GARDENING NOTES

Evening Post, Volume XCVIII, Issue 22, 26 July 1919, Page 11

GARDENING NOTES

(By "Experience.")

THE VEGETABLE GARDEN.

■\Vhere stable manure can bo obtained it is to bo preferred to anything else. It should not bo used in a green state, but should bo turned over several times to ensure even decay, and is fit to use when the straw ie mostly disintegrated—when, in short, it is in tho condition known as half rotten. The heap should be thrown into a conical form, so that most of the rain that falls on ib will run. off instead of penetrating it. Some amount of rain is euro to penetrate the heap, and is necessary to promote fermentation. ' The manuro should, if possible, bo placed on a. plot in the garden while it ia being prepared for use, then the drawings from it will enrich the' ground instead of being lost. Academicians a.re teaching, new ways with manure; they say it should never bo turned, and should be stored under cover. That might answer if the manure wcro ' specially selected; it no doubt would, and bo best. However, anyone who has handled much manuro knows that if it is kept from rain, and not turned over a time or two, most of it would sta.vo to be burned to get it out of the vray. Stable manure is good for any kind of land; the lighter the land is the heavier the manure should be—that is, the more rotten. Cow manure is good for light and sa.ndy soil, very bad £or heavs; .soil, which it may make unworkable; it is not so valuable as stable manure. Sheep manure ia richer than stable manure, but has the disadvantage of being full of grass seeds that will grow and make the garden a paddock. Fowl manure is of considerable value if kept dry; the best -way to treat it is to mix the fresh dToppings with an equal weight of superphosphate or gypsum, and store in a. dry place. Either of the fertilisers mentioned will prevent the escape of the ammonia in the droppings, which is their chief constituent of value. About seven pounds por square rod of the mixture ■ would be a good dressing. Fertilisers are mostly required to supply phosphoric acid, potash, and nitrogen ; these with lime are the, chief things Teqnired by crops. _ Speaking roughly, stable manure supplies nearly, all that is wanted, but generally is deficient in potash. Sheep manure has a notable amount of nitrogen above that in stable manure. The chief phosphatic fertilisers are basic slag, bonedust, and superphosphate. Basio slag is non-iacid; bonedust and superphosphate are acid, with the exception of the super known as basic superphosphate. This has a considerable amount of added lime, and is non-acid. It is useful where the soil is deficient in lime, but its use is a punishment for neglecting to lime the soil, for lime so bought is expensive. Potash is contained in sulphate of potash, muriate of potash, kainit, nitrate of potash (saltpetre), wood ashes, and small amounts in some other compounds; nitrogen in fowl manure, some in sheep manuro, in saltpetre, but specially in nitrate of soda and spilphate of ammonia. The latter is not easily leached out of the soil, so can be applied early in the season.. It is only slowly available, is therefore good for crops that take some time .to grow, and require a steady supply rather than a fillip, euch as' tomatoes and potatoes. Nitrate of soda is a forcing compound, because it is quickly' available, "being _ very soluble. Bipod manuro is also a nitrogenous fertiliser, with a small amount of potash. Soot is a complete manure, containing phosphoric acid 4, nitrogen 2.4, potash 1.0, phosphates being rather short of the required amount. Kainit is usually the most economic potassie fertiliser; it contains a considerable amount of common salt, and should be applied early in the season, so thai it may become purified, by the time the plants want it. WHAT TO SOW NOW. Current work' in the vegetable garden: Sow cabbage, cauliflower, peas, lettuce, radish, broad beans, parsley. Plant cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, rhubarb, asparagus whero the soil is warm, garlic, shallots, onions, various herbs. Most cultivators will have the first crop of peas up before now. The proper course is to sow a dwarf ■ and a taller kind at the same time. Where this has been done the : next sowing should be of the taller kiiid. If, howover, only a dwarf were sown in the first instance, then a second early should be sown. Dwarfs come in early. A taller, kind sown at the same time comes in before the dwarf is quite past, but if it were sown later there would bo a gap between the two, so a semi-dw,irf like Sherwood should be sown, and a taller kind like Defiance or To Aroha should bo sown at the same time. Of course, i£ dwarfs' only are grown fortnightly sowings will secure succession, but tho taller varieties are superior in quality, and sflould be grown. Planting cabbage, cauliflower, and lettuces should have early attention, being highly important crops, at this season. They should come in to use by' tho end of October. Asparagus may £>b planted where the soil is well drained, and of a free nature; it is too early to plant in heavy soils. The success of a;\paragu3 largely depends on the manner of planting. The proper way is to open up \ trench with a shovel, making the trendh about six inches deep, then with a rake make a ridge along the centre of the trench, taking the soil from the sides of the bottom of the trench. The ridge should be three inches high. Tho plants are U> be placed on the top of the ridge with ; trho roots spreading out down tho sides of tho ridge. When they are in place return tho soil taken out of tho trench; this will leave the crowns of the plants three inches, from the surface, a good distanco far ordinary soils, but if the soil is on. thehCavy side, it will be well to alter the plan so as to _ bring tho crowns nearer the surface. With regard to arrangement of the plants, modern methods favour planting at greater distances than formerly wais the practice, and not to plant in beds. , Tho best. results are secured by planting in lines on the flat, if more than onv> row is required; the <j-ows should bo thieo feet part. The plants should bo two faefr apart or more. It is .not a bad plan to plant one foot apart, and cut heavily second year from each other plant, and1 the third year cut all the' heads that come on those plants, so as to kill them. This plan gives some fair heads during tho years that must pass before tlio permanent plants are robbed. A few ihsads may bo taken from the beds tho thfrfl year, but 'not many till tho fourth yeiir.- Tho plan outlined fhortens the waiting- period, and does no harm to tho permaVicn6 plants. Planting shallots and garlic should not bo longer delayed, plant'in free.soil in rows twelve inches apart. Tho_ sett; should bo merely pressed into the soil 'tobout ten inches apart. . Onions should 'bo transplanted at once, or at least as soon as the soil is fit; tho earlier they aro planted tho better chance they have of making good bulbs. Tho same may be said of seed. The earlier onion seed can bo sown tho better, but, of course, it is usel&ss to sow until the soil is fit, but when-it is fit early, it i 3 a heavy handicap in favour of success. To make good bulbs, oiftons must make most of their growth early. Many crops are spoiled by watering and feeding- during tho late summer, when growth should bo steadying down. Podding the roots at that time prevents tie bulbs maturing properly, tends to produce a second growth, and often cauEetf diseases to develop. Any feeding down should be dono before tho end of the', year, none aftsr. Rhubarb may be planted at once. Whore a new plantation is to bo made it pays better to purchase roots than to raiso the plants from seed, as seedlings vary and selection' is necessary to secure a good strain. This does not, however, refer to- the winter varieties, which come fairly truo from seed. THE FLOWER GARDEN. Rose planting should be finisher! at oneo, pruning also should bo completed. Planting of all kinds of perennial stuff, _ trees, slvubs, and herbaceous plants requiro attention— paeonies, phlox, dielytra, geum (of which Mrs. Bradshaw is the beat), rudbockia, lyihrura, holonium, etc. Tho Oriental poppy, Mrs. Perry, is a very fino plant. Carnations should bo _ planted as soon as the Eoil is fit. Carnations do best in an open situation. The soil should bo of a free nature that will allow of its being trodden down vory firm before planting. A moderate dressing of old mortar, ths rcfuso ■ from a dinmtintlcd building, is good fos t.heiu, Bonedust is tho best fertiliser, Give lea per.,mmum<

I yaard before planting, and the same again in aTiout two months' time. The plants should bo set rather deep, so that the lower grass rests on the surface of tho soil. WORMS IN THE SOIL. A'correspondent is troubled with worms in the coil. Tho cause is usually bad drainage. Whon tho subsoil becomes full of water the worms come up to the ourface for air. When tha drainage is good they stay_ lower down, and tho. holes they make assist in drainage. Of course, they cannot do this if there is no outlet fortho water. Occasionally worms are caused by too much nianure or unwholesome matter in tho_ soil. In such cases the remedy is free liming.