GARDENING NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 154, 27 December 1924, Page 17

GARDENING NOTES

THE BIG STORM

OVERCOMING ANY DAMAGE

AMATEURS MUST NOT BE

DISCOUEAGED.

(By "Practical.")

Last week's storm leffc most gardens in a very wrecked condition, especially in localities exposed to the full force of the southerly winds. In such places plants and even shrubs and trees were completely blackened, and will require some time to recover from the setback, even if they do not perish entirely. Such occurrences are very apt to discourage anyone who. has expended time and money cultivating plants which under normal conditions would be just coming to perfection. Even admitting how disheartening such visitations are, it is really remarkable how soon a garden recovers, and with renewed efforts on the part of the gardener very little trace of the storm will be evident in a few days. At this season of the year, when the ground is thoroughly warm, growth soon makes a fresh start, and flowers push up a further supply of buds to clothe the bare places. After such heavy rain most ground will be beaten hard, and in such places the surface should be loosened up with the fork or hoe as soon as the water has drained away and the ground is dry enough to get on. For the next week or two the time which would normally have been spent with the hose may profitably be used in loosening the surface soil and removing weeds which are sure to outgrow the more desirable plants.

Now that holiday time is here, many of the bigger works may be attended to, such as making new paths and re-arrang-ing the garden, although, of course, this is not a good' time to remove plants. In the vegetable garden tomatoes will require constant attention in the matter of spraying and training. The growth of these plants being very sappy, it is necessary to tie them to their supports frequently, outherwise they are very liable to be broken off and the plants spoilt. Air lateral growths should be removed before they get too big. Potatoes should be sprayed regularly, also, as they are more liable to disease in a wet season. '

Further sowings of peas, dwarf beans of the French variety, lettuce, and silver beet may still be made with every- prospect of success. An early variety of peas should be chosen for late sowing, as tiiese mature more quickly than main crop kinds. Lettuces should be sown thinly in drills on really good soil at this season,' as this vegetable does not transplant too easily jh dry weather, and consequently better results are obtained if grown in the drills. Silver beet is a particularly useful vegetable in districts where cabbages cannot be successfully grown on account of the ravages' of the fly. . Silver beet will thrive in any moderately good soil, whether sandy or of a clayey nature, and as it yields so profusely quite a small number of plants is sufficient for most households. . : ■ .

A small sowing of carrots may also be made now, for'preference one of the long varieties which get their roots well down into the moist soil. In all cases seed sown at this season must be kept moist until germination is complete and the soedlings are well up, otherwise a hot northerly is very apt to wilt the young plants before their roots are developed. Continue the sowing of winter greens as advised last week.

TO GROW LEEKS.

■ The following is an extract from an article by W. H. Taylor, which appeared in "New Zealand Journal of Agriculture" last year:—"To get good samples of leeks planting should be done at once. Later planting is sometimes useful to supplement main crops, tut results are not so good. Deep and good soil is necessary, and plenty of manure, aa probably no plant takes more out of the soil than do leeks. A fair amount of humus is needed, stable or farmyard being the test form to apply. If artificials are relied on, a mixture of superphosphate, 'bonedust, and sulphate of potash will . . answer. These should be mixed iii the" proportion of two ounces each of super and bonedust to one ounce of sulphate of potash, and four ounces of the mixture applied per square yard, forking fairly deeply into the soil. When growth has fairly started after planting, a dressing of nitrate of soda shoulcf be given. This may be strewn'along the drills, at about loz to two yards of drill. An application of nitrate of soda will be a good investment, whatever other manure or fertilisers may have been used. ' To plant, draw deep drills with a hoe and plant with a dibbler along the bottom of the drill. The plants should be a good size, to' allow for deep planting. Thust the dibbler down its full length, and, with a circular twist, increase the diameter of the hole. Insert 'the pk>nt to its full length, and then lift it a few inches to straighten the roots. Thrust the dibbler into the soil again a few inches from the hole, but pointing slightly towards it, then, by bringing the top of the dibbler towards the hole, press the soil firmly against the full length of the plant. Personally, I prefer not to trim either the roots or the tops, believing growth starts quicker by not doing so."

AMONG THE FLOWERS.

Among the .flowers there is always plenty of work. All spent blooms and seed, pods should be removed from flowering plants, otherwise they stop flowering- and expend all their energy in maturing the seed. Superfluous growths should be cut out .from' such plants as chrysanthemums, dahlias, and Michaelmas daisiss leaving four or five of the strongest. Much better results will be obtained by so treating these plants, as they invariably send up far more flowering spikes than they can bring- to perfection. These plants also require attention in the matter of staking and tying as do all tall-growing subjects, cosmos, dephiniums, etc. Seedlings of many annuals are still procurable and may quite safely be planted, provided they are properly cared for until they take hold of the soil, but they must not be allowed to wilt after planting or. they will be greatly weakened wita consequent poor results. The .summer flowering gladioli are throwing up their flowering spikes and neat firm stakes should be supplied for each spike to prevent damage. The present is the best time of the year for taking pansy and viola cuttings, but some varieties are later in sending up the young growths than others'. January or even February are not too late for this, but it is as well to get the young plants well rooted before the weather gets too dry. Sturdy young shoots from the centres of the plants should be selected and weak growths should be discarded. Insert the cuttings firmly in a bed of prepared soil composed of good loam and sham sand It is essential that good drainage be provided, and the bed should err£ ,? d the § rrat<»-.part of the .day. The lifting o? bulbs which have by come too crowded ahould h» <3/>n» ••

soon as_ the growth has stopped—when the foliage starts to die down. In carrying out this work it is of-import-ance, as mentioned previously, that all the small off sets be removed from the ground, otherwise these come up all over the place and cause no end of trouble^ later. This is more particularly the "case with small bulbs, such as freezias, ixias, and sparaxis, while;-per-haps, the most difficult of all in this re-' spsct are gladioli, some varieties of which have a ' veritable nest of small bulbs clustered around each eorm. When lifted the bulbs of whatever variety should be laid- out on trays or benches m a dry, airy shed to dry off, after which they may be cleaned up, the tops and roots being removed, and the bulbs sorted into sizes. Unless it is desired to increase any particular variety, it is advisable to . discard all but the best and soundest bulbs. Any bulbs showing signs of decay should "be immediately burnt, togethen with the tops.