Gardening Notes.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXVIII, Issue 4605, 4 October 1934, Page 8

Gardening Notes.

FLOWERING CURRANT

CAUSE OF POOR BLOOMS. The objections sometimes put forward against flowering currants is that they get very scrubby and that the flowers are poor and the flower trusses small. Why the bushes go like that is simply because they are not pruned hard enough. As soon as flowering is over is the time to get to work upon them with the secateurs. Although these currants can and do flower on quite old Avood, they bloom best on the wood made in the previous year. First of all, then, cut out as much of the oldest wood as can be spared. Next shorten to half length the strong, younger main branches, so as to induce them to break back. Finally cut clean out any whippy internal growths that are preventing (or will prevent) light and air from getting right into the bush. SPRING CABBAGE. The best cabbage are those that are planted to mature in the spring. Cabbage need plenty of food in the soil, and if the bed in which they are to be planted has become impoverished by previous cropping a dressing of manure should be dug in when the soil is being prepared. If the bed has been well manured and cropped previously with peas, beans or beet, a dressing of soot may be raked into the surface after digging the ground. This will act as a mild stimulant to the plants during their early growth and later a liquid fertiliser may be applied. After the bed is prepared and before any planting is done, make the surface firm by treading well, and after planting press the soil firmly about the roots. Firm planting is essential. Loose planting tends to rank growth and the chance of injury by weather. Transplant, if possible, during dull or showery weather, and if this cannot be done, water the plants in well so that there will be small chance of check as a result of the moving. Allow 2ft apart each way for the strongest varieties of cabbage, and the smallest kinds may be planted one foot apart in rows, with 18in between the rows. The plants must be kept growing without check from planting time to maturity, and the soil must not be allowed to become dry. Keep the soil loose by the regular use of the hoe.