Garden Notes RAPID COMPOSTING

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 65, 11 December 1943, Page 8

Garden Notes RAPID COMPOSTING

A Simple Formula

ANSWERS TO INQUIRIES (By “The Hoe.”) .Many requests fur a simple quickacting compost formula have been . reeeived dui-inf; the past few days. J hat which follows will meet the requirements of those who wish to make a start with this useful form of manure. Decay is essential to continued life ou earth, and'thc compost-maker merely accelerates the work of nature when he intelligently hastens the process. Decay is actually a biological process and is brought about by various families of micro-organisms (fungi, bacteria, etc.), much too small to be seen by the unaided eye. blarthworms also piny their part. These unseen workers break down tough fibres as well as soft tissue, and, in successive stages, transform our orange and banana skins, carrot tops, potato peelings, lawn clippings, weeds and general household waste into brownish-look-ing spongy soil, which, under favourable conditions, represents a complete plant food. But these unseen workers require feeding while at work on the breaking down of plant and animal tissues if they are to do their work efficiently and speedily, and that is why we have found that the addition of substances called “accelerators'’ make it possible to transform waste into humus in a matter of 90 days—a process that nature unaided takes up to two years to. complete. These accelerators are also important plant foods (they include blood, bone, potash, and animal manure), so that they serve a double purpose. When collecting material for composting make use of anything of an organic nature. From your kitchen you get such material as vegetable scraps and scrapings, odd pieces of bread and cakes, bits and pieces of meat, fish and fruit, tea leaves, coffee grouts, and a dozen other uneonsidered trifles. These are all potential wealth, for the greater the diversity of material that goes into your compost, the more complete will be the finished product. From your garden there are the soft hedge cuttings, lawn clippings and weeds of every description (preferably lifted before they have seeded). The Formula. Now to the actual making of the compost heap: Excavate a pit six inches deep, 4ft. wide, by 6ft. long. Fill the sixinch hollow with lawn clippings or any kind of vegetable waste. Cover with a two-inch thickness of farm manure (preferably horse or cow) and sprinkle with a 2-inch layer of finely pulverized soil, which has been liberally mixed with wood ashes. If ashes are out available, mix soil with 2oz. sulphate of potash. Sprinkle two cupfuls of slaked lime over soil. Apply another six-iuph thickness of refuse (including seaweed if procurable) and saturate with liquid animal manure. (If unprocurable, sprinkle with 2oz. sulphate of ammonia). Cover with a twoinch thickness of soil mixed with 2oz. of dried blood, or 3oz. blood and bone. The above “sandwiching” process can 'be repeated till the desired height is attained, usually about 4ft. 6iu. TVheu the final layer is placed in position, place two tablespoonsful of vinegar in a gallon of water and pour it over the heap (this adds a useful growth hormone). Then seal by covering with a four-inch layer of earth. 'The next step is to drive a crowbar or a strong pointed stick into the heap in about a dozen places to provide adequate aeration. Finally, place an old sack on top. Keep the pile reasonably moist, and at the end of three weeks turn the compost, end for cud, mixing it thoroughly. Then put two one-ounce packets of Epsom salts into two gallons of water and spray it over the heaii with a watering can. (That will help to correct, any magnesium deficiency). Cover again. Three weeks later make another turn. A fewweeks after the final turning, the material should be ready for use. Dig the humus into the top nine inches of soil and sow or plant as required. Work For December

The most important task in December is to provide adequate supplies of moisture for growing crops. Watering in itself is not enough to maintain soil moisture in really hot weather, and mulching is necessary.

The ideal mulch is one that (a) prevents undue evaporation from the soil on which it rests (b) acts as a sponge by storing up moisture to he gradually released (c) is rich in plant food which provides a steady flow of nutrients for the growing plants. The best form of mulch is a 2- or 3-inch thickness of thoroughly decayed compost. Leafffiould, really old animal manure or lawn clippings also make useful mulches. AA’ater tbe soil before applying a mulch and then saturate the mulch. What to Sow: Make further sowings of peas, dwarf beans, lettuce, beetroot, main-crop carrots, swedes, parsnips and radishes.

What to Plant: Lettuce, cauliflower, tomatoes, celery, leeks, silver beet. Keep the soil lightly hoed to keep down weeds. Answers To Inquiries Oriental Iris: Mrs. U. K. P. (Wellington > writes: “A friend of mine in California urges me to grow oriental irises, but I cannot find them listed iu nursery catalogues. Cau you tell me what they are?” —Immediately following the attack on Pearl Harbour. American nurserymen chauged the popular name of Iris Kaeutpferi from Japanese Iris to Oriental Iris. Chinese Gooseberry: “.Puzzled” (Napier) bus a Chinese gooseberry which refuses to set fruit and seeks the reason. — Male and female flowers are borne on separate plants, and unless the two sexes are graftetl on to u single vine it is necessary to grow a male aud female plant close together. If you care to scud a (lower from your vine I shall be glad to tell you its sex. Grass Grub: This pest is eating the roots of iccland poppies in the garden of Miss J. K. (Palmerston North). Prick a little horticultural naphthaline, into the soil round each plant—-very little. The gas developed when the naphthaline becomes moist will kill or disperse the grubs: Another me.thod is to dilute permanganate of potash iu water at the rate of two teaspoonsful to a gallon and soak it into the soil round the plants. Plants for Identification (Miss R. A. 1:1., Lower Hutt) : (1) Chrysanthemum maximum. Uster Reed, commonly known as double shasta daisy; (2) Daphne encorim; (3) Lonieera liildebrandiana. commonly known ns Burmese honeysuckle. Diseased Swede Turnip (B. R. J.. Wellington): The turnip lias a disease commonly known as brown heart, which is caused by a deficiency of boron in the soil. You cannot save flic present erop. but before sowing again apply borax to your soil at. the rate of loz. to four sq. yards. Just; lightly prick it in a week or two before sowing. Pear Tree Won’t Set Fruit: “Amateur Orehardist,” of Levin, lias a pear tree which flowers profusely but fails to set fruit. —Many varieties of pears cannot set fiuit unless they receive pollen from the flowers of another variety. To ensure satisfactory results, plant two or three varieties of pears within 20 or 30 feet of one another. Lifting Bulbs: “I have a number of tulips and daffodils I want to lift 'o make room for a display of zinnias. Is it safe to lift them now?” asks Mrs. I’. M. F.. of Wellington.—Bulbs should not be lifted fill (he foliage turns yellow — that is. till the. food manufactured in (lie leaves Ims been stored up in the bulbs. Tlicv can be transferred Io another corner of the garden, however, if lifted with a fair amount of earth and kept well watered. When the foliage loses its green pigment, the bulbs can be filially lifted and dried off.