Pruning And Spraying Main Tasks In July

Press, Issue 32345, 10 July 1970, Page 6

Pruning And Spraying Main Tasks In July

V Unless your garden is in 7 a favourable situation it is \ best to defer the sowing of A vegetable seeds until next •) month. Little if anything is W gained but much can be lost s) in the cold damp soil at present. In those cases where the soil has been warmed up over the past few weeks by means of cloches, mini-glasshouses or perhaps clear- polythene, sowing can be to advantage. Under such conditions lettuce, carrot, beetroot, peas, cabbage and cauliflower can be sown. Shallots, garlic and chives can be put in. These are most 'useful standbys for garnishpng many dishes and flavouring sandwiches, and provide good alternatives in one way or another for onions. None require special conditions for I average results but they do ; reward extra care if it is given. Shallots are more delineate in flavour than garlic, which may not be to every- [ one’s taste because of the rather pungent smell. Chives [should be kept cut and not allowed to. develop rank growth which is not very tasty. Growing Rhubarb Now is a good time to lift and divide rhubarb which has been growing in the one place for more than three to , four years. The plants can : be dug up with a spade, with ( which they can be split up ( into pieces or sets, as they ( are correctly called, each of j Which should have at least

one strong bud with a well developed fleshy bit of root [attached. Bruised or dead I material should be trimmed I off and removed from the site before planting. A rapid I if more laborious method of multiplication is to take root cuttings and plant these about 12in apart until good root systems have been developed. Planting distances must be adjusted to suit the variety and soil but from 3ft to 4ft square is the most practical spacing for vigorous ones | The sets should be planted i with the crown bud resting just level with the soil surface. or in light land just a little below it. The reason for this is that as the plant ages it gradually pushes itself ' more and more out of the ground. Rhubarb thrives in sunny as well as shady locations: [if it is to be harvested early lit must be in a warm ano sunny position. It is sensitive to waterlogging, thrives best on a near neutral soil and responds to organic matter. A good complete feritiliser mix for new and old stands consists of 5:10:2. sul[phate of ammonia, superphosphate and sulphate of

i potash, respectively, at the, s rate of 4 ounces per square! . yard. Rhubarb can be forced into growth now and the t resulting stalks can be very s tasty indeed. Plants can be t either covered with straw and t then with a box or lifted and kept in a dark, warm , place. During the period in ; which light is suppressed the , plants should be kept moist ! by sprinkling with a hose ’ every few days. ’ Asparagus is another long • term crop for planting any ’ time now when soil condi- ■ tions are suitable. Plants 1 would be set out at 18in inter- . vals, sin to Bin deep and in ; rows 24ft to 3ft apart. Lighter soils will require the deeper ’ planting. Approximately 20 to ’ 30 plants will provide enough ' asparagus for a family of four. Some thoughts could be directed towards the coming ' growing season. Stakes can be checked, possibly dipped in a preservative or painted; tools repaired, sharpened or replaced; fertiliser needs assessed (it is always cheaper to buy this in bulk lots rather than in small quantities); past records can be checked for rotation schemes; seed orders made up and so on. Fruit Section Pruning will be in full! swing now and it is at this! time that suitable material [< can be selected for making[, cuttings of many bush and! climbing fruits, or for graft-i[ ing of top fruits later. It is! of paramount importance to!

make selections only from! j the healthiest disease-and-pest-free, vigorous growing [ previous season’s (one year old) wood, preferably of known varieties. If these precautions are not observed, undesirable characteristics may be perpetuated, or failure may result. The bare tree, bush or I vine provides the ideal opportunity to study these plants; closely to learn something of their growth habit, their current vigour, fruiting habits; . and potential for the coming! ; season, prevalence or other- 1 [wise of pest or disease, and , response to last year's pruning. These are most of the assessments which a skilled , pruner makes automatically before tackling each plant , and such awareness is a . major step towards success ’ and understanding of the art I of pruning. Pruning Skills s Again it is emphasised that | I [one should have a reasonable! -[appreciation of pruning pro-; . cedure before venturing forth ! II to snip a bit off here and! .[another bit there. It usually' .[happens in such cases that! flail the young growth is cut| off or severely shortened.) [resulting in a dearth of! flower buds. Again, in an endeavour to stop vigour, i trees are often severely cut back, an act which mostly results in the directly opposite results. . Some ideas on how to go [ [about the task can be gained from reading or from practical demonstrations. Next , learn to differentiate between the maturity of the various parts of the shoots, pick out , | fruit buds and so on. Then [start by cutting out all badly J positioned, crossing, dead or

•[diseased limbs. Also make ~l experimental cuts on some of your trees. Cut some shoots back hard, others less so. and [leave some entirely uncut or [even remove them altogether.; Watch their progress during; the year and examine them closely next winter and I’m sure you will have learnt a considerable bit. Ornamental Section Many trees and shrubs, parI ticularly deciduous ones, respond to pruning immediately after they have finished flowering: forsythia, philadephus, weigela and cur-

i rants to mention but some. ! However winter provides the opportunity to deal with the great majority ineluding evergreens. This list is too extensive to provide here but includes hypericum, abelia, hibiscus, viburnums (berrybearing not winter-flowering ones), buddleia, spiraea, and rhus. Many ornamentals suffer from similar problems of pests and diseases as do fruiting subjects. Scale is one of the most common and rapidly debilitating pests of all and usually is not recognised as such until too late. Silver leaf can be a great destroyer of many plants and is unfortunately far too prevalent to dismiss lightly. Lichens, moss and algal growth can often cause not only disfigurement but decline in vigour. In all cases similar remedial measures to those taken with fruit trees apply to ornamentals. Remember, however, that red oil must not be used on evergreens, but use white oil instead; some plants, notably viburnum, are sensitive to lime sulphur. Any large pruning cuts which are made should be promptly sealed. Transplanting Trees

Now is an ideal time to [transplant trees and shrubs; [which may have outgrown; ! their positions, but check [whether they will tolerate [such handling. A large pro- [ portion of Australian and [South African natives, and ; quite a few indigenous to New Zealand, are intolerant

although some can be moved with very big root balls. Wrenching of plants several months before shifting them usually pays dividends as it results in quicker re-estab-lishment, but this is not always possible. When a large specimen of a particular plant has been moved it is often advisable to, prune it back a bit to counter-balance loss of roots. Firm staking may also be sound policy.. With the steady availability of new plants at this time of the year, considerably more planting than usual is normally carried out now. Don’t forget to remove wrappings, soak the plant thoroughly in water if dry, tease out the roots a little from a tight root ball, remove the label, avoid an air pocket beneath the plant when putting it into the ground and plant firmly. Hardy annuals such as calendulas, scabious, sweetpeas, candy tuft and poppies can be sown outdoors in milder areas. Bulbs will be pushing their way up through the ground now and where it is desired to force them cloches can be used to good effect. Tulips,

>!freesias and daffodils provide s[good examples of bulbs which i[ respond to such treatment. t[ In warm glass houses quite : a number of different kinds - and variety of seed can be Hsown, tuberous begonias, 1 cyclamen, gloxinia, strepto- >[ carpus and asparagus fern 1 are but a few suggestions.