The Hawke's Bay Garden Guide

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXI, Issue 12, 27 December 1930, Page 12

The Hawke's Bay Garden Guide

(By

LEONARD A. GRIFFITHS.)

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1930.

“May your Xmas be a happy one, Your New Year a prosperous one And your garden a joy. ’ ’ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ Among the Flowers Window Boxes: Houses which possess window boxes or ornamental tubs and jars may now have phlox, eelosia oi portilacca. The whole secret of this style of gardening lies in knowing when end how to apply the necessary water. A daily sprinkling is useless as the roots only come to the surface for moisture. Once or twice a week is ample, but thoroughly saturate the soil, allowing a few minutes between each can for the water to soak in. A little ammonia sprinkled over the soil before watering will help to produce good growth. • • • “Mums’’ and Dahlias: These should be all planted now and making strong growth. Tie up firmly as they grow and feed well with liquid manure. Rust on “Mus” may be checked with sulphur, black spider with Black Leaf 40. Caterpillar on dahlias may be checked with arsenate of load. A mulching of rotted manure, grass and leaves wi help to keep the roots cool and moist. • • • Amaryllis Bulbs: Many gardeners are not aware that the best time to shift these bulbs is immediately after flowering. The same applies to belladonna and Jacobean types. Try nut to break the rpot clumps, but lift out holus bolus. When badly shifted, bulbs often du not flower for three or four years. Where bulbs are doing well and are not too overcrowded, no change should be made. Violets for early winter flow cring should be well looked after and watered through the dry period. Than out any unnecessary growth. * » * Plants for Shifting Now: Many varieties do not shift well owing to the dryness. Here are some that should do with ordinary card and enough water until established: Miniature sunflower, African marigold. amaranthus, cosmos, and penstunion. These are all tall growing varieties that will require plenty of room. Phlox, petunia, dwarf French marigolds, begonia and carpet bedding are dwarf varieties that arc suitable for edging and borders. « « » Save Money;

Most gardeners spend a few shillings every autumn buying anemone end ranunculus bulbs. Why not grow your own? So the seed thinly in fine sandy soil and keep well weeded. The plants will flower in the coming spring nearly as early as the hulbp and may be used again the following season. Some gardeners think that this is a long process, but after all, half the pleasure in gardening is in producing something. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ Among the Vegetables Dry Weather Hints: December is alwayn a busy month for the kitchen gardener, as hosts of weeds generally appear and grow faster than the cultivated crops. Frequent surface cultivation is necessary to give the vegetables a chance in what is usually a very dry, month. Occasional waterings are very beneficial. Ono thorough saturation weekly will work wonders. * * » Winter Crops: An early planting of greens for winter use is advisable as they should be thoroughly established before the fly commences. Savoy or succession cabbages are the best sorts for planting now. Broccoli or curley greens end Brussel sprouts are easily grown, requiring similar treatment to cabbages. These are especially good for frosty districts. Broccoli now takes the place of cauliflower and plants may be set at once. Have you ever grown the red or pickling cabtfage? They resist the fly and can be used as ordinary sorts. Succession Crops: Don’t forget to keep up small sowings of French and Gutter beans and dwarf peas for late crops. These will succeed well providing fliey receive sufficient moisture. It is not too late for a small planting of tomatoes to fruit late in the season. When planting set fho seeding well (Town to the first leaf so they may root Up the stalk. Rhubarb now should be well fed with liquid manure to produce flue healthy autumn »talke<

Spraying Notes: Potatoes and tomatoes may be sprayed with lime and sulphur or Bodeaux Powder to prevent the blight which attacks the leaf and stalks. Carefully note the directions on the packet or bottle before using as every make has a different strength. Caterpillar can be checked by using arsenate of lead, two teaspoonfuls per gallon of water. Scale on lemon and orange trees may be wiped out by using red oil spraying mixture. Seeds to Sow: Celery and leek seed may be sown in boxes or open beds for trans planting later when large enough. Plants are now available for those who are looking for an early start. When sowing root crops rake the ground finely first, make the drills and then thoroughly soak the soil before planting. Radish, carrots, swedes, beet and turnips may be sown. Spanach and silver beet may be sown where required to grow and thinned out later. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ Crow Yoar Own Plants From Seed

Methods of Raising Plants ■ Plants are propagated in various ways. By propagation is meant the increasing of individual plants. This may be effected in various ways—by seeds, by cutting, by grafts, by budding, by layering, by runners or by divisions. To-day, however, we will consider only propagaation by seeds, as this is the method almost universally followed by amateurs, and in the type of flowers called annuals is the only method. Au annual is a plant which passes through its whole life-span in one year, a biennial passes through its life-span within two years, and a piennial is a plant which lives indefinitely. Growing of plants from seed is nature's great method. The wild plant bursts into flower, the flower fades and is succeeded by fruit. The fruit contains the seeds, and these, falling to the ground in immense numbers, germinate, and if the conditions are favourable, produce new plants similar to the parent plant. In nature’s garden only a small percentage of the seeds which fall from the fruit attain to the dignity of a mature plant. They are harassed on all sides by enemies. They have to strive against their fellows,, and only the very sturdiest or luckiest can survive, What Seeds Require) In the garden it is the business of tho gardenr to arrange matters so as to give every seed the opportunity of germinating and producing a new individual. The two great enemies of the germination of seed are excess of water and cold. Water, of course, is necessary for germination, for very few seeds will begin life without it, but it must be only applied in moderation. Water is only harmful) if it excludes oxygen from the soil. Three things are necessary for the successful germination of 'seed:—(l) Oxygen, (2) sufficient moisture, and (3) a proper degree of warmth. Seed germinates best in a freshly prepared seed bed or box, because this will usually contain more moisture and more oxygen than one which has laid undisturbed for some time. The oxygen, as you know, is one of the gases which make up the air we breathe. Without it plant or animal life could not exist. Another factor is the depth at which the seeds are sown. Generally speaking, the slnaller the seed the shallower it should he sown. Such fine seeds as poppy, for instance, should be sprinkled broadcast, and then brushed over in tho lightest possible manner with a brush or twig. Peas, on th e other hand, should be coveted with not less than two inches of soil. Material Required;

Before preparing seed boxes oi pans, which, for the small gardener aro always handier than a seed bed in the open ground, it will be necessary to have on hand tho following materials, if possible:—Some good garden soil which has been passed through a quarter-inch sieve; some sharp silver sand; siftings from the rubbish heap, consisting of decayed vegetation; some decayed tan bark or broken flower pots. The two latter are for drainage purposes. Earthware seed pans are expensive these days, so most of us use wooden seed boxes These are about 15 inches square and about three to four inches deep. Cherry boxes, such as vou can easily obtain from the your greengrocer, make first-rate seed boxes. If boxes are used, a few holes must be drilled in the bottoms to allow of the drainage of surplus moisture. First of all clean the pan or box with a clean, rough cloth, and caver tho bottom with pieces of broken flower pots or tan hark to a depth of an inch or moie. On top of this place a layer of fibrous „;>rdc>i soil, such as will prevent the soil from washing dowa uumigat the drainage.

BollsA good compost or mixture of soils for raising seeds is made up of one part garden soil, one part siftings from the rubbish heap (leaf soil), and one part sharp silver sand. See that all is well mixed, and if it is too moist, allow to dry before using. You can test it as to whether it is too .moist or not by taking a handful, and squeezing it. If it clings tightly together when you let it go it is too wet, but if it crumbles on the touch it is just right. A soil that doesn’t cling at all is either too dry or too Sandy. After preparing your (soil fill the boxes. Press it down firmly, so that the surface is a quarter inch from the surface. The boxes are non ready for sowing. How To SOwi The method of sowing depends upon tho size of the seed to be sown. Large seeds, as Carnation, Dianthus, etc., can be spaced out about an inch apart, and will save further handling. . Germination in large seeds is generally fairly high, and makes it Worth while spacing them out. Smaller seeds, as Asters, Snaps, Phlox, Sunflowers, etc. should be sown thinly in small shallow drills in the boxes or pans, and the finest seeds of all, as Lobelias or Poppies, are generally sown broadcast on the surface. In sowing fine seeds it is a good idea, so as to prevent them being sown too thickly, to mix about twice their volume of clean dry sand with them. Then sow the seed and sand together. This method you will find will prevent overcrowding. If the soil is properly prepared and contains a proper amount of moisture, no further watering should bo necessary till the seeds appear. Some seeds are slow in germination, however, and should be watered before the soil becomes dry. If you allow the Soil to dry out at any time after the seed is sown, the tiny germ of life, started into action as soon as the seed becomes thoroughly moist, will be destroyed. Watering should bo done through the finest of sprays, or, better still, if you can manage it, stand tho seed pan or box in a dish or tub of water, taking care that the water does not flow over its edges. The water will soak up from the bottom and reach the seeds in this way. Pricking Out: When the seedlings are well up, the next operation is pricking them off. This is done as follows :—When the second pair of leaves appear, prepare other seed boxes in the same way as those in which you sowed seed. Take out every tiny plant and set it in the new box about an inch apart. Keep lightly shaded till they take a grip of their new home, and then stand outsjde so as to encourage root" growth. Keep well watered. When you aro ready to plant, ahd this should he about tho same time a» U’e seedlings touch, the plants can be ent in squares, and set but without trouble.