GARDENING FOR THE WEEK

Evening Star, Issue 15906, 11 September 1915, Page 11

GARDENING FOR THE WEEK

Our contributor, a well-known gardener, will be glad to answer questions, which must be received-not later than Tuesday of each week.

—The Vegetable Garden.— ; The work in this department just now is almost unlimited, what with hoeing, raking, and stirring the surface to keep down weeds, which is of very great importance during this dry weather, also digging and manuring vacant plots, and sowing seeds of various kinds. Of all this work one of the most important job's is the hoeing and raking, as weeds of all kinds will be coming up by thousands and it is an easy matter to keep them under by frequent stirring of the surface during dry weather compared with putting this work off until the weeds are up in full force, when perhaps the weather may not give one an opportunity to get at them again before they have cast their seeds. A good hoeing and raking now will save untold work later on. _ Plant out cabbage .and cauliflower. If the weather be dry give the plants a good soaking .of water after planting. Plant'out potatoes of the main cron kinds.' r Plant out shallots in rich and we 1prepared soil in rows 12in apart and 6h between the bulbs.., Plant also a little garlic if this has not already been done, in a similar manner to shallots. A few of these come'in very . useful when the time 'iov sauce making comes around again: ." v -- ■ - - _ If Sea Kale has been planted as advised in my previous notes it should be now pushing the heads througn the soil, and if so/the .plants will require covering for bleaching the stems. Very large pots turned bottom up, or very large drain pipes; placed over the crowns with a covering on top will answer—anything that will give them head room and exclude light and air will answer the purpose. . - Early forced rhubarb should be nearly past now. When the picking ceases take the crowns and line them out in the vegetable garden to renew them for another season, though by rights these crowns-should not be used again for forcing/until the second season. Sow. peas. A good plan is to sow both an early and a late or main crop kind at the same time, as the early pea will be nearly finished when the main kind comes into crop. But if earl/ kinds have been previously sown, sow only main crop varieties. ,French and scarlet beans may be sown now if the situation is a warm one and where late spring frosts are not likely to °™ r -,, In cold situations it would be advisable to postpone sowing for a week or two yet. —Tomatoes.— The season for planting this appetising and refreshing fruit is now around again There are one or two points of interest that I should like to draw attention to. Do not be in too great a hurry to plant out unless you are pretty sure that in your house you will be able to keep a fairly warm temperature during very cold changes of the weather. If you have heat, well and good. If you are placed n a position where late frost is not likely • 7? c » the . tem P e rature much, it is all right. But if these conditions cannot be assured, take my advice and hold over the planting for a week or iwo yet. Buy good strong sturdy plants. It is a waste of money, time, and labor to plant weakly drawn plants, as it is ten chances to one that they will not grow or will make a very poor return even if they do grow. If a plant measures as much across—that is from tip to tip—as it is long you may be sure it is not drawn and that it is all right. The tomato is a tender plant, but not a tropical plant, and it requires a moderately high free access of air, and above all, a full flow of solar light to bring it to perfection. Almost any house or any shaped house will grow them where these conditions can be secured, and if the soil has been prepared as advised in my previous notes, nothing will be required but to give it a raiting down and a good treading before planting. On no account plant in loose soil. Place the plants well down to make them firm and steady. From 12in to 15in in the row and 2ft 6in from row to row will be a good distance apart. —Spring Flowers.— _ Spring flowers are always welcome, com- . jng in as they do soon after the cold winter months are past. Not that this winter hag been a severe one. On the contrary, it has been much too fine a winter—not nearly sufficient rain. With this deficiency assistance should be given in watering and feeding with weak liquid . njanure nearly all classes of spring , flowers. Polyanthus, pansies, violets, and narOasus are coming on at a great rate, and they must bo kept cooj at the roots. Unless this is attended to during- dry - weather blooms will open much too' quickly and before they are fully matured; m fact, it is better to pick narcissus blooms and. develop them in vases of water in a cool, airy room than to _ leave them to open imroatnrely in hot dry weather. ' —-Answers.™- '• _ "Amateur" writes that he followed my instructions as to treatment under rfass for roses. The foliage is now quite Sean and the bude are comirg away. He encloses a piece of th* stem of the rose Juliet Wood, which appears to be scorched, otherwise the bush appears to , be quite heajthy. He would like my ad\\ice as to the future treatment of the > same.—l find the" wood to have that dried appearance which I should expect to, find after the dry treatment you gave them; ' OWJWwjse ttere is, nothwg wrong with

them. • In the meantime keep them moist,' and give- plenty of-fresh air. Before I can give-any further instructions you must fir3t send me a few particulars as to whether they are in pots, and what size, how long potted, and are they planted in the soil, and if • they are pruned, I will then answer again. "J 1 M-M'L." sends leaves of aspidistra showing decay on each leaf and on the leaves of three similar plants, also on the ends of a palm. The plants are in pots in a sunny room, and are put into a bath for a soaking once a week, except in winter months.—There are two reasons, I think, for your plants going in this manner. Firstly, direct sun through the window of a warm, sunny 'room will cause the trouble. They require shade. A cool and shady part of a room, free from draughts is best for them. Then, again, the method of watering is a very bad one : they either have too much- or too little. There is no objection to dipping the plants carefully into the bath to fill the pots with water, hut it is quite another matter to soak them in a bath of perhaps fresh cold water. With a newly : potted plant this method of watering is decidedly injurious. Not quite so much if the pots are full of roots. Then, if the plants have filled the pots with roots, and they do not receive water oftener than the once a week, they must suffer for want of it before the week is out: This method of .watering is a very bad one, and, to my mind, the principal cause of the trouble. Water- the plants when they require it, and that will depend upon the condition of the weather or the heat of the room. Every other day in warm and dry weather will not be too often. Again, a newly-potted plant will not require nearly so much water as a plant with the pot full of roots. 'Place a deep plate or saucer under the pot, and water your plants from the top, filling to the rim with water, but not to run over. This will be sufficient for each watering unless the pots are too full of soil. Threerquarters of an inch from the rim is about the right height to fill a pot. Try this way of watering; keep them in the j shade, and sponge the leaves occasionally to keep them clean and free from dust, and see how you get on. "Amateur" wishes to know how much lawn grass one should sow on 30 square yards of ground.—About 2^lb. H.C. September 11, 1915.