed killer. CURRENT WORK A mowing (>r savoys for autumn use can be ;.til in. also a --owing; or broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower. The seed bed should be well prepared, and get a good dressing of lime to prevent club-root. Should the weather and soil be dry at the time, give a soaking over night, bring the surface to a fine tilth, and sow thinly. Protect the bed from the ravages of bird-; by means of wire-netting or cotton.

Salads arc appreciated all the year round, but are. most appreciated during the warmer months of the year, and it behoves the good gardener—and in term gardener all amateurs are included—lo give some thought to salad plants at the present time. It is much better to grow one's own plants, if possible, as by doing this one is always sure of having the salad fresh and crisp. It will not need a great extent of ground, but the soil should be well worked and made fairly rich by the addition of some well-rooted manure. A position handy to the water supply will be an advantage in dry weather. The secret of growing good plants for salads is in growing them quickly, and this cannot be accomplished when the soil is dry. Sow lettuce, radish, mustard, and cress, a little at. a lime, at. short intervals. Sow the cress a few days in advance of the mustard. A sowina of New Zealand spinach can be made. The quality of this plant when cooked does not equal that of ordinary spinach, but as it mows well in the hottest weather, it is useful as a substitute. The plants grow to a large si/.e, and should be allowed a space of 2ft (Jin each. Three or four arc ample for an averagesized family.

Vegetable marrows, jjumpkiiis. and squashes, fronch beans, and hardy cucumbers can be sown, and frame cucumbers planted out in cold frames. Potatoes v.'hieh arc appearing above ground should be gone over every other day, and have a little soil drawn around them as a protection from frost. Continue the stopping and lying down of vine shoot:-. As fruit Irees go out of ,'!o\vu\ spray with a mixture of lime sulphur and arsenate of lead lo control black spot and codlin moth. Trees planted last autumn should be made firm at the roots, and should not suffer from want of moisture. liaspborry plantations should be gone over and all suckers not required" for next season's crop removed. A few extra can be left if a new plantation is contemplated next winter. Keep a sharp look-out for aphis on peach and nectarine trees, and spray with some approved insecticide when the pest is detected. Also spray for leaf cur!, if this has not already been done.

Violets should be planted at once ii it is intended to make a new bed tins season. Make the ground rich and dig it deeply. Use rooted runners as they make better plants than old woody portions. Bedding plants ha, are large enough should be hardened of] gradually. Hardv subjceis such as antirrhinum', and* stocks can be finally planted out if well hardened oil'. VEGETAULKS I'unner Beans-In almost every garden, in lown and country, one finds runner beans. The reason is that they arc one of the most profitable crops, com inning to bear pods for ,-, considerable period. Moreover, the plants have; considerable decorative properties, in fact, for a long time they were used almost exclusively for 'effect., such as covering walls, fences, and arbours. Now, however, they' are gro vn chiefly for their pods. A row of plants makes an effective screen to hide a less pleasant portion of the garden. To get the heaviest crops the site should be one that gets the mavjmurn amount of sunshine, and where I here is a free circulation of mr. To be sure of a good crop, a trench can be ibrown out, and a liberal quantity of manure placed 1 herein. Make Ih'e latter (inn by tieading, and fill up wil.li the best of the excavated soil alter which the seed can be sown! arranging in a double row, each seed eight to 10 inches from its neighbour. Cover with about a couple of inches of soil, and the whole, when finished should leave the trench a few inches below the level of the surrouudim' ground. This allows for nlcntv of •■aler being applied to the roots'during hot weather -a very important precaution whilst the plants are in flower. When Hie soil is allowed to become dry. many flowers clroo off the plants before they have served their purpose, and far less pods are set than ought to be. The usual way of growing runner beans is to draw out a drill with a hoe, on land which has been recently manured and dug over one spit deep. In this are sown the seeds. The fact that the plants root deeply is entirely lost sight or, and very often little or no provision is made for applying water easily during a spell of hot weather. A poor crop is the resuft. As the plants continue to flower for- a long time, water shouid be given whenever the weather continues dry for any length of time.