IN THE GARDEN

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21652, 10 December 1935, Page 5

IN THE GARDEN

*— WORK FOR THE WEEK (SPECIALLY WRITTEK rOR THB PBESB.) [By W. J. HUMM.] ANSWER TO CORRESPONDENT Aster —From nine to 12 inches apart according to the variety. A free, sandy loam suits asters best. Give the seedlings a good soaking before transplanting them, and, if possible, plant them out after a shower or in the cool of the evening. Water the soil where the asters are to be planted with water containing Condy's crystals. Use just enough to turn the water pinky white. Repeat the watering several times during the summer. This will act as a preventive against collar rot. VEGETABLES The warm weather has had a most beneficial effect on the growth of all classes of vegetables. To keep the soil up to its work, stir it frequently, and should dry weather be experienced, the soil moisture will be retained and the crops will make healthy growth. There are few households where salads are not acceptaole during the warm summer months, and all the vegetables used for this purpose should be young, fresh, and succulent to be of real value in the kitchen. In the production of salad vegetables, only small quantities, just sufficient to supply the needs of the household, should be sown. Many attempt to make one or two sowings suffice for the season. When this is done, the crops get old, toughen up, and are of little value for the purpose for which they are grown. A pinch of seed of each kind sown every few weeks will keep up a supply, and if given the attention they require, the plants should be crisp and tender, and fit for salad. Continue to make sowings of lettuce, radish, onions, mustard, and cress. Tomatoes are largely used in salads, and for this there are none more useful than the small fruited kinds. These bear fruit a little larger than red currants, and instead of being sliced they are used as gathered off the plants. There are in this section both the red and yellow fruited kinds. Continue to plant cabbage and cauliflowers, and make further sowings of peas and beans, both the dwarf and runner kinds. Vegetable marrows, pumpkins, and cucumbers may also be planted out. Tomatoes planted out now should give a good crop. Up to the present the weather has not been good for those planted earlier. Tomatoes will not make headway until the soil is warm. Thin out all crops as soon as the plants are largo enough to handle. Quite often this important work is delayed until the young plants are crippled. If this happens, disease will often appear. A good, robust plant is less liable to contract disease than one in indifferent health. Make a small sowing of yellow flesh turnips. They stand the heat much better than the white fleshed sorts. Put in a pinch of parsley seed, for this will be suitable for winter use. Prepare the land for planting out the winter cabbages, cauliflowers, and broccoli. Give the soil a good dressing of lime before the plants go in. Make trenches to plant out the main crops. Celery and leeks, too, should be planted. Make another sowing of spinacli. During the summer this vegetable will succeed in partial shade. Spinach requires good soil, and any well-rot-ted animal manure dug in when preparing the soil will have a marked effect on the quality of the crop. Potatoes may still bo planted. Make a sowing of the turnip-root beet which will be useful for salads. FRUIT The pear slug will soon be appearing on pear and cherry trees. This pest, if allowed to go unchecked, will cause much harm to the foliage. Where the attack is severe, the slugs will eat all the green matter from the surface of the leaves, and when this happens the leaves cannot function. Therefore it is impossible for the trees to build up fruit spurs, on which will be borne next season's crop. Arsenate of lead is the spray for this pest. Always spray when the weather is tine and the foliage dry. Continue to spray to control the codlin moth on apple, pear, and quince trees. Spray with arsenate of lead for both pear slug and codlin moth, using one teaspoon to the gallon of water, or lib to 50 gallons of water. Spray also for the control of brown rot, black spot, leaf curl, and mildew. Cosan colloidal sulphur will keep these in check if used at the strength of loz to three gallons of water. All trees should be sprayed thoroughly; each branch and both the upper and under surfaces of the leaves should be coated with the spray fluid. Raspberries and loganberries are promising well this season. Both the quantity and quality of the fruit will be improved if the plants are topdressed with well rotted manure or k several applications of liquid manure are given them during their fruiting period. : FLOWERS The weather is much improved and the soil is now in good condition for getting the remainder of the bedding plants into their flowering quarters. All those warmth-loving subjects, such as zinnias, heliotropes, salvia bonfires, nasturtiums, ageratums, and such plants, may be planted out with safety. Roses will need careful watching; there is much green fly and mildew about this season. Hot water and Sunlight scap are effective against green fly. Water heated to a temperature in which it is possible to bear the hand will not injure the flowers or foliage. Blackleaf 40 at the rate of one teaspoon to the gallon of water is also effective. For the fungoid diseases, use cosan colloidal sulphur at the rate of one ounce to four gallons of water. Cosan also prevents green fly and other insect pests. All bulbous plants such as narcissi, hyacinths, and tulips may be lifted as soon as the foliage dies down. Most perennials are making rapid growth this season. The tallgrowing kinds should be staked and securely tied. Thin out all spindly growths, which use up much energy from the plants. Shut out air and light and reduce the quality and quantity of the flowers on the main stems. Chrysanthemums in the borders may be cut back to within 15 inches from the soil. This will cause them to grow bushy and produce many more flowers next autumn. To get strong, bushy wallflower plants to plant out in beds and borders next autumn, the seeds should be sown during the early part of the present month. Where only a few plants are required, the seed may be sown in boxes and pricked out when | large enough, as with other annuals But where large quantities are needed, the best plan is to sow the seeds in the vegetable or reserve garden. When preparing the soil to receive the seed, remember that these plants will do much better if lime is present in the soil. Sow the seed in drills as when sowing vegetable seeds. Make the soil fairly fine. The seed will not germinate well if the soil is coarse and lumpy. Better germination will take place if the seeds are shaded from the heat of the sun. A few branches or thin scrim serve the purpose. The seed will germinate quickly, and the covering must be removed as soon as the plants are well up or they will grow spindly and damp off. By January the young plants will be large enough to transplant in nursery rows, where they will remain until planted in their flowering quarters next autumn. There are now many beautiful varieties of these popular springflowering plants to be had. The following have been well tried out and are worthy bedders, and represent a good range ol colours; Volcem, Giant

Ruby, Orange Bedder, Fire King, Primrose Monarch, Giant Pink, Eastern Queen, Cloth of Gold, and Blood lied. SHRUBS The broom family has flowered®well this season and several'of the plants are bearing many seed pods, if the welfare of the plants is considered, they should be removed, and the best way to do this is to cut back the growth which carried the blooms, leaving only about six inches of the growth made last season. Do not cut into the hard wood, only the young growths should be removed. , The Philadelphus family, or mock orange as it is commonly called, is a useful group of plants. Most of them have white or creamy-white blossoms, and although many despise white flowers, nevertheless these free-flower-ing plants are valuable, coming into bloom as they do at present, when good flowering shrubs are scarce. The family contains many, varied forms; some are but dwarf growing, others grow into large-size plants, and most of them bear sweetly-scented flowers. Two outstanding kinds, worthy of consideration, are microphyllus and P. virginale. The former is a native of Arizona and has been in cultivation in New Zealand for many years, though seldom met with in gardens. The plant is a dwarf grower and is one of the daintiest of flowering shrubs. The flowers, which are borne in. great profusion, are star-shaped, white, and fragrant. Where a neat dwarf shrub is desired, this plant should not be overlooked. Philadelphus virginale is of hybrid origin. It is a tall-growing plant and produces masses of large double sweetly-scented flowers. This is quite one of the best of the family. All members of this family of plants do best when planted in full exposure. They seldom flower well when growing in shade or where they are root robbed. .