GARDENING NOTES

Grey River Argus, 9 May 1936, Page 3

GARDENING NOTES

THE GREENHOUSE AND NURSERY. Chrysanthemums will soon be the main feature in the greenhouse, and though it is too early to take cuttings of the main lot, it is advisable to put in those of scarce varieties as they become available. Should -.be plants be attacked by mildew or rust, dip them in some disinfectant such as livin’ of sulphur, lux. in a gallon of water, before inserting them. Continue to maintain a dry and buoyant atmosphere, giving abundance of air on all favourable occasions. Plants gr swing in the open and showing coloc etui be lifted and put into pots o> boxes or planted out in a border in tier shelter. Continue to pot on primulas of van ous kinds, and cinerarias, and make a sowing of schizanthus, clarkias, godetias. and any other hardy annual which it is desired to flower in the spring. Bulbs of various kinds which were potted or boxed up some time ago ctn In* brought into a little heat to hasten growth if early flowers are desired. Continue to make and put in hardwood cuttings of bush .fruits, roses, hedge-plants and -various flowering shrubs. Gradually ripen off tuberous begun ills, and when ripening is complet" store in a dry, frost-proof shed. Do not put them under the greenhouse bench where they are liable to get drips from the plants above. Give vineries plenty of air at. fill times, and to clear the tomato house for chrysanthemums cut the ripening -fruit and hang it. up in a sunny window. THE FLOWER GARDEN. Though we have not bad : ny fr 'st yet we cannot expect to escape much longer, and preparations ean be made lor replacing the summer beddiii'. plants with spring i'loweting kinds. Wallflower, primrose, po'yanthus, for-get-me-nots, and double daisies can be planted as beds or space in the mixed borders become available. Trench new rose beds and any other new beds or borders while the soil is in good working order. Ornamental trees and shrubs cm now be planted out, and. old rose be’s and borders ean be overhauled. First lift the plants, pruning them fairly nai'd back if they are worth replanting. Heel them into a cool, shady place and proceed with the trenching and manuring, placing a layer of manure in the bottom of the trench and another on top of the first spit. If the soil is heavy, mix in a good dressing of lime rubble or coke breeze and dust with lime. Allow the beds or borders to settle a little before planting, but send on a list of the new roses you intend to obtain to the niirseryman at once. Lift rooted layers of earnations and plant in their permanent positions or line out in a nurserv lied. Carnations like sea sand. Continue to overhaul and top-dress the rock garden, and plant our alpines. Cut over herbaceous perennials, remove annuals and biennials which are past their best, and lift and dry off gladioli. Attend to draining, forming new

paths, and repairing old ones, and topdressing and patching lawns. THE VEGETABLE AND FRUIT GARDEN. Continue to collect apples and pears as thev ripen, ami to rake up leaves and fallen deformed fruit ami burn 1 hem. Prepare ground for new plantations of bush and tree fruits. A start can be made to prune gooseberries ami currants, and trail lives ■which are making excessive growth can be roof pruned. Continue to earth up celery and leeks, to li ft beet root an ( | carrots, ami >tore them in sand in a shed, or in soil by a path. Parsnips are better kept in the oround until required. Jerusalem artichokes can be cut over, but they, too, are better left in the ground until required. Asparagus can be cut over. and after weeding the beds and pricking up the soil a little give a slight dressing of salt or kainit and a mulch three inches in depth of hall-rooted manure. Some clean soil can be spread over it. Trench or dig and mainire all vacant ground, leaving the surlaee rough and open to admit air and I i ost diti ing the winter. Rhubarb can also be cleaned and mulched with half-rotted manure, and roots intended for forcing or replanting new beds should bo dug out mid left exposed under a hedge lor a lew weeks. VIOLETS. These fragrant flowers tire always appreciated, especially during the winter and spring months, when hardy flowers tire scarce. The moist weather during February ami March has suited them and buds are appearing in quantities. These will be assisted bv a light top-dressing of some kind,'hut first remove all weeds, dead leaves, and other rubbish which may have collected among the plants, and give a good dusting of blood and bone manure or fowl manure which has been mixed with an equal quantity of dry earth and rubbed into a fine powdei. Though the flowers appear during the winter they are liable to be spattered with dirt or spoiled by rough weather and the flower stalks are also short. If an old frame is available it can be parllv filled with light soil and the plants lifted with, a good hall of soil and replanted in tins.. They should he not more than nine inches from the glass; they should be watered well at once, and kept partly shaded and closed for a few days nt.iril the plants recover from their shill. They can also be covered where , they are growing by placing a cold frame over the bed or fixing a sash or old window about nine inches above the plants.

DRAINAGE. When laving out a new garden oi overhauling and remodelling tin old one the question of drainage is sure to crop up. and whether the sec-lion is on the hill or on the lint some provision should be made. Water can become troublesome from three some es: (1) ft can fall from I he clouds as rain in quantities far in excess ot the requirements of our plants, especially in winter and early spring when

there is little demand for it by the plants. (2) It can rise up from below, and what we call the waler-l.aldo mav be too near the surlaee. J his is a common complain on the Hat. (./) It can soak down from higher land above ami conn' to the surtace in the form of springs. Ju every case the water has to be removed as quickly as possible, and this is usually done by laving drains, either agricultural pipes, stones, or scroll being used. Agricultural pipes are the most elfeet ive, ami when they are covered with six or more inches oi rubble or clinkers they are cpiick ami elleelive. They are usually laid at a depth ol about 21 fl to 3ft.. and w hen on a slope lb,.\- are laid diagonally so that they will intercept tile water as it percolates downwards and run it oft. 1 hey are provided with a lull towards the lowest part, where some provision has to be made for an outlet. A verx effective drain can be formed with bricks or stones, and when covered with turfs or twiggy scrub to keep out the soil such a dram is ettectixo and cheap to put down. A tiench filled with twiggy manuka scrub is effective for a time, but the scrub rots ami soil gets in and blocks it tip eventually. A soil which is waterlogged is not f't for the growth ol any but :t lew plants. The water .displaces the air which is so essential tor the liealili} development oi the roots, and it keep--it cold, retarding growth in spring and early summer. It also encourages the formation of organic acids (the soil becomes sour) and in this slate it is not suitable, for the growth ot our most valuable iruits, llowets and vegetables. Deep cultivation also assists drainage, especially where there is a shingly or saudv subsoil, ami lor this reason as well as others I always recommend trenching a now garden and every year ti part ot' an old one. trenching not only assists drainage and opens up the Subsoil, admitting ait which acts on the insoluble mineral matter, rendering it available lor the plants’ g,rowth, but it enables )he roots to penetrate deeper layers and also to obtain supplies of moisture when shallow soils would be dried up. Soil which has been trenched is easier to dig ami cultivate ever afterwards and all garden operations become less laborious.

When the subsoil is sufficiently good if. can be brought to the top, but in most cases it is not advisable to bring up much of the clay or sticky sill: bv breaking up the bottom of the trench and burying a good amount ot organic matter it is greatly improved. Before commencing take out an opening about two feet wide and the same in depth and 'wheel it to the other end of the plot to be trenched. Break up the bottom with a pick, or spade if it is not too hard, place a layer of old vegetable matter in the bottom, mark our another trench two feet wide, ami scrape the grass or weeds off. placing them in the bottom. Next throw over a spit deep, and shovel over the crumbly part on top of it. If available, put, a layer ot manure on this and then throw over another spit of soil and again the crumbly purl, leaving the surface as rough ami open as possible so Ilia! air and Host mav net upon it during the winter. Break up the Ind lorn of the I reach and again pul in fresh straw manure or vc eela bl e mat lei’, and continue until the work is completed.

Even perennial weeds win lot it buried e than two feet deep, but I would not I rust old-man couch or convolvulus. They are better burnt and iheir ashes added to the soil. Where the soil is not sufficiently deep to allow of two spits and two shovellings being thrown over, what is known as bastard trenching is carried out. This i.. usually desirable in the upland gardens where there is a bollux a loot of black soil on toil and clay underneath. The lop three inches is put in the bottom. one spit and shovelling thrown over, am! the bottom broken up to a depth of 12 inches, if possible. A little of the clay is brought up, and if quantities of manure and vegetable matter is added and further trenching carried out every few years the depth of cultivable soil is increased, and also the depth of tin* rooting medium. 1 should recommend trenching about a fifth or sixth of the vegetable garden every year, and trenching the flower beds and borders about every live years. Trenching is not such very hard work' if you have the right tools —a spade, shovel an,] pick—and these are kept clean, sharp, and in good order. It is good exercise on a cold frosty day.