GARDENING NOTES.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 23, 27 January 1912, Page 14

GARDENING NOTES.

(By "ExpeHonce.") THE FLOWER GARDEN. The present; may well bo a very busy time. Although tho garden is, or should be, now well filled, yet there it* tho future to look to, and many thingß may bo done now. Wallflowers intended for' spring massing "should . bo sown at onco if not in before. This is a flower that does not show its best when in scattered plants; good solid masses are best, and also special colours, or varied tones of tho same colour should be grouped together. The golden varieties, the mauves, and the old brown all look best if grouped in considerable numbers by themselves. To do thi* requires the raising of a good many plant* of each and keeping them carefully apart. Perhaps there are no more showy plants for massing than tho dwarf antirrhinums. A good strain of true dwarfs is well worth working for; probably it will not be got all at once, but a process of selection should bo undertaken, for tno dwa.rf« vary much in habit, and only the bast are really worth while. They can be purchased in packets of seed of separate colours, but it may be >best to purchase a packet of mixed colours and select from them. A good-sized bed of whito, and various shades of yellow to old j gold, and edged with semporvivumß, which also should' be allowed to flower, makes a* handsome a summer bed as one i m&ht wish for. The magenta tints, which are usually spotted in some way with white, are just as good if edged with dwart white ageratiim, or ' the whitefoliaged cerastium. To get the plants at the right tune the seed should be sown soon. It is nofc necessary to sow in boxes unless preferred; the seed is easily raised in the open ground, and tho young plants may; bo .pricked off into a bed in tho open. • All biennial plants are best sown in autumn from, this time till early. April; they theh flower the following summer, whereas if they are" not sown till 6pring they do not flower,' till the following year. _ Want of necessary ostre in the preparation of soil and boxes is often the cause of failure for whioh the seedsman is blamed. A case has just'.como under my notice where failure •to raise seeds caused the unsuccessful-., party to warn others against a certain' nitot.. the fault was the rough, way of Bowing, ''ft -should be recognised that, however careful one may be, failures will sometimes occur, which points to the importance of taking proper care. Seeds which germinato in a few days seldom give troubloj they are up before the soil gets in bad condition. Even then a slug or Wo 'niiyy | wipe out tho whole < lot in one 'night. Frames require cleaning out occasionally ; i remove weeds and any kind of rubbish,.. j and give a good coat of lime or salt to | kill slugs; a sprinkling of Vermorite will j keep ivoodlice out. Extra valuable seed's oan be kept safe from all insects if they are surrounded with water. A pan may be filled with water, place an inverted pot in the middle, and stand the* pot or pan with the seeds in it on the' inverted pot. Frequent top watering .also causes losses by disturbing the seed just as it is germinating, or by making the surface olose, or by washing the seed , into the soil. Precautions should bo taken to avoid tof> watering as far as possible. The "soil should be Well watered before the seed is sown, theh covet with a sheet of newspaper, and a sheet of glass over that; or, failing the j glass, use brown paper, which is strong; weight it with a piece of wood or something of the kind. If top watering booomes absolutely necessary, it should be done through a fine rose. Those' people who have not that appliance should lay a piece of paper on the surfact of the soil — a small piece only; pour the water on the paper, and then lift it gently off. This will' prevent, washing the seed. Or if the seed is in a pot, place it in a tub of water of sufficient depth to roarh more than two-thirds "the height 'of the pot) leave the pot in the water till the soil is well saturated. Petunia seed and small seed generally will require no covering of soil; scatter it evenly, press with a dry brick or board, and "cover as described. Larger seed may be ' sown in tiny drills made with a pointed stick, or spread evenly on the surface and coverod with a thin layer of fine compost. With this care taken failures will be rare. In all cases care must bo taken to admit light as soon as the young seedlings appear. Boxes outside may be protected from slugs by laying a ring of agricultural salt around them. | Bulbous plants generally are very easy to grow, yet there are degrees in success, and the best can be got Irom them only •when conditions are good. Boil should be of a. nature that will never bind ; it , should never lay wet and sticky about the bulb?, and the top growth Bhould have no difficulty in forcing its way through. Deep cultivation should be retorted to. If tho soil is not of the character described, endeavours should be made to bring it to the desired condition before planting. Half-decayed stable manure has a lightening effect on heavy land, so also has vegetable matter of every kind: sand and burnt earth, and ashes from rubbish fires are of permanent benefit. Oow manure _ should , never be ' dug into heavy 'land ; in f&ct,' moderately heavy loam is changed to » heavy and sticky nature, becoming very hard in dry weather if cow manure is dug in, *nd it will take years to reolaim it. The same substance is, however, highly beneficial on light land,, adding to it« cup-, stance, and preserving moisture. Roues are very much troubled with mildew this season, due to the very changeable weather. The most effoctive and simple remedy is dusting with flowers .of sulphur. The easiest way to apply it is to enclose it iv a fine muslin bag arid shake it over the plants in the evening, when the foliage is damp .with dew, roI peating it as needed till the mildew ■ disappears. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. ■ Spinach for tho winter supply may be put in »t *ny time now. If a supply is wanted for earlier use it will be wise to ' provide separately for 'that, .for the bed to J last over winter will .require different treatment. To prolong growth the plant* thould be thinned *s toon m they are up to 9in or'lQin apart,, so that they develop into dwarf ami sturdy plante, and are prevented from running to seed, a thing they ..Will bo 'ess prono to do as the ■\Vettihor , gets cooler, but which they ai'& sure, to "do .if left crowded. Much thinning is not necessary for a passing crop, for to a- largo extent it may be treated market garden fashion—that is, pull plants whole and trim off leaves fit for use, thus gradually thinning, and getting a quick return. At this time the laet planting of French beans should be put in. Unices you are content with a problematical small crop, it would be useless to 6ow long after tliw date. I have sometimes got a light crop towards the end of April by sowing in. the third week iv February, but it is not certain. Sow turnip, radish, lettuce. Those who prefoi young carrots to large ones should sow a smttll patch now j they are really very acceptable to those who like them young and eweet. Marrowe and pumpkins are making a very poor show so far ; there is still hope that they may ahape up fairly well yet — nil depends on warm \>eather. I would not, adviso _ any checking of growth at this time, it helps to get a, good utook of roots; but if A tho plants kogin to run freely then I would 6top tho leading shoote more generally than is usually done, co as to foroe out tho lateral growths, whioh are the mostfruitful. Carefully attend to tomato plants in the way of preventing waste growth. It will ' require warmer weather than has prevailed of late if wo are to get much satisfaction from our plante this eeaßon, but wo must do our best. Look* should ' rno6tly be planted by now, so as to secure good growth, before winter. Their chief value is in spring, therefore anyone having very advanced crops would do well to plant sbmo mordi.fnofiv a. later towing, for advanced crortn' are nearly certain to go to fe«*d oavly Unless they a.l'o used up before; spring, whereas a later let are 'hot likely to go to seed till the end of October. Tho leek* are thus m use during tho two months of frequent scarcity— September and October. Silver and spinach beet should b« Bowa or planted ugw.

■

AMB£ftj [TIPS

"TIPS