GARDENING NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 108, 3 November 1923, Page 17

GARDENING NOTES

THE HOME MENU

HELPED: BY THE VEGETABLE PLOT.

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

(By "An Amateur.")

- Many: rich rewards fall to the lot of the araiteiir gardener at the cost of very little;;effort,-'provided always that his methods of cultivation are along the right lines ahd.\that he pays due attention to" the- lessons ■he cannot fail to learn' as the seaspiis come and go. Vegetables gathered, from one's own garden have greater sweetness Jof flavour and freshness.; than ;any that may, be purchased. ; There is; also the added advantage- of economy, allowing the production,, of everyday necessities at • a low- cost as well as the growth of those dainty luxuries which, add so-jnuch to the home; menu. : A few square yards of grdund is; sufficient to supply a family with' almost -, eyery .vegetable need, which [means-better vegetables at lower cost, better, health-,, better exercise, aud, above all,: the natural pleasure and iby in seeingi-Nature produce and expand as a result pf the gardener's own work. Haste and carelessness are two of the amateur's- greatest enemies, and these faults ar,e particularly noticeable at seed-planting time. - Most seeds, are better sown in drills^and hot broadcasted, as is the almost' invariable custom of the amateur with a small garden. Drills obtain the most, favourable' results, because" it allows, the hoe to be used with little, difficulty, thus keeping the weeds down and- the -surface "• loose. A small furrow. may.,be; made' with a pointed stick: after the [ground has-been properly : prepared. In- the. case oi small seeds the, furrow should riot exceed onehalf to one inch in. depth, varying,- of course, according to the size of the seed to be planted. Sow the. seeds thinly covering them, with fine,soil taken from the-edge of the drill to V depth of approximately five times the diameter of the seed sown.' Shou|d the soil.be at ill dry, it should tie 'firmly packed over.the seed, a process- whichmay easily be carried out by placing' a Aboard along 'the drill and walking up .and down it several .times. -This-packing" or^firming'materially; assists '.'the' . germinatioh of the seeds.l' '• .•'-■; ■'-'■■■' :-: '. ■-'. "■'•.. " ■ : ■ .

It-iai ;a;:great-mistake*to sow seeds too thickly.. This;metn.od;is one of the' arrfateur^s; greatest- failings,- anc} necessitates drastic ihinhirig -with tKe consequent Idjs of seed growth and matured vegetable. Crowding results in the; growth .of weak plants Ayhich do no^: thrive even when the necessary thinuiiig.;'has been carried" out. Even a plsijt, wants-elbow room if it is to rhaturd -in. a-."■ satisfactory" manner-" Above-all; thin put the plants iii early growth, for by so doing.your crop's will give much; larger return' than would Otherwise be the easel' . ... : '

Wheri transplanting vegetables) . care must ."be. taken not. to injure the roots,' planting firmly sa;a g) tQ allow- the.plant to get a stronger hold of. the. soil. In transplanting; -from a bed harden -the plants by letting^them get quite'dry for a. day'ior two; before carrying out 1 the transference, but a few hours before they are taken out give; ari; abundance of water. - Transplanting sKould be carried out towards dusk or. just.prior to or during rain.! \ ' ■'. ."; '...■■. : '.

Asparagus, is one of, the luxuries of the vegetable kingdom which is. easily, withm the.reach of the • amateur. Many cultivators :gef the idea t'*at it is" difficult to grow,but that is a great mistake., .The seed-may. be sown in almost any soil or, situation, in .rows about one foot apart, ;during;the months of August to_ Nbvember..";ln -order to' assist' germination it,is. a good idea to soak.the seed for/,,abojit-. 24 ■ jiours in 'tepid water. To secure only-,healthy."plants,.thin out the seedlings; to about 4 inches ..apart in the ,rows, l being "careful to secure only the strongest ■ The. year-old plants, should be set.out in winter- ifi ground dug 18 inches., deep, jnto which has been worked, well-rotted, manure. If the soil is of stiff'clay add plenty of sand and sifted coal;; ashes .to loosen it • iip, and see that the plot is well-drained. Set out in beds five feet wide, three rows in a bed,, the outer being each one foot from the edge. , Set the plants at least six inches below.the. surface.: If set out in the autumn top-dress [wilh> six inches of manure. Every winter a good dressine of.coarse manure and salt should be applied-after : the .-tops' have, been cut and. forked/.in. Do not cut too closely, as the ;rbofs ne.ed the- benefit -of some foliase.during the year. ; If. well cujtiyated ahd jmanured the bed should crop the following .-Reason' and continue productive, for' eight or years. ■ ..' ... SHOWY' - DAHLIAS. Dahlias^ : are prdbably the showiest plant that the garden produces, but they arenot nearly 60 generally grown'as wns the case/some years ago. It is still met j with in many gardens, however, though usually -grown Tin a "backwater" plot Certainly: it is better adapted for large gardens owing to'requirements:of space, but at the same' time it deserves a place in the small garden; as well. To get the best results the ground should be deeply dug and „well-dressed with .'manure. Dahlias are divided-imto four varieties— cactus, ;.bouquet, pompom, and single. They are propagated by off-shoots and cuttings; as well, as from seed. Each 6eason the stems should bo cut close fo the ground and-the roots dug up and left oh the 1 surface' to dry, but under no condition .must .they be exposed to frost. They 'may then be stored in a dry place .until; September when they should be' laid on a- floor and a little soil thrown over them.- They will soon begin to.shoot,' and 1 may then be 3ivided, cutting downwards' and taking a tuber with each bit of crown. These may.be planned out. where they are to bloom, but not before the middle or end of October. The roots may be left in the ground from year to! year, but they rapidly degenerate.if allowed to do so. The young shoots ■■, will rapidly appear after being planted,-and all the weakly ones should be- removed, leaving but two. or , three. If. this is not done the blooms will.-be small and of poor, quality, and the plant: will quickly become exhausted. The /dahlia, a soft-wooded plant, must be QarefuHy staked, otherwise high , winds will both break and tangle the foliage.. Slugs are very partial to the young wood, and if not looked, after a number of plants may be ruined in one night. Dust with fresh slaked lime a couple of times eSch week to prevent such a happening. Dahlias grow freely from seed, which should be gathered when ripe, and planted in September. Sow in shallow boxes plant out into a bed when the plants are large enough to handle comfortably. GERANIUM CUTTINGS. An .English, writer dealing with . the ■propagation of geraniums, .one of the most popular flowers found in old-world gardens, states that cuttingß may be'propagated in various ways, and all suctceed well}, they;may be dibbled in a border fully exposed to the sunj and taken up. »nd potted or boxed before ther« m danger of frost.. - A vtry good

way; and one that could be'recommended, is to secure a number of bpxes. according to the quantity of cuttings! required; they may be about 4in.in depth, 2i« long, and 12in wide; a few broken potsand.alayer.6f soil should be placed m the bottom, and they may be filled ■with soil of a loamy nature. This should be made firm; each box will hold about seventy cuttings. After the cuttings are inserted they should be watered and stood in a sunny place on a bed of ashes; or if any empty frames are at command in which to place them :all-the better, as they can then be protected from heavy rains; but at all other times they will do better exposed. In taking the cuttings from the plants, care should be taken not to disfigure the beds, those overgrowing the edgings being removed hrst. Weak-growing sorts should be .first attended to, leaving the-strong growers until last. . Professional gardeners often let the cuttings lie for a day or two m the -open to dry out some of the moisture in the stems and leaves. They maintain that this method reduces the succulence to such an extent that they are not nearly so liable to damp off later on. . ■ STONES. IN GARDEN SOIL: ;' One often reads in the advice-given for the preparation of composts that it should be carefully sifted, removing everything lumpy, and while the doctrine holds ;*ood in special cases the system is not* always advantageous. Still, potting soils should always have the roughest of the material taken out. It is when the open garden ground comes under consideration that the value of stones has to be reckoned with. If we take, a survey of the natural products of the earth it will be'found that .the best specimens are produced: where the soil isgood and well aerated with stones; It is the same with garden crops: \Vhjla ■the brick-bats, and other hard ingredients "may be raked off, it is:necessary to leave all that pass through the [tines' of the rake for, without them the soil would become sodden or powdery, and prove of little value for maturing crops.