Seasonal Gardening Notes

Hutt News, Volume XXII, Issue 6, 21 July 1948, Page 13

Seasonal Gardening Notes

(By "HOItTl.”)

To avoid waste of seed and the labour of replanting later on, no seed should be sown in a soil which is too wet or which lias not been properly pulverised. Even though the seeds of certain vegetables, such as peas, beet, cabbages, onions, lettuce and spinach will germinate at temperatures of 50 degrees or less, time will be gained by waiting- until “spring- opens up.”

Hotter Practice

Sewing after, rather than before a rain in this district will be found to be the better practice, as after rain the soil is inclined to bake. The

crust, which forms under these conditions should be promptly broken up with a rake. Firming of the seed bed after planting ip a universal

practice but a light tamping with the back of the rake will be all that is necessary at present. Where sowings of parsnips and onions are being made as opportunity offers it

is worthwhile to add a few radish seeds to the packets before-sowing. These seeds will germinate quickly and will give you an indication as

to the location of the rows which may then be kept free from crusting until the onion and parsnip plants appear, usually after three to four weeks from sowing.

Keep the surface soil around

growing plants loose to take full advantage of the sun’s warmth. It is surprising the growth that established plants will make even, now with a little attention and cultiva-

Nitrate of Soda

Nitrate of soda is chiefly valuable as a manure because it gives luxuriance and brilliancy of colour to the foliage of plants. The practical gardener may be able to tell at a glance whether his plants are lacking in nitrogen or not, but there may be many of us who are unable to tell by a mere glance. When the leaves of a plant are luscious and deep green and the shoots are gross and sappy' it is a sure sign that there is an abundance of nitrates in the soil. Such rank growth can only be produced by their presence and it would therefore be a mistake to add nitrate of soda to such a soil. To check this rankness of growth it would be wise to add phosphates, potash or lime and thus induce the formation of flowers and fruit instead of wood.

Nitrate of soda is a very quickacting manure, that is, it yields up its nitrogen soon after application and especially after a shower 6f rain. It should, therefore, only be applied to soil which is carrying a crop of full growth, and which shows by the colour of its foliage that a dressing would be beneficial. As growth is most rapid in spring and summer these are the best seasons for applying nitrate of soda. As an autumn and winter dressing it would be practically wasted. As a stimulant in conjunction with , organic manures already in the soil

nitrate of soda is excellent for cabbage crops, including turnips, beet, spinach, etc. It is very seldom necessary to apply it to crops such as peas or beans, as these plants are capable of obtaining their own supplies from the atmosphere. Perhaps the best way to use nitrate of soda is as a topdressing, afterwards working it into the soil with a hoe or as a liquid manure, dissolving about loz. in a gallon of water. Nitrate of soda may be used with basic slag, but should never be mixed with sulphate of ammonia or.kanit.

Mixing' Manures

The gardener who wishes to economise by purchasing only the manures he requires should also make himself acquainted with the different chemical effects of one manure upon another, otherwise it may happen that what he saves in one direction may be lost in another. If certain manures are mixed or used with others the fertilising value may be either neutralised or lost altogether owing to the chemical changes taking place. The following hints as to the manures that may or may not be mixed with each other may be useful.

Stable Manure or Farmyard Manure should not be mixed with lime because the lime drives off the ammonia gas into the air and thus causes it to be lost. Nitrate of Soda should not be mixed with superphosphate as the sulphuric acid in the latter sets free nitric acid in the form of poisonous fumes, and the nitrogen is lost. Sulphate of Ammonia should not be mixed with basic slag because the free lime in this manure would drive off the ammonia gas. The following mixtures may be made with safety:—Sulphate of am monia with superphosphate, bone flour, bone meal, lish guano, and potash salts.

Nitrate of soda with basic slag meat meal and kanit. Kanit or muriate of potish may be mixed with superphosphate, although a little hydrochloric acid may be given off in fumes.

The Garden Fork This is one of, the garden tools that should be brought into use at this time of the year whenever it is possible to work on the soil without it becoming sticky. The aut-umn-dug soil breaks down to a finer tilth after it has been exposed to •the winter rains and frosts, particularly so when the soil lias been

thrown up rough and ridged. To prepare this soil for planting all that is necessary is a light forking over to a depth of about four or six inches, breaking up all clods and finishing up the surface soil for use. The garden fork is also most useful among the permanent plants of the garden. It is a more useful tool than the spade in cultivating among the

shrubs and trees and in the borders. Here its function is to aerate the soil and prick in the mulches or manures or dressings of fertiliser to be taken down by earthworms and washed in by the rain. In places

where Idee'p disturbance ,is impossible, such as lawns, the fork can be usefully employed to aerate the soil by plunging it into the soil to its full depth and leaving holes about a foot apart.

Compost for Begonias

For the amateur gardener with a small glasshouse there are few plants which give more pleasure-than the tuberous rooted begonia. Begonias do particularly well in this district, as those who have been fortunate enough to visit the local horticultural shows over the past few years will agree. It is my intention to give cultural notes on these plants through the growing season, principally to assist the many new growers who desire 10 cultivate >a few of these interesting and beautiful plants. As begonia tubers are now dormant, all that will be necessary will be to examine the tubers regularly to prevent damage by rot or insects, particularly grubs.

Begonia Compost

The preparation of the soil is the most important feature in growing good plants that will produce high class blooms. Its nature and ingredients supply the means whereby root action is assured, as well as supplying the necessary food for the production of good plants. Old turfy loam is the first essential for a good compost. To this should be added well-rotted stable manure, coarse sand, and leaf mould. These ingredients are the basis of a good begonia mixture, and ar-; worth going to some trouble to obis in if you are not in the fortunate position of having these materials available.

Tiie following mixture may be prepared now and stacked in a bin until potting time to allow the compost to become thoroughly sweet and fit for immediate use:—6 3gallon buckets good turfy loam; 1 3-gai;o: bucket rotted stable manure; 1-J 3-gallon buckets coarse river sand3^2 3-gallon buckets leaf mould; i 3-gallon bucket charcoal; 2 twoinch pots of lime (carbonate) ; 2 two-inch pots of basic slag; 2 twoinch pots bone flour or bone meal; 1 six-inch pot soot; 2 two-inch pots ol Keratin; ioz. sulphate of potash. Make sure that all ingredients are thoroughly mixed before stacking away from rain, during storage.

Rose, Plaining

Rose pruning, if not already done, should be commenced and finished, if possible, by the end of the present month. More rose displays are ruined by bad pruning than by anything else. Not one amateur in ten really understands the art of pruning that rose trees should have annually, to provide quality or exhibition 1*0363, as the case may be. The general fault is not having the courage to cut away as much as they should do; cutting out a bit here and there is useless. When professionals have done with rose trees amateurs are often inclined to think their trees are ruined, seeing the few short sticks left. The weaker the tree the more you cut it back. This sounds to be- contradictory, but the answer is, a weak tree is not able to sustain so many growths as a more robust one

The principal rules are .to remove all weak and spindly growths, all dead and old wood, leaving the well-ripened shoots. For exhibition roses, cut back these wellripened growths to two or three buds. Make your cuts above a bud on the outside of a branch, remembering, too, an uncrowded centre means that you get more.and better roses. Such roses as Frau Karl Druschki, Geo. Dickson, and similar rank growers must not be pruned hard. The tea roses, Cochet family, etc., should never be pruned hard. Climbing roses require little pruning. The rule, again, here, is to cut out all dead and worn-out branches, leaving clean, healthy growths. New rose trees bought from the nurseries are planted as received and considered prunea. This is not so; the long growths are only shortened back. Better results will be obtained by cutting them hard back to within a few inches of the ground, cutting away all weak wood and leaving no more than three growths. Treated this way, the trees in the second year are much more robust.