GARDENING NOTES.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 3 October 1924, Page 3

GARDENING NOTES.

(By Waratah.) FLOTOR GARDEN. Anemones.—These beautiful flowers, so welcome in. spring, both for garden decoration anil cutting, should be raised from seeds each year and treated as biennials. The seeds should be sown in boxes of light rich soil and the yonng plants transferred to their permanent quarters in the' autumn. Shade the boxes from strong sunlight until the seedlings are'well up. The most popular strain of anemones is that known as St. Brigid: they have a wide range of colours, bloom for a long period, have very large semi-double flowers, and the fqliage is very attractive. 1 Ranunculus, which are among the most showy of spring and early summer flowering plants,-may also be very easily raised from seeds. They should have the same treatment as advised above for anemones. The variety known as ranunculus Asiaticus is the best kind to sow. Roses. —If flowers of good quality are required; the bushes must be gone over carefully and any superfluous and; weak non-flowering shoots removed. If all the shoots were allowed to grow a large quantity of small flowers would be produced. The number to be left depends on the strength of the plant—a weakly grower should be more severely disbudded than a strong growing variety. First remove all shoots growing towards the centre, of the bush; then any that cross others that would be damaged by friction. Sometimes tw T o or three shoots will grow from a single eye. In this case the strongest shoot (usually the centre one) should be left and the others removed. Strong growing varieties may have three or four shoots left on the ends of the main branches, but wdien more than one shoot is left on the same spur they should be on opposite sides and not* one above the other. When the flower buds appear there are usually more than one on each shoot. The side buds should be removed, leaving' the strong centre bud, unless it is damaged in any way, in which case one of the side buds should be retained. The superfluous buds should be removed as soon as it is possible to handle them. Liquid manure should be applied to the plants twice a week from the time the flower buds form. If .the soil is dry a good soaking of water should be given a feiv hours before applying the liquid manure. . Give at least a gallon to each plant, and strong plants a larger dose than weakly ones. A good liquid manure can be made by placing half a peck of fowl manure and half a peck of soot in a tub or tank of 36 gallons of water. The manure and soot should each be put in a porous sack and allowed to soak three or four days before using. By judicious disbudding and the use of liquid manure the size and colour of the flowers are wonderfully improved, and the stems will be much longer, which is a great advantage when the roses are cut for decorative purposes. One of the worst enemies of the rose is the rose Aphis or green fly. The plants should be carefully inspected at frequent intervals and the aphis crushed between the finger and thumb. If this is done early in the season much trouble will be caved, as the rate of production of the aphides is enormous. Keep a look-out, too, for. caterpillars. Pick off and destroy any curled leaf seen. Mildew, too, is usually prevalent in spring. It appears first as a white mould on the foliage and spreads with great rapidity. Dust powdered sulphur on the affected leaves while they are wet with dew", using a fine muslin bag, or loz potassium sulphide and one tablespoonful of liquid glue to 5 gallons of rain water is an excellent spray which will also keep “black spot” in check. Sow hardy annuals.

Divide and re-plant in good soil in a fresh, position old clumps of herbaceous perennials. Take cuttings of chrysanthemums. Plant seedlings that have been raised in boxes and hardened off.

VEGETABLE GARDEN. Plant potatoes for main crop in rows. 2ft Gin apart. Allow a space of 15in. between the tubers and place them Gin. deep. Plant Jerusalem artichokes in rows 3ft apart, 18in. apart in- the rows and Gin. deep. Sow cabbage and cauliflower seeds for succession and protect the seedbed from the depredations of slugs and birds. Sow carrots, parsnips and turnips in soil free from fresh animal manure. Tho minimum distance apart for the rows should be Ift for carrots and turnips and loin for parsnips. Carrots and turnips should be sown in small quantities at intervals of two or three weeks so as to have them young and tender. Sow broad beans, if single rows, 4in apart and rows 2ft Gin apart; double rows, seed Bin apart and 9in between the rows, double rows to be 31't apart, seeds to be sown 3in deep. Sow runner beans 4in apart and 3in deep in rows Gft apart, running north and south if possible. Leeks may be sown now in seed-beds for transplanting in December and January. Lettuce should' be sown thinly in shallow drills loin apart. Thin seedlings out to Bin apart as soon as large enough to handle. Lettuces thrive best when sown where they are to grow. The soil should be rich and very firm to obtain crisp, solid hearts, and the plants must he freely supplied with moisture in dry weather. Spinach'should be sown lin dee)) in rich soil in rows 15 to 18in apart. This seedlings out to Sin apart. Onions mav still he sowu in shallow drills 15 to IBin apart. Make the soil firm by treading or with a light roller. Sow the seeds thinly and thin out seedlings from 3 to 6in apart, according to the size of bulb reauired. Sow niekling onions in a small bed or in wide drills thickly and evenly so as to obtain small onions of even size. The soil should not be rich for this class of onion. Sow peas in well-worked sou that has been well manured, or fork in 2oz superphosphate and -J-oz sulphate of potash to each square yard. Sow 3in deep in drills 2ft apart- for dwarf varieties, and 5 to Gft if tall. A dusting of lime on the surface will prove very beneficial and make the soil unpleasant for slugs and snails, which are very troublesome this season. . Sow celerv in shallow boxes filled with fine soil pressed moderately firm. Sow thinly and just press the seeds into the soil. Shade till seedlings appear. The seeds are slow in ger- , minating. A<? soon as they are large enough to handle prick them out 2in | apart into boxes and keep well water- ! ed until large enough to he trans- ’ planted into trenches. Sow parsley half an inch Jeep and thin seedlings out to six incher apart.

A small sowing should be made of beetroot of the turnip-rooted variety in drills Ift apart. Thin to 3in apart and then use every alternate one as soon as large enough, leaving the rest to be used later in the season. In sheltered situations French beans may now be sown. '.By the time the plants are through the ground there should be no danger from frost. It is best to sow Small quantities at intervals. of three weeks until January, as the beans soon become touch if not picked young. , Sow thinly 3in deep and thin out to Gin apart. Drills should be 2ft apart. Sow radishes in small quantities once a fortnight in rich, moderately firm soil. Sow thinly and evenly in a small bed or wide drill and rake in. Water thoroughly in dry weather. To be crisp and tender radishes must be grown quickly. Thin to at least 2in apart.