Gardening Notes

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 82, 5 April 1924, Page 17

Gardening Notes

WORK FOR AUTUMN

TO GROW WINTER RHUBARB

GENERAL HARVESTING AND CLEARING OF WEEDS.

(By "Practical.")

Autumn has put in its appearance as usual this year, and if late-sown crops are to be of any use it will be necessary to push them along by every means in ■our power, to .get the full benefit of the sun. Surface soil between the rows of growing vegetables and around other plants should be kept stirred with tha hoe as often as possible. -Frequent weak doses of nitrate of soda to any of the brassicas will help to keep them" growing, while liquid manure applied to root icrops will have 'the same effect. • . - .

Winter rhubarb is evergreen^ and can be nsed all the y-car round in this district, but it is more advantageous to treat it as a winter crop. To get the best' results in the winter, very little, if any, should be removed in the summer, the stalks being allowed to.' die down. As this winter rhubarb is always growing, it requires occasional manuring to make sure of good strong growth. Stable manure is, undoubtedly/the best for..'rhubarb, and it can hardly be overmanured with this, material; fowl manure-;is also a good fertiliser for this crop. It should be mixed with sand or soil when removed from the roots, and should not be applied in a raw state. Where the land is light'or sandy, cow orp-ig manure may_ be used, but it is not advisable to use either of thesej or fowl manure* where the ground is naturally heavy and of a clayey nature. Where animal manures are unobtainable, artificial preparations may be used in small quantities. Spinach should be coming along well now, and to secure 'a. good crop the plants should be thinned to about eight inches apart; This crop requires to be kept growing, otherwise it is not satis-, factory. Give frequent waterings and weak \ applications of nitrate of soda once a week. '..•'••

■ The following seeds may be. sown this month : Onions (for spring transplanting), lettuce,' mustar.d, " cabbage, cauliflower, and parsley. 'Lettuce should be sown in drills and thinned' to six inches apart when large'"enough, but cabbage and cauliflower are better ' sown in beds broadcast. ; Parsley is a slow germinating seed, and should'-be sown for preference where'it is .not likely to be dis-: turbed. Seed should be sown fairly thickly and thinned out when large 'enough to one foot apart, any plants with plain leaves, being removed. The. tops '■ should be cut off asparagus as soon as they are dead or/before the seeds fall, otherwise seedlings will come up all .qver- t \the."'bed and spoil future crops. Cut, the tops below, the surface of the soil, otherwise they are in the way when weeding. ; . Continue the harvesting of, potatoes and onions, beingl sure that the latter are thoroughly dried before' storing away.'; When lifting potatoes, it is^worth while Ito ; gp to some extra trouble toremoye - all small. tubers from the . ground, as if left they come up in most inconvenient places among the following crops. I Fruit trees should be sprayed with black leaf-' 40 at a. strength of 1 iin 800 for the ..'destruction of - woolly aphis.. v The addition of. three pounds of soap to every,loo.gallons,of spray isrecommended by the ' "New Zealand 'Journal of Agriculture." An alternative spray is red oil at a strength of lin 60. A further application of arsenate of lead, two teaspoonfuls to a gallon, should also be made to control codlin-moth and leaf-' roller caterpillar. |

THE FLOWER. GARDEN.

During the season the eradication of weeds and general cleaning up of beds should be attended to, .and as lar as possible the ground dug or forked over. A liberal dressing of old manure should be spread over herbaceous borders and dug \\\. Keep all seed, heads removed from flowering plants, and' so prolong their se,ison to the utmost. '.As mentioned last week, disbudding of chrysanthemums should be pushed on • the buds swell perceptibly from day to day, and- unless the plants' are watched'the buds'get too far ahead. . . ,'.'.-. .' ■

Carnation layers which.were put down some time ago should be ready for severing from the parent plants and planting out. drefully lift tho layers before cutting them ofi, and if roots have not formed sufficiently, replace them and cover again with soil;. Carnation flowers are particularly welcome in the winter; and are well worth some trouble to obtain. To get plants to produce winter blooms they must not he allowed to flower in spring or summer. By Urn means established plants maj; be induced to, throw the crop of, flowers into late autumn or winter. There is always a temptation to allow a few blooms to mature in summer, but1 ifVinter flowers are wanted it must not be given way to. By constant stopping, and so preventing flowers from forming' until April or May, and then allowingMhe plants to go away, the'result will more than , repay lor the trouble and sacrifice of" early blooms. Some varieties of carnation have a bad habit of bursting the calyx. This may be prevented to a certain extent by banding either with raffia or a rubber ring. Frequently it will be found that the second bud is less inclined to burst than the main one, but usually the flower will not.be quite so big; However^ a smaller flowe^ perfect in other ways; is preferable to a very large one which has burst. In resorting to banding the band should bo just below the teeth, and,not too tight, just firm enough to prevent slipping. ■The present month is a good time for dividing up Shasta daisies. Select strong outside growths for replanting, and discard all the surplus. There are several varieties, all good in their way, but probably the best is the comparatively new "Chiffon," which has, very fine fringed petals, and is often almost completely double. - Unfortunately this most desirable plant is not always quite satisfactory, as it dies off without any apparent reason. It" does best in a rich, light, soil' which has good drainage. • Towards the end :pl this month all varieties of Pyrethrum Roseum may be divided up and replanted. These plants are so prolific with their blooms .that it is necessary to pkht them in good soil where plenty of humus is available, otherwise they are not particular, doing equally well on heavy soil or light sand. ■These plants can be had in several shades of pink and red, both double and single, iind also m while. The prime favourite with most people is tho rich crimson single: "James Kelway." It will soon be time to. lift gladiolus bulbs. . Before they, die down see that the position of the bulbs is marked clearly, so that there may be no difficulty in finding them when it comes to lifting. '.

A mulch of well-rotted stable manure packed round peonies, to be washed into then- roots by the winter rains, will be of great benefit, which will bo shown by the improvement in next year's crop of blooms. ,Do 'not cut down the tops of yj«»e pUntu, However, until litey lmva <uw aatoria^ ud be vsry c&relul ia

forking round them not to damage' their roots, which are near the surface.

Lightly fork in a small quantity of bonedust among the violets, and remove I all. leaves which are badly affected with red spider. These very popular flowers will start blooming very soon now, and to get the best^results it is important to keep the plants healthy. Do not al- x low them to become too dry at the roots, and remove runners which persist in growing. Some of the doiible varieties are worth growing, if for nothing else than their unique' scent. None of the doubles are as good for,general cropping as the better kinds' of singles, being much shorter in the stalk, and usually smaller in the flower, but the scent is far before that of the.single violet.