IN THE GARDEN

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XIV, Issue 276, 1 November 1924, Page 10

IN THE GARDEN

Seasonal Notes for Amateurs and Others

By

“J.R.L.F.”

Specially Written for the “Tribune*

Th© touch of spring with the increas •ng vigour of the sun. has set the lift sap of everything flowing with u freedom that arrests the eye at every turn ; and everywhere ther© ’is u resplendency of luxuriating’ life. The effect produced by tile return of spring is indeed a heaven given joy to the fortunate possessor of a garden and the past disappointments therein ar© now forgotten and the heart of the gardener for the time is full of forgiveness, to th© birds ,for. their mischievous habits as they sing merrily in* th© trees gladdening the air with their song. Eyerv portion of the garden with its renewed activity of growth is full of special interest, and the perfume laden derwy atmosphere of the early and late hours of the day as on© views the nectarbearing blossoms, is such as to make On© unmindful of the fact that there is much to do, for this there really is. but in such a lazy atmosphere it seeiris difficult to tackle. There is nothing for it though but to imitate the bee and buzz around. Ther© io something waiting to be done every where. The first and most important of all is to keep the surface stirred to kill all weed life, reduce th© slug nuisance, and at the same tim© increase the nitroforming bacteria in the soil by permits ting the 5 nutrifying influence's of the sun to operate. All this can b© effected by keping th© surface well stirred; freely ■ pulverised and open. This will also maintain and conserve the surface moisture of the soil, creating a condition that in the warm weather is of paramount importance to the welfare of plant life generally. Next, in import tanc© to the matter of tillage, comes the necessary attention to the leading features of the garden at the present time which undoubtedlv are the roses and sweet peas without which no garden could be said to be complete, and any garden of the smallest possible pretentions would be found to possess. Roses. The rose forms- a very imposing interest in the garden just now, and with the local show near at hand, our rose enthusiasts will be making special eqorts to bring their blooms to the borders of perfection . The season so for has been ideal for the .rose, growth hag been, pleasing in character, foretelling the production of good flowers. Fungus and fly hav© been less prevalent than for years past. Sound advice is from now forward to spray as a preventive rneagur©-before either put in an appearance. ‘ Th© presence of fly, thrip or red spider even for short duration does irretrievable damage and the attack of fungus prevents the plant from correctly performing its functions. An-occasional spraying with a solution of sulphide of potash, commonly known as liver of sulphur, at the rat© of one dunce to three gallons of water, will be found under present conditions to be a proper strength to' prevent or arrest fungoid growth. For green fly. nothing ’will surpass the XL all insecticide" for beneficial effect. It is a ready-to-use British manufactured nicotine preparation immediately soluble in water used at the rate of one part to forty of water. To prevent the formation of small drops upon the foliage which roll off and are wasted not having penetrated to or wetted th© insects, it is essential that the spray shQuld be delivered with force and in a finely distributed condition. To do this a spray* pump must be employed To the owner of a siriall garden all -this sounds like too much trouble and expense. But ther© is no trouble and. very little of th© . tfth©r. for few shillings will procurd a “Brown’s Autd-contihiiotts” spray pump which has a quart reservoir. It is strongly made, light and durable, and fills a much'felt want for stnall work. It is charged and ready for us© in on© minute. Place one terispodnful of XL all in the reservoir, fill with water, screw bn lid, and get to work. It produces a spray like smoke and a quart will go over a- large number of rosebuds and shoots. The beauty of having a pump of this kind is that instead of waiting until the fly has multiplied to an unbearable stage owing -to the messy job of preparing and distributing the fluid by a clumsy method; on© is able 4 at a momdht’s nbtiqe-'to mix' and begin to distribute within a minute or two and in one’s best without muck or bother, and snip off the enemy in the incipient stag© and thereby prevent *it tiprbading. Thinning and Feeding. For the production of good blooms all undesifabl©’ shoots should be removed, and those remaining will require .to be djsbudded. Undesirable shobts are those growths which are found to be superior or badly placed, silch as grbwihg across thin and puny., or are drawing the sap away from the mote important growths. The growths being selected, arid buds likewise, disbudding having received attention, febding 1 is the next consideration. Food is unquestionably the fuel that gives life and the average grower often sets to work to feed his rosOs with smaller knowledge on that subject than on any other ; detail of successful culture. Consequently fertilising elements are used, the activities and peculiar properties of which ar© iiot understood and administered to a soil of which still less is known. ‘ Should th© result prove good, th© stimulant is given the credit, and- if'not. then the weather is to blame. Sometimes the careful observer concludes the wrong stimulant may hav© been applied at an improper time to a soil ‘condition unsuited to the material suppliel. To apply artificial fertilisers to a soil that has not been properly cultivated is productive of poor re sults. Allowing that th© ground in which the roses are growing has received deep tillage and been well pub yerised arid richly nourished by digging in a large quantity of farmyard manure it is usually supposed that such a generous treatment should prove sufficient. But the fact has to be kept in view, that although fartnyard manure is a sheet anchor to both professional and amateur that it is for its mechanical: effect more than its manurial value that it is applied, because its value a s such is small. For this reason bon© dust should form portion of the food supplied. This is a slow acting fertiliser and does riot

supply all that is necessary for the formation ©f good shew blooms. For this purpose soluble phosphates are required in suitable form and quantity. Superphosphate is speedy in its action and is a mineral phosphate treated witii sulphuric acid; which process renders ar great part of th© phosphate toltibfe in water. It is upon this that its valub largely depends. As a finish m* tn© culture of good rose blooms it is much recommended. It ig an acid fertiliser, which on some soils in th© hands of those who are not -experienced in the us© of artificial manures, does not produce good results with roses. Therefor© it would be better te .ufe.;baric superphosphate to prevent ;disappointment. This compound is a mixture of lim© and superphosphate in auefl proportions as to neutralise th© acid effect. It is perfectly safe to use. and will give good results at the rate of two ounces to the square yard. Sqm© form ot nitrogen will be required In conjunction with this, and there ar© several forms m whjch it may be applied. Sulphate of Ammonia has a ten per tent content of nitrogen ©nd fot roses at this period of their growth nothing will operate as satisfactorily as sulphat© of ammonia at the rtite of one ounce to th© square yard. For the promotion of colour and strength of petal, it is petewafrv to apply sulphat© ©f potash in addition to this at th© rate of half an ounce per squar© yard. Some rosariana use dried blood at thig stage. It decomposes quickly, but does not contain anything of value to th© rose beyond about ten per cent of nitrogen th© cost of which per unit is much higher than contaipgd in th© sulphate of ammonia. In production of good, .rose blooms it has been condhsively. proved that th© supply of phosphates, nitrogen and potash must not fall bdow a certain mlniinuui and whilst ib i* impossible in a ‘ brief space to explain all the finer details such as ar© necessary for advanced rose culture under the varying condition % of soil and aspect, still} th© forefcofon information must prove useful, and will serve ag a-reliable guidante under all-round average Conditions. But on© thing .must be understood when using these inbtruetionaAdn tb© application of chemical fertilisers? and that is*, that they l can only be regarded as supplementary, and as ■ suck w4l h* found to b© of .great value where. the physical and. mechanical condition ot the beds are complete. r . ' Finishing the Bude. For show purposes, tflg grower cannot afford to wait*on th© weather for moisture and/will need unites favoured to . give artificial application after sprdading th*© chemical formula. This requires careful judgment. ,aa a very light watering', would not convey th© substances to a sufficient depth or carry too strong a, mixture to the tender delicate roots of recent forma* tion and on . the other hand a heavy deluge would defeat th© 'object aimed at by a heavy dilution and a tooth stant distribution beyond th© scene of action, fio common sense qjust piyv vail coupled with some little experience. In selecting the bud and disbudding, it is a'mistake, frequently practised, to remove all buds surrounding the on© chosen in the’ on© operation. This cause® a too’sudden flow Of sap into tlfe chosen on© and- creates a cn ukling 1 in th© centre petals due-to a tod-speedy growth which comes as a- kick before th© external'formation can expafid to receive it ’ Hence We see so manyiheL formed centres. ‘ This "condition is- also the outcome of faulty constitutional and varietal judgment in and occurs where no-supplementary, aid of any character is administered. From now on until the show, a brief’daily look over of th© bushes is necessary to watch for flv. fungus the femoval of buds generally, the moisturing of the root, the retarding of buds by shading individually,; or bottling to fofoe forward and bring the bnus well up that carry a multitude of petals and ar© ofttimes past their external best before the interior la fully developed. Jn all there is a busy time ahead for the grower to produce the best oilt of the spar e moments Swett Peat. Exhibition growers of this popular flower have had a rather unpleasant experience this season, in combating the slug nuisance. Total extinction Jias been th© result of the work of these gentle-looking agents of destruction fo many instances. Thig has been caused by the plants being ring-barked as as heavily eaten. These insects have been' so numerous as to baffle the most artful growers, there alWajjd appearing to have been a few that esl’Aped thcar attentions and hayjng climbed to the height. where th© growth wa* tender have ring-barked th© lead from where th© blooms were to hav© been prodhted; All lateral growths below having been removed, means that this caused partial or complete destruction accord? mg to the depth of the bite. There la a great deal of labour attached, to the growing of th© sweet pea to-a high standard of culture more so than any outdoor flower that is brought to our shows. Tile question arises, ar© they worth it? The enthusiasts say “O| cours© they are.” W©U. if weudisposed wide spread blossoms are going to be seen on the much-coveted twenty-four inch th© roots will need to be regularly moistur©d and fed from now forward. They will suffer tremendously if permitted to approach a stat© of dryness. Every application a of water should contain slight nutrition in the form qf nitrates aud sulphates. This will be best given in the «hape of nitrate of soda and sulphate of am/ponia. given alternately at no greater strength than on© ounce in ten gallons of water. The ground should be .mqist when .this >s apphed, and then as • guidance let it be said that th©>qua’ntity required for a watering works oul at on© quart per plant; Tljis should be applied in early mornfog; and on \all bright days tli© plants should, receive a good, syringing oveshqad at sundown; Keep .a watchful ey©*for mildew. An occasional light spraying with sujphide of potash $t the rate of one ounce to four gallons-to prevent its appearance is a wise procedure. Make up the solution fresh every time it is required. Don't allow the blooms to fully develop upon the plant or the high and delicate tints will have departed. Just when to cut tli© different vM-ieties can enfy b© learned by experience, but in'alt cases the final development of - the better blooms is for their being finished m water. ’>*> ■ Lawns and Paths. Th© outstanding external Jeature,of<a homo is to b© found in • it 8 * well-kept lawns and paths. Just now-th©/grass areas and paths should look■ their :yqry best?.- If they are not. it'is becausetef th© presence of weeds. a lawn after it is mown is vexing, 1 ugly and inferior. Removal by’ hand weeding is, a positive wftste of' tinie?Tan incomplete job‘and spoil©' the suHhto. The only satisfactory'remedy ig l to v .ap. ' ply “lawn sand:”' This process ot'destroying weeds -.on grassed sutfafctolls tar th© j cheapest and is thoroughly effectual. Now whilst ther© is mdisjurt in. the ground ■ and growth is moying is* th© time to apply. Weeds x>n paths may be more readily killed while they are damp beneath and-.th? growth) is succulent and the root vigorous. - Any good weedkiller solution /wilLdo. One gallon when diluted will cover a forgo area, and wiU keep th©,parte'treated quite clean for the whole season if properly used. The two refreshing features about “lawn Rand” and “weedkiller” are the labour and invidcntallv • tinie saved and the fact that the surface remains intact, being undisturbed.