Gardening Notes

Hutt News, Volume 3, Issue 29, 11 December 1930, Page 19

Gardening Notes

CHBYSANTHEMUMUS.

The Chrysanthemum needs no introduction to the flower lover, and there is -*j|P>jiecessity fox me to speak here o±' ite beauty, and the addition that it makes to the glory of the garden. There -are few flowers that are so hardy, and when, the heaf of summer conies aiong aad everything is dried and withered, "With the advent of the autumn rains these lovely blooms compensate.tor all that has <been lost. Although there are many different sorts of ClrrysantheJwams ftuch as Japanese, Chinese, Anetaoae, Single, Pompone, wo do not see

, many efceept the Japanese and Single, "^ aad certainly these two are the ilnest of the lot. In the Japanese dass' we .have a wide range of colour, size, and f«irm* Their florets may toe eiliher flat, Hated, quilled or tuberluted) of varying length, from, very short straight spreading florets, to long, drooping, twisted, or irregidarly incurved ones. la breadth the florets may vary greatly, ranging from those six in-ches in width to others scarcely broader than' 4fcoteut thread. Tips of the florets may 1m cupped, hollowed, curved or reflex-. e«L To those who want large flowers, AOt necessarily for exhibition, care should be taken so that good suitable •rwLTi&tioa are selected, as there are many sorts which are a success for tshow purposes but a failure for garden flowers. This selection I have dealt with later on. To obtain good blooms .for cutting tike ground should be well turned over and manured with decay«t stable manure, and a small quantity of bonedust may also be mixed with, the soil. Select ni«e yovjug plants «at from September to November, keop the plants pinched back until December, and then take six good shoots and. tie each one to a stick. Remove all the other growths, selecting only the centre bud on each shoot and take, off all other buds. See that the plants do not suffer for want of water, and an occasional application, of liquid manure after the buds are well set will be toeneiiaial to tixe flowers. If a lot of flowers ana required, keep pinching back to allow the shoots to grow and flower. Same of the single varieties will len.d< themselves splendidly to this method, i The phase of Chrysanthemum growing I particularly wish to deal with in this article is the obtaining of laTge blooms for exhibition. 'Different people, of course, have different methods of arriving at the perfection of bloom which is .necessary to catch the judge's eye «t§Ca Chrysanthemum Show. Some grow in pots, some in kerosene tins, others trench the ground, but the following method is the one which I iiave adopted, and has been that which has produced most of the champion, flowers that have been shown during past few years:—^Seleet a place which is skelter--•d from, the severe winds, although it mast not be under trees or too near trees. Make a small raised bed on top of the hard ground, and at the sides place pieces of wood about six or nine inches deep, three feet wide, and the length that you desire tho bed to be. On the bottom of the bed lay some old iron or bricks to give it a solid foundation; if bricks are used it is wise to put old mortar or lime between them to prevent worms, etc., coming op into the soil and so as not to allow the roots to go below the iron or bricks. It is really surprising what fine blooms can be grown in, a small yaTd- or garden. With reference to coil, select, if possible, from a paddock virgin soil, and take about-one inch off the top, grass and all, and lay this in a heap so as to enable it to rot in. the. winter. About August turn over the •oil and add a little horse or cow manure, about one barrel ftdl to a dray load of soil, with the addition of a pot j of bonedust, some charcoal and a few j handfuls of soot. Turn these all over !

four ot five times before putting it into your beds, and mix the lot well together. At the last tUTning add a little lime. In passing, I might mention to select, if possible, turfy soil— personally I prefer a heavy one to a light sandy soil. About September put this nicely mixed compost into the bed1' of six inches deep, which could be filled almost to the top, ram it down to about four inches so tha-tf you will have four inches of soil and two inches to allow for watering, top dressing/etc. About October secure some nice healthy plants of the finest sSiow varieties, but do not attempt^to yrow too many yarietiee. Chwr tfce bw»ts it is much bettor to grow two plants of a good sort than

a lot of inferior ones. Make a little hole in the bed just large enough to allow room for the plant, and then press the soil firmly around ; it. Place each plant about nine inches from thw side of the bed, and allow a/bout 18 inches between each one. The bed fciree feet wide, with two rows 9in. from each side, will be ample for show, flowers. When they have started^ W grow and are about six inches high, t>in<jh out the. tops of the plants; this will cause thorn to make a break £rom the bottom. This is all that need be done until about December, when three or four good shoots should be selected and the others taken away from the plant. Stake up and tie to sticks, the ones that are selected, and take any other shoots off, except two or three laterals, the Teason for this being in ease grubs or insects eat away the top ones. When you are certain that the tops thave got a< suflieiently good start all laterals may then be removed; There is difficulty in staking when you have only four inches of soil to work, with.I find the best plan is to drive a good Btrong stick into the ground outside the beds, at the end of each row, and stretch a wire from one stick to the

other. You can then tie each stake to the wire, and it is t£ms made solid. Bemeiniber that the plants must not be allowed to suffer for want of -water, although, they will go for a long time without it. If you see any signs of wilting whatever, give them a good soaking. Keep the top of the soil well raked over about half an inch deep, and this comprises all the work that will be necessary till about Februaxy save that you must keep a vigilant eye for grabs and pests wiaich are apt to become troublesome. Now the main point as far as show blooms are eoneerned is selecting the right bud. In some varieties the fitfsit crown fmd (generally the earliest one to show* in 1 February) makes the best flower, white in others it is Jthe second crown bud" that should receive attention. Unless you are a well experienced grower, it is a good plan to select each. {bud on. the same plant and to note the finest bloom, so that wiien the next jseason comes along your •experience will tell you what to do. In varieties that have not too many (petals, the first crowrtf bud is the best to get large flowers from, and the second one will be .most successful with blooms that have many petals. Generally speaking, the buds; for show flowers are selected from about the stjTb. to the 18th. February, and the others "on the central one are removed as- :soon as it' can be done without injuTing the selected bud. This enables the whole energy of the plant to be attracted to the one retained. "When the buds are beginning to swell and get large, .ithe plants will benefit by a top dressing consisting- of cow manure, soot and bonedust: Give, a good^ watering before putting this on, and lanother watering when it is on. An occasional watering of liquid manure (obtained by adding about a bucket of cow manure and soot to a jbaTrel of water) about twice a week, with an air and jlight as ppssible. The finest J of water) will benefit t&e (blooms, but j this should »be stopped when, the blooms, are half out in flower. Wtentte flowers are beginning to appear they will need protection from the stvnand lthe ( rain. Calico is mostly used for this, as it is advisabl© to a^lmit as nraeh varieties for exhibition purposes (leavout the*latest novelties)' aTe as follows: "William Turner, Kara Dow, Pockett's Crimson, Eeginald Vallis, Gladys Blackburn, Alice Lemon, JJady Talbot, Mrs. A. T. Miller, Mrs. G. Uoyd Wigg, Mrs David Syme, Mrs. Geo. Kelly, Miss E. King, Mrs W A Eeid and E M. Juitoccasional watering of sulphate of lammonia (about half an ounce to a gallon tenton.

OHBYSANTHBMTJMS* The planting of chrysanthemums: mus receive attention at once. The ground should be ready. They are not deep roptj&stg'subjects, iHLOst of .the roots being near the surface. One essential

is good drainage, and where the soil is. inclined* to be wet plant on raised beds. A good soil for the plants is good tuft which has been stacked for a few months, with the. addition of a little, well decayed cow manure and a sprinkling of soot and lime. Most of us will have to plant in the ordinary garden soil or, not at all. However, once planV ! ed, and the plants growing, the application of topdressings of a sweet, rich compost will give great results without any exceptional large outlay. Choose an open situation, sheltered from high winds if possible, but not so enclosed that the atmosphere is almost stagnant. The plants are best in rows, putting them about a foot apart and the rows quite 3ft apart. As a rule however, one or two rows is all that the average amateur grows. Where there is a good compost ready for using, "dig out a shallow trench about 6in. deep, fill with compost, well ram it, and plant in this. However, for a start a rich soil is unnecessary and the'plants can be planted out in ordinary garden soil,, and where they have commenced to grow , the top-dressings can be given. Another method is to enclose a bed with 9in boards, put in about 4in of a good compost, and plant in this, afterwards adding further top-dressings as growth proceeds. Crood varieties should be chosen, nevei v mind whether new or old, but let them be good,, reliable sorts. Another point is firm, planting, so as to produce a firm growth^, this being very essential, for the production of large flowers. For garden decoration the chrysanthemum can { be planted la beds or borders, but even with this a similar method of, culture is worth following, for unless well grown the results are very disappointing-. .' TOMATOES. Tomatoes can now be planted for the. main crop. If trained on single stems, which is far the best method, the plants shoiikl be in rows 3ft apart, and the plants should be about IBin. apart in the rows. These can. be either trained to single stakes, or, if a large quantity is grown, two or three wires' stretched the length of each, row will provide the necessary supports. In selecting, choose plants that have been well hardened, and if the plants have grown tall before planting tie them, down, leaving only about 4in of the top showing above the soil. The main object is to endeavour to induce- the first bunch of fruit to form. as near the ground as possible, and for this; reason, they should not be placed in too rich soil, as it will only result in rank, vigorous growth, instead of fruit being formed. When once the bunches of fruit are formed they can be given all the assistance necessary to' assist in developing their crop. ""' DAHLIAS. Dahlias may be .planted any time now. When they arc grdwn'in beds and borders a distance of five feet should be allowed between the plants. This should give ample room without loav-1 ing too large gaps, but generovis treat- o inent should be provided. A good plan -would be to dig out a hole three feet -in diameter to a depth of one foot and to put in a layer o fmanure, digging this well into the bottom spit- Then put back the soil taken out, mixing with it some leaf -soil and firming it i during the' process. After the "plants have been set out and'staked, fork over the whole of the border or bed "and set an edging around it.

THE aLADIOLUS. The gladiolus is one of those flowers that has jumped- into favour very quickly of'late years, and nowherjg has it more supporters in proportion' to population than in the Hutt Valley. Fairly easy to grow, not particularly prone to disease, results more or less^ sure, and occupying little space, and thus allowing a fairly large number to be grown in a small garden, there is no wonder it is popular. The planting of bulbs has gone on since August, w.hich. is tie month when the majority of

bulbs are planted, but even now bulbs can be planted. Certainly they will flower late, but that is no detriment as it ensures a longer flower season. The bulbs planted early to provide the main display, usually about the middle to the end of November, will this season

owing to the weather, not be at their best till the middle of December. So far the growths are looking well, and the flower, spikes, although not. yet showing are beginning to push tip iii-? side the sheath of foliage. Now is the time when the judicious"-.application- of a little weak liquid manure can do wonders, but let it be weak. I>o not for a moment think that if one spoonful is good a double dose is twice as good. No more should be given than the plant can assimilate. What to give is the question. Many growers "will not hear of manure, but then we have all not got first class soil. Some are doing their best on stuff somewhere below third-class, and unless they use manure they have no possible hope of getting anywhere near the more favoured one. Probably the best method is to scatter a spoonful or so of guano or fish manure on the soil round the bulbs, hoe it in, and allow the rain or watering to wash it in. Blood and bone could be used in place of those men-, tioned previously, but it would not be so complete a manure. "A mixture of one part sulphate of ammonia, three parts superphosphate, and one part sulphate of potash, used at the rate of a tablespoonful to the gallon, and applied as liquid manure, could, be used oncd a.week. The dry manures should be applied now and again in about a fortnight, that is, about a month, before the blooms open. This gives the essential part of the manure to become available by the time the plants need it. Once the buds show- colour do not give any further manure, either liquid or otherwise, as it is inclined to cause the colour to "break" or become streaky. A mulching of cow manure, applied now, especially where artificial, watering is not possible, will reserve moisture and help to carry the bulbs over a dry period should such intervene between now and flowering time.

; A FINE SEED-BED. Thorough preparation of the seedbed is the most important step in seedsowing. The soil should be dug and raked to get it into general good con-dition—r-but that is not a seed-bed. Just before you plant, it should, be gone over thoroughly again, so it will be moist dear to the top, and '■ the surface should be made as fine and as level as--you can make it. A number of garden seeds, such as onions, carrots and turnips are very small aad aust not be planted deep. If the soil is- rough and lumpy, Jit will dry out very quickly on tap, when a few inches lelow the surface it is abundantly moist. It is no less important to prepare the soil thoroughly where plants are to be set out. It must be fine and mellow to pack closely round the hundreds of little rootlets, and to form "a dust mulch on the surface as soon as the planting is' done.

STAKTNCi- PEAS, / Peas ought to be staked before the stems of the plants begin to bend and by getting the sticks prepared in advance, time is saved. Almost any kind of boughs will do, providing they are twiggy and not too thick. They should be cut green, laid flat in bundles, and the tops should have some 'logs dr heavy weight placed on them. This will press them flat, and when opened out for use it will be found that most of

the branches are fanlike. If, as is of-

ten the case, the branches are not cut till required, trim off any twigs point-

ing the wrong direction. A bundle of

sticks such as these is more useful than two or three bundles of bare sticks. In addition to pointing the sticks they should be made flat by cutting off straggling pieces pointing in the wrong direction. Before staking* peas, a little earth should be drawn up to the plants on each side of the' row,

care being taken, not to insert the sticks too near the plants or damage to the roots may occur. The stakes should not be inserted in an upright manner: but in a diagonal fashion on each side of the row, the sticks on one side, of course, sloping in the opposite direction to those on the other. This method locks the sticks together and keeps them steady during wind. The height of the various varieties of peas must, - of course, be taken into consideration, and the longest sticks be reserved for the tallest peas; TO KEEP AWAY CABROT-FLY There is something peculiarly-valu-able in the use of lawn mowings as a mulch among carrots. The mowings should be laid on thickly between the carrots as soon as.-they are up. This treatment i% certainly highly beneficial ' in promoting the rapid growth of the carrots. That alone ensures a good cl^an growth, and the fly seems to have been driven away, or prevented from injuring tie roots. DEPTH TO SO^V VEGETABLE SEED , The depth at which some of the principal vegetable seeds should be sown are as follows:-— ,Lettuce and onion seed, deep. Cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, savoy, broccoli, radish., turnip, parsley/ parsnip and carrot —Jin. ' Spinnaeh and beet—linch. Asparagus;—l£in. • French or dwarf beans and Pjeasr—2in. Scarlet runners—2£in. Broad beans—7-3in. ' If you are unable to use a supply of spinach one day, wrap it in a well-damp-ed ejoth and keep in a cool place. It will then,, be quite fresh for use next day or " even the day after, if you redamp the cloth. Lettuce and other salad green, ', stuff may be treated similarly if wanted for another day. _ Lettuces will remain, crisp longer if they are emersed in cold salted water for half an Jiour before they are washed. Limp lettuces may be revived this way.. To be on the safe side, it is always as well to leave lettuces in salted water fox a little while] This makes short work of any small flies or insects. Mint ana parsley keep fresh in earthen ware jars. Do not keep them together, however, as one will spoil the flavour of the other. Parsley washed in hot water retains" a brighter green than parsley ' washed in cold water. Mint is more easily chopped if sugar is sprinkled over it while chopping. ■