GARDENING NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 90, 13 October 1923, Page 19

GARDENING NOTES

TIME FOR VEGETABLE

SOWINGS

WHAT TO PLANT AND HOW.

. [Owing to indisposition, "Experienoe" is unable to contribute his usual article on gardening. The following notes have been supplied by "An Amateur."]

October continues to be a busy month for gardeners, especially in' the kitchen garden. Preparation work has been completed, and sowing should be proceeding apace. All beans may now be sown, as well as peas, beet, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, parsnips, radish, turnips, potatoes, artichokes, and most other varities of the vegetable world.

Broad beans should receive the final sowing this month, the main crop hay- \ ing been sown in August. Sow the seed J m drills 3ft apart, each bean being si's' ■inches distant from each other in the rows. Heavy, loamy soil is most suitable for broad beans, which when about a foot high should be hoed and earthed up round the roots. When in flower pinch the tops off each plant, an operation which tends to promote better growth in the pods. Dwarf beans* of any variety respond readily to good soil and careful cultivation. The soil best suited is light and nch, and should have been manured during the winter season. Care must however, be taken not to make the ground too rich, or the plants are apt to run to vine. Dwarf beans are extreniely susceptible to climatic changes and it is useless to plant them until the ground is both warm and dry. The beet method is to plant in drills from two feet to three feet apart, leaving the plants -with about six inches of room. Never hoe around the plants while the leaves are wet, as it tends to rust. Sowings may be continued in succession up to the first week in February. Pole beans are even more susceptible to cold and wet, and are easily affected by draughts and hot winds, much more so than the dwarf varieties. They compensate for this, however, by superior quality and productiveness. Sow from October to December in drills about four feet apart, and six indies to nine inches between each seed. Cover with about two inches of soil, and when the plants are approaching about a foot in height earth up and place sticks or trellis alongside. The crop may be successfully grown over bowers or rough arches, and this method adds to the beauty of the garden. Beet may be sown each month until January, but the principal crop should be planted this month, or not later than November. To get the best results, light sandy soil is required, and, if manured, it must not be too close to the surface, otherwise the roots will become forked. Sow in drills fifteen inches apart, and after snccessional thinnings the plants should be about six inches apart. In lifting care must b e taken not to injure the roots, otherwise they will bleed, a happening'which will both spoil the colour, an essential feature of properly grown beet, and the flavour.

There are several requisites in successiully growing cabbages, one of the most useful of garden crops. The first is good seed, as satisfactory results cannot be obtained from poor stock; the second is well-prepared ground; and the third, frequent and thorough cultivation. A heavy, moist, and rich loam is the most suitable, and it should be well manured and worked deep. By a proper selection of varieties and a succession of sowings, this standard vegetable may be had in constant supply right throughout the year. Select the proper time for sowing seeds of the different' varieties, and when sufficiently grown, say, to about six inches, transplant into ground prepared for their reception, onade and water are required for late sowings, and it is important with all crops that the plants should not be crowded in th e seed bed, otherwise they will run to stem and be weak in constitution. Cabbages should be hoed each week, and the ground well stirred as their growth advances. An excellent scheme is to throw up a little earth around the plants until they begin to form heads.

One of the most delicious vegetables is the pea, and it is even more enjoyable when gathered from, one's own garden. The main crop should be planted in July or August, but seeds may be sown now with advantage, continuing up to January for successive crops. Peas should be sown in drills about three feet apart, according to the height of the variety and the class of soil used. The taller varieties repay the extra trouble and expense of staking, as they not only bear more and larger pods, but can be picked over a much longer period. The crop should be gathered as fast as it is fit for ÜBe. If this is neglected;, not only will new pods cease to form, but those partially advanced will stop growing. The secret of successful growing of vegetables is to keep the soil loose and free by frequent workings, which not only prevents weeds from starting, but encourages rapid growth in the plants and secures, the finest quality possible. A small garden, well manured and frequently worked, will give a great deal of satisfaction to the amateur, and may bo looked after without a great deal of fatigue, which so frequently causes a larger area to be neglected and so run to waste. Gather the products of the garden as soon as they are ready for use, and while young and tender. Gather each morning while they are still cool, and it will be found that by this method the best results .will be obtained.

THE ROSE GAEDEN. The most satisfying rose garden is not the most pretentious, neither is it that which is too much in evidence. It should be enclosed with a" wail or fence of some kind, and for the latter a very suitable covering is Rosa Rugosa, a fine bush rose which is common to Japan and Korea, and flourishes well in the New Zealand climate. Other climbing roses suitable fop the purpose are Conrad Ferdinand Meyer, a beautiful hybrid, and Sir Thomas Lipton, the one pink and the other wliite. The roses in this garden should, of course, be laid out in beds, and if possible gravel paths should be placed between the beds in a convenient manner. Grass walks are preferred by aome, but require a good deal of attention, as it is most desirable that they should never get. out of hand, so as to affect the roses in adjoining bed 3. Concrete and asphalt is taboo, as preventing aeration o£ the soil.

The most suitable roses ara hybrid teas, as they bloom heavily twice a year in the spring and lats summer. The novice studying the catalogues might consider that hybrid perpetuais are the most consistent in regard to blooms, but the title is a misnomer in most cases although a few blossom throughout the summer. Frau Karl .Druschki, the best oi the perpetuals, should have a place in every rose garden. Its large white blossoms are beautiful to behold but th» tree itsili requires careful .pruning *»< trimming »t tht cokkl ■•mob, .! that ii my tftataa to &* am si-

derly bu»hes nearby. Placed in a corner, however, where it may spread at its own sweet will, it will mate a delightful show, growing higher than a tall man's head, and foamy with billowing white blossoms, lovely at all times. Mrs. John Laing is another hybrid perpetual that blooms fre#ly and should receive an honoured place in. the -garden. Deliriously fragrant, with large blooms soft pink in colour, it has great charm and is a valuable addition to the rosery. Another rose of this variity is worthy of a place, and that is General Jacqueminot, famous in every country where roses are appreciated. Th« general title for this rose is "Jack," and with its great red blooms it gives a very satisfying appearance to the rose beds.

Peach-blossom-pink blooms with » strong perfume, are the outstanding features of La France, the first hybrid tearose to be put out, and one of the most prolific of teas. It is very vigorous but is inclined to be a little fastidious in regard to soil and climate, but has been successfully grown in Wellington. It requires generous treatment, and wellrotted manure incorporated with the soil will materially assist "it to become settled in its suroundings. Above all the ground must be dry, as La France is particularly averse to anything like stagnant water at its roots, and will refuse to bloom under such conditions. The choice of varieties is largely one of experiment; arid depends to a great extent on the class of soil. The best plan is to try each year a few varieties until one gets the strength of the soil and its suitability for particular roses. Such work is intensely interesting, and causes the. amateur to study more closely the habits of the rose lie desires to grow. Other splendid varieties worth trying ia this way are Ophelia and Radiance, the buds of which are most beautiful and decorative when cut, while both buds and ulooms of Lady Battersea (cherry crimson), Mildred Grant (silvery white), Clara Watßon (light rose and salmon^ and Grace Darling (creamy white snadeXi with pink) are among the best hybrid teas with which to ezner:-' ment.

The most fragrant roses are the red ones, though other colours are not lacking in perfume. Red roses like Lady Roberts, Bartou Job, and General-Mac-Arthur scent the very air, pairing the rose garden a very pleasant place in which to sojourn. American Beauty is also highly perfumed, and one of the oldest favourites grown, but it is a bit finicky as to soil and surroundings Whatever varieties are chosen, whether the amateur pins his faith to hybrid teas or perpetual, moss, China or he will get a great deal of pleasure in laying out the rosery and later m- watching the progress of the trees as they commence to bloom, spreading fragrance on the surrounding air, adding to the beauty of the garden, and making a home what it can never be without the aid of a garden, and a rose garden m particular.