GARDENING FOR THE WEEK

Evening Star, Issue 16090, 15 April 1916, Page 10

GARDENING FOR THE WEEK

Our contributor, a wcll-knnwn gardener, will be glad lo answer questions, which mutt be received not later than Tuesday of each week.

—Tho Vegetable Garden.—

Wliilst the ground is light and drv, lift and store all potato crops. This is of considerable importance just now, ;ui potatoes left in tho soil after tho recent showers will assuredly start into growth, and when this occurs the tubers are injured both as sete and also for cooking. Lift ami store them right away, and tho ground will then be clear for turning up and manuring operations, which are of great importance. The man who trenches -his ground right away, -whether it has to receive a fiosh crop or to stand the winter in a fallow state, will reap an advantage, for the quality of the soil is much improved by exposure, to tho weather.

Trench up all vacant spaces. Plant out cabbage and cauliflower. Tho cabbage moth has been veiy troublesome of late, and it is advisable to dip or spray the. young plants with some solution before planting. Tar water or soft soap water will do very well, the latter preferable, _if it be properly made and a little, nieoticido added. About 2oz of soft soap dissolved in a gallon of hot- water, with a dessertspoonful' of nicoticide added, will destroy any pest that may be affecting the plants. Give occasional waterings botii of clear water and liquid manure to growing plants, as it is of .importance to keep them moving during dry weather. If thev reeeive a severe check through want o'f moisture, blight of some form is sure to attack them. On the other hand, when plants of any land are kept growing, they are very rarely attacked. Those who force rhubarb for winter use will find it very beneficial to take up the roots and lay them aside in a cool, div placo to ripen.. _ This gives the roots a check, and constitutes a kind of a winter, which to some- degree prepares them for the forcing. —Tile Vinery.— Late- grapes are often troublesome from row onward through cracking and damping. Though, tho present season should be greatly in their favor, a sudden change with heavy rains may bring on the trouble very rapidly, so it is advisable to guard. against the mischief as much as possible. Houses that have no hot water are more subjected to the trouble than those where n little warmth can be applied. It is hard to prevent the cracking of the berries, through the cold and moisture-laden atmosphere and heavy rains causing an excessive Qovr of sap to tho berries. When damping sets in, if the berries affected are not clipped oil with, the scissors, .it soon affects the rest, and eventually the whole bunch is lost. The only thing that can be done to prevent this is to keep the house as warm and dry as possible rsy having the bottom ventilators closed during wet weather, opening only the top vents, and those not quite full; but on all fine days both the top and bottom ventilators should be open both night and day, and when all the ; frnifc is cleared off the whole Vents should be opened in. all weathers night and day.

—Tho Rose Garden.-

The autumn pruning of roses is not generally carried out, nor do I think it is quite understood. When.l say "pruning," I do not mean the ordinary method of pruning the shoots back, as is done in the spring, but the thinning out and cutting back of a good portion of the old flowering wood, cross pieces, and excessive shoots, leaving only strong, healthy, ripened wood of this season's growth. Of course, one must be guided by circumstances aa to the time this pruning takes place._ It should not be done until the flowering is passed or nearly so. _ Some situations are much earlieT to finish flowering than others, and consequently the pruning may bo earlier. Do not misunderstand me. This pruning or thinning out is more applicable to hybrid teas and hybrid perpetuals than to teas; but even teas, especially the stronggrowing kinds, will be greatly benefited by the removal of excessive shoots, as it is on the well-ripened wood that tho best and most blooms are secured, giving as it does more light, room, and air to tho growth remaining. These shoots should be left quite intact. Now is. a. good time to prune ramblers, trailers, climbers, and pillar rose 6; but the pruning of these must consist only of thinning out old flowering wood and tying in this season's growth, only shortening .these back slightly. WheTo this pruning lis properly carried out a wealth of bloom ■will he the result instead of a mass of green growth.

■—Answers.—

"North-east Valley."—The names of the two apples forwarded are : the large striped variety, Beauty of Kent; tho small one, Eldon Pippin'. "Fuchsia."—The apple forwarded is ■Homo Beauty; it is certainly not a Jonathan.

"S,S." (Roslyn)—Tho apple u Ailing. ton Pippin. It is a fair sample, though; .nob ripe enough to pick, nor is it well colored. It is a great cropper and a very fine apple. I should like you to have seen any trees. I got considerably over a cas-> from one tree in its fourth year. It wra the admiration of everyone who saw it. The others were just as good. Munroe's i Favorite is one of tho best apples—a fine ,larga good late keeping apple. The cracks "yoM speak of aTe a, fungus disease. They »hould have been sprayed with the summer formula of the Bordeaux mixture just after the fruit was well formed. But there is something wrong at the roots. The trees have suffered by want of sufficient nourishment. Thia "is the cause of the fruit shrivelling and cracking. Try a surface mulching with manure next summer. As to your Dorothy Perkins rose, which has become very straggly, vou should Clip off all old flowering wood and tie in the young last season's growth. "Mary M'K."—The name of the apple is Beauty of Kent. There seem to bo a lot of these apples about. The apple is not troubled with a disease; it is a caterpillar or leaf grub that is the cause of the marks and the leaf sticking to the fruit. You cannot do much for the trees this season. At pruning clean up and burn all clippings. Spray the trees ■with *» winter and after the fruit is well advanced spray the foliage with One teaspoonful of arsenate of lead in lgal of water.

" May " -writes i (1) "I have young gras3 which I have watered freely whilst the snn was on it, and it is going very dry and -withered looking. It had no bono dust .in it, but horse manure. Would I be doing right to pub a, fresh sprinkling of clover seed and a layer of soil with plenty of horse manure in it?"— You did wrong by watering your lawn grass in the hot sun. This is best done in the evening. Put- some grass seed in with the clover seed. Use white clover, A r top dressing will J3nUcoodi.-]f«ft« t «^^doC4)ii9v.as-iSC'Pn

as you like. (2) "I have also a lawn trith the old natural grass growing, \vSich nntil now-has been looking ryell t Should it bo right to mow, and sprinkle some csed on it, and give it »some soil and mamtro, and what aort.of seed should I ;iav?" — You may top dress and manure your lawn as froon as you like; the sooner uho better if you sow the grass seed at the same- time or rather before the dressing joes on. Rake the seed in with a sharp iron rake. Use good lawn grass-. (5) "When should I plant young "Shrubs ou.ita.bla Jot lawn? Should l.put manure down with ihem? Does this apply to roses also?" Plant shrubs from May £o August. Put in as much good rotten manure as you like, but it must not come in direct contact with the. roots. Put it well under them, with soil between the roots and the manure. The same will apply to roses. In my answer to "Roslyn" last week as to an asparagus bed, it should have read 20ft bv 3ft for half a load of manure, not 80ft by oft, as printed. H.C.