GARDENING NOTES.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 5 February 1936, Page 6

GARDENING NOTES.

Routine Work in the Borders.

With all vacant space made use of in the borders, dahlias staked, and chrysanthemums catered for, the next work of interest is the preparing of sites for bulbs of all descriptions. Tingitana irises are among the first to be put in, and these need well drained soil in order to get them to bloom freely. The high parts of the rock garden suit them well, or along warm walls. Tulips like rich soil, well mixed with lime. Put manure well down, so that bulbs do not conic in actual eon--1 tact. Anemones and ranunculi love to be well catered for, with plenty of leaf mould and manure just out of reach of the conn. Freesias well repay if planted in rich soil. Bulbs for exhibition of the narcissi type should be given soil that has been deeply dug and enriched with either rotted weeds from the compost heap, chopped up turf and well decayed animal manure at the bottom, with a good sprinkling of basic slag 01 bonemeal mixed in with the last spit. Anemones thrive best where partial shade can be given them, the stems, too, are then much longer. Good drainage and raised beds are essential for early blooms. Cyclamen conns may now be potted up and started into growth. Prepare trendies for sweet peas. Sow seed of wallflower, Lceland poppy, primula malacoides, cineraria, polyanthus primroses and other things needful for early winter bedding out. Continue to layer carnations. All seed sown seeds to be kept v:y moist.

The Vegetable Garden,

Continue to sow dwarf peas and beans. Sow carrot for winter supply. Prepare ground for autumn sown onions. Plant all kinds of winter greens. Take the tips out of any long runners of pumpkins and marrows, to induce them to produce plcnt/ of side laterals. Keep cucumbers well supplied with moisture. Keep all newly planted greens well sprinkled with tobacco dust. Sow beetroot and silver beet. Keep all side shoots oft' tomatoes if early fruit is wanted, also nip out the top when .from four to bve trusses have set.

Catch Crops,

"What are catch crops'?" Very briefly, they are crops which tire stolen from the land in a short space of time, either during the growth of another crop, or in the few remaining weeks of the season after that crop has beea taken off the ground. All first class gardeners use catch crops greatly, and thus get much more food from their land than they otherwise would do. For the unitiated a few examples are now given. Take, for instance, crops of peas sown in the garden. These, to get the best from them, should be sown fairly widely apart and the two typical catch crops are early six weeks turnips and spinach. Then take the case of root crops, such as parsnips, beetroot, mamcrop carrot, etc., all of which occupy the ground for a long season. These crops .should have at least fifteen indies between each row. But when one has only a limited area to grow vegetables in such a distance as this, between the rows means that we ge'. very little return. If, however, onesows catch crops between the rows, down go our costs and up goes our production. It is possible to get two or three catch crops from one area by repeated sowing or planting during one. long, single season alone.

Sow the first eaten crops when you sow the main crops, for the earlier seed is in the ground the better. Pay as much attention to the catch crops as you do to your main crops, and clear them off the ground as early as possible. As soon as one catch crop is finished sow or plant another, and have beds of transplantable stuff coming on in the reserve garden for the purpose. Keep your catch crops thoroughly well soaked with water, and give them frequent dOots of weak liquid manure. And, lastly, kcop ail catch crops as free froia weeds ana as thoroughly well hood as it is possible to do in the restricted area in which they are grown. Tho diH'f catch crops which arc useful to the gardener an.- early earrois, corn sniad. endive, round beet, lettuce, ra.l ish, spinach and -;ix weeks turnips. Charcoal. This finds varied use in the gardeners' hand> > kit is nov or any g-eat importance. It is an ingredient of potting soils lor many plants, and a couple of pots full of charcoal dust pjr bushel oi soil, or even more of the lump charcoal, can after crushing be used. Lump charcoal can be put instead of potsherds at the bottom of pots for draining purposes, and it ensures the soil being ke|.4 sweet. It can also be put into vases for keeping the water of cut flowers fresh and sweet. One small lump in the bottom of each vase is usually quite i i i. i ■ - i • ■; 11 for the purpose and is said to be better even than permanganate of ; .,,tn.-!i. Out of doors, charcoal dust; can be used in the prepai anon of seed beds. I't may be used either alone or mixed v.iiii wood ashes. JI can be forked m freely round extra choice plants. Onion bec.a. To have a really good crop of onions it is essential to prepare the ground a good time in advance. It should bo trenched at least two spits deep and a liberal supply of good animal manure mixed with the lower soil. Too much humus cannot, be added to the soil for onions, and where the crop was clean last season and the soil well attended to the same bed may be used from yeai to year. Leave tho surface as rougl

as possible and if soot is available fork in . t good dressing a few weeks before planting or sowing takes place, making the surface soil very fine.

White Fruited Spindle Berry.

The white spindle berry -s not often seen, although it has been known for many years. It bears creamy white fruits with narrow pink streaks in some of the furrows between the carpels, and normally coloured seeds, the bright contrast with these fruits as with the usual pinkish purple ones. Spindle trees, or euonymus japonica, arc among the easiest of shrubs to grow, and in light, rather poor soil berries abundantly. The foliage in early autumn is beautifully coloured and may be cut from freely for decorations as pruiing is very beneficial to the trees. The Christcm Rose (Helleborus).

Plants whi.?h blossom rredy when there is a scarcuy of fl-uv are valuable aiu: among sum arc ilu* helleborus family .I- 1 ' <ne has a large clump and is dcsious < j mire stc.-k, it may be split inti, a :;:n: . number of pieces, but before replanting see that plenty of decayed animal manure is mixed with the soil. The plants will flourish either m full sunshine or partial shade. The work should be undertaken anout the end of March. Very few flowers will be available the first season, but with each succeeding year if an annual topdressing of manure is given there will be no lack of blossoms. The colour range is now much wider and they are 'among the most useful of things for floral work.

Mildews

In a botanical sense the term "mildew" is confined to special diseases l of plants caused by a certain definite "•roup of fungi, the erysiphaceae. This group —the "true mildews," or powdery mildews —is characterised as being quite superficial in its growth. That is, unlike the rust and most parasitic fungi, the mycelfum (or system of fungus filaments) is external, and only inserts minute suckers into the host phut to extract its food. In spite of this mildews cause serious damage (e.g., mildews oi app'e.s, ruse, ><;i: .n, (■:;;;,••';

nium, etc. As a rule each host has its own particular mildew. From their superficial habit of growth, the mildew iuuiM are easily seen, and .;pe<-iallv suitable io be eoninmed bv tin; u.»o o.

spraving mixtures or powders. The great secret is to apply early. Bordeaux mixture answers the purpose well. Cultivation Ol Carnations in the Border. Damp is the greatest enemy of the carnation, and to avoid it great care must bo taken in prepta'i-'g the soil, 'j. ue ground should 'e trenched at least a fortnight before planting is to take place, and then arched up and trodden very firm. To light soil add well rotted cow or farmyard manure. Stable manure is best for clay soils, to which sand or broken lime stone is added. The roots should on no account come in contact with fresh manure. Overrich soil is not. good for the carna w "i, but it can do with a little soot, and any amount of burnt soil from rubbish heap fires. They al:o benefit from occasionally small applications of superphosphate and lime should be applied annually. Carnation layers should r>e planted out in autumn. Autumn planting produces finer stock, as well as a larger number of blossoms, and is to be recommended except when soil is apt to become water logged. Plant at least fifteen inches apart, and make the soil very firm round the roots and stem, avoiding any depression which would hold water at the collar. All dead or diseased leaves should be removed and burnt, otherwise there is little to be done during winter for plants in the border. JMuicnmg or hoeing conserves the moisture deep in the soil and if at any time it becomes necessary to water them give them a thorough soaking and leave them for at least three days before- appiyir.g more. Flower stems must be disbudded rigorously if it is intended to exhibit, -fciven for ordinary purposes varieties which produce half a dozen buds close to- | gether at the top of tnc stem require to be disbudded. But an increasing number of modern varieties produce blooms at even distances down the stem, and these rcqu're little or no disbudding except for exhibition. Border carnation* are being rapidly improved at presen! and each year sees the int oductiou o' novelties which a-e superior to olde: varieties.