THE GARDEN

Evening Star, Issue 19020, 15 August 1925, Page 11

THE GARDEN

WORK FOR THE SPRING THE VEGETABLE GARDEH From now onward the whole garden should be cropped upon a carefully considered plan, so that no crop o£ the same character should follow on the same spot. For instance, where any of the orassicas or deteriorates were grown last they should be followed by what are known as preparers—that is, deep-rooting crops. All the brassica or cabbage family are very exhausting to t}ie soil. Though root crops penetrate deeply, they are not nearly so exhausting Work the whole’ on a proper system of rotation. In plain words, never let the same plot bo cropped twice with the same family of plants. Celery,—-A little seed of an early kind of this fine vegetable should be sown down in boxes placed on a warm bed in a frame or greenhouse to come in for early use. For the main crop two or three weeks’ time will_ answer. Onions sown last autumn in boxes should be given plenty of air to harden them off ready for planting out. When they are sufficiently strong and hardy, transplant them m a deeply dug and well prepared border. If tbo soil is at all heavy add plenty of wood ashes to the surface soil. Make the surface firm and smooth, and do not plant them too deeply, about one-third of an inch being sufficient covering for the roots. Very large onions may be grown in this way. When the ground is nice and dry or in good working condition make a first sowing outside. Plant early potatoes as previously advised.

Sow early Short Horn carrots on a warm, fine soil. Next month will be early enough for the main crop. Sow parsnips, spinach, lettuce, radishes, and also peas and broad beans.

Sow cauliflower and cabbage._ Also make a first sowing of broccoli. Leeks.—Sow these in a rich and well prepared soil, and rather thickly, as they have to be planted out. Tlant Jerusalem artichokes, using whole and good-shaped sets, giving rich and deeply dug ground. This crop pays for generous treatment. Asparagus shoots will soon be pushing their heads through the soil; hence care should be taken to have the beds clean and free from weeds. Seed may also be sown of this fine vegetable. Sow thinly in drills 15in apart. The ground should be trenched and well manured either with seaweed—which is its natural food—or well rotted stable manure, with a dusting of salt thrown on the surface and raked in. THE FLOWER GARDEN As soon as the soil becomes somewhat warm and dry lots of hardy annuals may bo sown in the open border, and some of them where they have to flower, but the majority are better sown in small beds and transplanted. Many varieties of biennials and perennials also may be sown now in warm beds in the open. Tender annuals, such < as Ten-week stocks, astes, zinnias, fuchsia, African marigolds, lobelia, etc., should be sown in boxes and placed upon a warm bed made up with stable manure. Most of them may be sown in the open border, but a warm situation should be given them. The herbaceous border should be dug or forked over if this has not already been done, and where plants require reducing in size, dividing, < or separating the-sooner this is carried out the better. It must bo understood that much finer flowers will bo secured if the plants are divided and the soil well manured than it is possible to get from old and overcrowded plants. If the ground is in a wet state it is advisable to defer the work until it is in a more workable condition.

Dig and manure flower beds and borders._ These may be planted right away with such plants as wallflowers, stocks, pansies, cinerarias, antirrhinums, aquilegias, and others, including carnations, pinks, and picotecs. Plant also trees and shrubs of various kinds. Finish the work of pruning shrubs and trees which require such attention. Many may look upon this as unniecessary work, but to keep shrubs and trees in shape and good flowering condition pruning and removing dead and unshapely branches are essential.

Plant sweet peas from autumn or early winter-sown seed in well-prepared ground, and make a second sowing to come in for successional cutting. The sweet pea is one of the plants that pays for good'treatment. There is one point in particuar which should be borne in mind in growing this plant—that is, never attempt to grow them twice on the same soil. As with other peas, they like a change of soil. Even a yard or two away will bo better than nothing. If the situation is a dry one, dig the trench deep and put the manure well down, so that the roots will work down to it, as they require it during the heat of summer. Coolness at the roots in hot weather is the life of sweet peas. Lime in some form should be given them, and there is nothing better in stiff soils than mortar rubbish from old brick buildings mixed in the soil. In light soils superphosphate will answer well. It will act as a manure and give the necessary lime .-required. Continue the work of planting and pruning roses. The sooner this work is got off hand the better. THE FRUIT GARDEN The work of pruning fruit trees should be brought to a successful conclusion as soon as possible, if this has not already been done. Also the work of spraying, except for scale on apple trees, which may bo done later. Just as the buds are bursting into growth is the most effectual time for the eradication of scale. The sooner planting fruit trees is completed the ticularly with stone fruits of all kinds, ANSWERS “Milton Rimu.”—The fact of your rimu not growing more than oft by SOin across in twenty-five years proves conclusively that there is something wrong. The rimus, as with other forest trees, require a certain amount of shelter or protection for them to do well. One of the principal points in the successful growing of forest trees is close planting. One shelters the other keep each other warm, as it were—and naturally they not only grow more rapidly, but grow into good timber. It is hard for me to tell you what is wrong, not knowing the condition of soil and the surroundings. Trees of that nature do not like a flat surface with hard clay bottom, where water may be lying about .their _ roots. This is particularly the case if a tree is isolated or standing alone. Grass should not he allowed to grow about its roots. All this is unnatural to forest trees. No doubt digging around your tree and adding a mulch of wellrotted manure would help it; but I should be more inclined to dig a trench around it and fill it in with good soil and manure. You also ask what I should do if I were planting young rimus. I should not plant them on clay soil unless it were deeply dug and the soil enriched with good drainage and water allowed to get away freely. I should say that exposure and clay are the cause of the trouble.

“J.AJL”—If you sowed down youx

lawn last spring it should have a good sole of grass now. Did the grass seed germinate and come away promptly at first? There may bo many reasons why it is not looking well. You do not say if the grass came away properly at the first. It would be hard for me to advise without knowing the particu- | lars. If the grass came away all right at first, roll it well after dusting the I surface well with lawn manure or super- | phosphate and bonemeal. Sweep it in well with a broom, then roll well and mow in two or three weeks. lam rather inclined to think that the grass is lacking in sufficient nourishment or plant food. On your light soil frequent rollings will be found beneficial. EL 0. THE VALUE OF SOOT Soot is one of the most useful plant feeders and soil improvers that can be I obtained. Some decry it, and ask why one should trouble to use such dirty material when the same food supply can i be had from a small amount of sulphate of ammonia. Good household soot, however, contains, in addition to the ammonia, a small amount of potash and i phosphates, which make it more or less | a complete plant food, and it loaves no acidity or other deleterious matters in the soil. In this latter respect it is a I great improver of all but the lightest soils, for its carbon particles break up the stiffer land, rendering it friable and easy to work, as well as admitting air. Another benefit it confers is that of making the soil darker in color, and the darker the soil is the more it absorbs the sun’s heat, and therefore brings crops to earlier maturity, A sprinkling on the soil, sufficient to, make it. darn, a few tones during the growing season, is the best way to ap- , ply soot, avoiding the foliage If possible, for under the influence of the summer sun there is a tendency for the foliage to get scorched. Most crops will greatly benefit, especially those making leafy growth, such as the cabbage family, spinach, lettuce, etc. Soot_ Is also a popular dressing for the onion land carrot crop. Freedom from the pests which attack these latter is orten attributed to the frequent use of soot, which keeps off the fly, it being also of value in this respect with regard to celery, if only dusted lightly. A safe I and useful liquid stimulant for garden I crops or pot plants can bo by I immersing a peck of soot, tied up in a 1 canvas bag, in twenty gallons of water I for a few days. Soot when obtained should be kept dry, and that which is required for dusting on foliage should be fairly well aerated before using it.— A.W., in ‘Popular Gardening.’ GARDEN PESTS The depredations of wood lice, slugs, snails, wireworius. and cut worms are ] the cause of considerable inquiry at this season (states the July number of the ‘ New Zealand Journal of Horticulture’). Until more effectual natural enemies are found the war will have to be waged from year to year by other means. , , For the destruction of slugs and snails fresh air-slaked lime is a powerful agent. Apply it after sunset or before sunrise, when the pests are feeding. Cheap and convenient mechanical dusters of new design are now available. They are quick and effective, and dispose of all the unpleasantness experienced when one has to broadcast the lime. It is well to remember that bluestone is also effective in this connection. Applied to plants as a Bordeaux or Burgundy , mixture, it might well | suit a twofold’purpose. Nitrate of soda |is another remedy, and applied to a I crop of lettuce, cabbage, or cauliflower in early spring, it will serve a twofold purpose of another kind. The lime ana nitrate are also useful in countering the attack of wirewonns. Wood lice are readily destroyed when secreted in their daytime resorts by the I old-fashioned method of applying hot j water, but quite often they cannot be reached in this way. The Cheshunt Re- ! search Station publishes the following remedy, which should have a wider usefulness Oatmeal 50 parts, potassium bichromate 1, glucose 2, and water 30. The potassium should be dissolved in water before adding it to the other ingredients. For both cut worms and wood lice the following recipe is worth a trial: —Paris green Jib, bran or pollard 1 peck, molasses 1 pint, water 4to 6 quarts. Mix the two dry ingredients thoroughly, and in another vessel the molasses and water. Add the liquid to the first mixture slowly, stir, and allow to stand for several hours. Scatter thinly between the rows of plants after sunset. It would be interesting also to try powdered arsenate of lead, which is more generally available, in the place of Paris green. ASPARAGUS CULTURE During recent years there has been a considerable advance in the commercial cultivation of asparagus (states the ‘Australasia’). There is always a good demand for fresh shoots in season, and remunerative prices to the grower .prevail. The demand, however, is not restricted to the few weeks in the spring and early summer, when the shoots may be cut, for the extension of the practice of canning asparagus has made it available throughout the year, thereby creating a steady market for the processed article. By far the larger quantity of asparagus produced is now utilised for the canning trade. The healthful properties of asparagus, quite apart from the delicacy of the vegetable, should greatly enhance the demand, and it should be cultivated more extensively in home gardens. It must be admitted that where _ the kitchen garden is worked on strictly economical lines the ground may be put to better use by growing other vegetables which mature more rapidly and give a greater yield over a given period. But in the ordinary suburban allotment there is usually sufficient ground available, if well laid out, to provide for an asparagus bed without unduly encroaching upon the space required for other purposes. The small amount of attention required when once the bed is established, and the number of years during which the plants remain productive are considerations which should appeal strongly to the householder who can spare but little time for the maintenance of his garden. Almost any soil that can be converted into a good garden loam is suitable for asparagus, and in the home garden it is always possible to prepare a special bed which will provide the essential conditions for growth. The plant requires abundance of moisture, vet is very sensitive to stagnation arising from bad drainage; therefore, when special beds must be prepared by trenching and building np the soil with a prepared compost, the first consideration should be to provide for adequate drainage. If it becomes necessary to break into a clay subsoil the trenched ground will become a sink into wli'ch the moisture from the adjoining surface soil will drain, causing the bed to become permanently water-logged. Where there is sufficient fall in the ground to enable the water to get away the difficulty may be overcome by placing a line of drain pipes in the bottom of the bed. But if the clay is close to the surface it may be bettor to cease I excavating as soon as the clay is

WORK FOg THE WEEK. «

Osar contribute®, a well-known gardener, will be glad to answer questions, which must ba rooaived not later than Tuesday of each week. Mrertfattaarta fear this column must bo handed in to the office before 2 p.m. on Friday.

1 reached, loosening the surface and de- ! pending upon raising the bed to get j the required depth of soil. - For commercial cultivation soils or - this type as well as those with a hard ; pan or any that are cold and wet, , should be avoided. Rough, stony, or . gravelly soils are also unsuitable,_ as ; they interfere with cutting and cultiva- , tion. Deep sandy soils rich in vegc- . table matter ( and moist, deep alluvial , soils upon river hats are considered ideal. | Asparagus is a deep-rooting plant, , and in suitable soils will penetrate to a ! depth of four or five feet; hence deep cultivation is necessary. In garden lands the common practice is to trench the beds to a depth of 2Jft to 3/t, incorporating a liberal dressing of stable manure or organic refuse throughout the soil to the full depth of cultivation. For field culture trenching is not prac--1 ticable, nor is it necessary, but unless the soil is naturally very friable subsoiling to a depth of 18in is advisable. Asparagus plants are always raised from seed, and plantations may bo established either by sowing the seed in permanent positions, thinning out the I resultant plants to the required dis- ! tance, or by raising the plants in _nurjsery rows and planting out established crowns when one or two years old. For ■ the home garden it is preferable to I plant established crowns, one year old, I obtained from a reliable nurseryman; ' but for establishing commercial plan- ; tations, both from considerations of i economy and convenience, it is better ! to raise the plants from seed. _ | A French method of establishing a bed is to strike out furrows from sft !to 6ft apart, after the soil has been reduced to a suitable condition by cul- • . tivation. In the furrows hills are made about 20in apart, and five to six seeds ; are sown at each hill. Subsequently the seedlings are thinned out, retaining only the strongest at each hill. As ■the plants grow well-rotted manure and J soil are applied at intervals until the j furrows are filled. Where this method |is used the whole of the area must be lin good condition at the time of sowing, for, although cultivnting_ imple- ; monts could be used for keeping the main area clean, a considerable amount of hand-weeding would also be necessary while the seedlings were becoming establislied. -In a dry season a greater amount of labor would be involved in keeping the bed watered. When the j lanting of crowns is favored upon commercial plantations it is an advantage to raise the plants in nursery rows and transplant the crowns when one year old. The less exposure . the roots are subjected to before planting the better; therefore, when raised by the grower the plants may be transferred directly from the nursery to the permanent bed and a better strike assured. In Bulletin No. 331 of the Berkeley f Experimental Station, California, conIsiderahle importance is attached to the j (selection of seed for asparagus culture, j California at present stands pre-emi-nent in asparagus production, and the ; present indications are that the acreage will continue to increase for many years. There the prolitable life of a plantation is considered to be twelve i years, and, although in some districts it appears to be longer, the practice with growers is to replant approximately one-twelfth of the acreage each year; hence the importance of seed selection. It is recognisd that large, plump, glossy, and well-matured seed is superior to small, dull, _ shrivelled, and immature seed. But it is not sufficient to judge by appearance alone; the best growers require to know something of the sources of seed production. Some contend that the plants must be not less than four years old before they have sufficient maturity and vigor to produce seed of high | quality. Others state that the seed ! snould be harvested from plants tho crowns of which were planted the previous year. The reason given for this advice is that the plants of this ago have not been weakened by the harvesting of sprouts during the current year to tho extent that other plants have; consequently it has been pos- ■ si bio for more energy to bo directed j to the production of seed. An advantage in taking seed from young beds : in preference to old ones is on account of the opportunity oilered to make more rapid improvement in varieties. Some hold that tho bottom part of the plant produces the best seed, and consequently it is advisable to top the plant alter the basal bowers have been fertilised. It is also asserted that by topping the plant more nourishment is available tor the remaining seeds, and that they will thereby become larger and produce more vigorous seedlings, j it appears that grading will eliminate the smaller and less mature seeds, which are borne neai the topis of tho branches, and that this is a possible and desirable substitute for topping. Whatever may bo tno merits or otherwise of selecting seed from two-year-old or lour-year-old plants and from certain portions of the plant, there can be no doubt that selection | of plants for seed production is a very important factor in improvement. ; With most of our crops both male and : female reproductive organs occur in the same plant, and usually in tho ' same iknver, but each asparagus plant ; is of one sex only. beed selection 1 therefore involves that seed-bearing plants of desirable quality will bo pollinated by male plants possessing | equally desirable characteristics. Van- : ous methods are adopted to secure this i end. The crowns of the most desirable male and female plants may be dug and set togetner in an isolated bed, grouping about five or six female plants around one male plant, so that the desirable female plants will be pollinated only by the selected males. A second method adopted in a commercial iielcl is to mane desirable'male and female plants in the rates of about one male to live lemaies. 'I lies© individuals should be fairly close together, so that tne pollen may be carried to the female plants. These marked plants should be allowed to mature belore the main crop, so mat pollination is only between, the individuals selected. A third method is to isolate small areas to be used for seed production only. At the beginning of the blooming period tho grower should grub out all weak -and undesirable types of male plants. If they are left in the field pollen from them may be carried to' the flowers of the selected jeniale plants, and the undesirable characters of the inferior males will be transmitted to the progeny of the superior females. It is unnecessary to grub out the inferior females, the seed from which should not be harvested. Both male and female plants tor seed production should be selected only from those whose stalks .are uniformly tall and about one inch in diameter, and whose branches do not sprout close to the ground. Low branching is co-related with an early opening of the tips in the marketable sprouts. In all cases the resulting seed should be sown, and : the qualifies of_ the progeny tested. ' By persevering in a systematic selection of parent plants and testing tile

progeny it is possible to improve the general quality of a plantation. Considering the length of time the plants remain productive, the individual quality ot the plants is a consideration of great importance. Asparagus roots may bo planted during June, July, and early August, and seed may he sown from August to September. The seed germinates slowly, and this process is hastened by soaking in water i tor eight to ten hours before sowing.