THE GARDEN.

Manawatu Standard, Volume L, Issue 223, 16 August 1930, Page 11

THE GARDEN.

Notes are published undor this heading, and readers interested in gardening are invited to send in questions relating to matters upon which they wish expert advice; answers will bo published with the weokly notos.

THE FLOWER GARDEN. The pruning of roses should be finished as soon as possible now and the beds cleaned up in readiness for the spring crop. As soon as pruning is finished, spray the plants with lims sulphur at the rate of one part of the lime sulphur to fifty parts of water. This will help to get rid of any latent spores of fungus and other pests. Shrub planting should also be considered now and any alterations or additions made at once because the sooner the plants are in the better. Always remember it is better to have two or three suitable varieties than it is to have half a dozen that are not wanted and which will have to be cut out again soon. Evergreens are a necessity,' but most gardens are too small for the larger growing varieties. When picking shrubs it should be borne in mind that somo of the things that are well worth while are more or less tender and that they will need some protection to begin life with. Autumn tinted foliage plants are always a great asset and somo should be planted in every garden where space can be found for them. Give rhododendrons and azaleas a good dressing of leaf mould or froni the compost heap if there is no lime in it. There are plenty of spaces in our gardens where rhododendrons would be a valuable shrub to grow and would do well. Border carnations can be planted in well drained soils and if a little old mortar rubbish can be put at the roots of each one they will do well. Clean up plants that have been in the ground for some time, working a little soot into the ground round them. Sweet peas are making strong growth now and must be kept tied up to their supports. The oftener the soil can be worked round them the better it will be for them. They feed just as much through air getting into the soil as they do from the soil food. Lime sprinkled on the ground round them is- a good help in keeping slugs away and all leguminous plants want it. * Plant out all sweet peas that are growing in boxes or pots now. There are plenty of the niore hardy kinds of annuals or biennial plants that are treated as annuals, that can be planted out now. Violas and pansies should be planted at once. Stocks, antirrhinums, larkspur, nemesia, marigolds and all hardy plants like these should be planted as early in the season as possible. If you have the benefit of a glasshouse or good frame, seeds of the more tender plants can be sown under glass. The main thing is to soiv thinly and to prick the young plants out into other boxes of well drained soil as soon as they can be handled.

PLANTING FRUIT TREES. Fruit trees may be planted any time this month and for that matter next month as long as the soil is in a workable condition. The soil should be well and deeply cultivated to a depth of at least two feet, and if drainage is required this should be provided by means of pipes put in below the greatest depth to winch the soil is worked. When contemplating a small orchard preparo the soil first. It is better to lose a year than to plant in > improperly prepared land. Another thing is never to plant when the soil is wet enough to clog the boots or stick to tlie-hands. Having; first marked out the places the trees are to occupy, dig the holes large enough . to take the roots to their greatest spread. All large thick roots should be out well back and all broken and jagged ends cut off. Place the tree in the centre of the hole and spread the roots out as well as possible; then work some fine earth in amongst them and press this down with the feet. Never plant deeper than when the trees were growing in the nursery. Having planted and firmed the soil down well, prune them. All newly planted trees should be pruned before they begin to shoot. If the tree has several branches cut out all except three or four and cut these back to three or four buds. Never neglect this; other things can be remedied, but not neglect of pruning. BIRDS IN THE GARDEN. A writer in Gardening Illustrated has some good remarks to make about birds in the garden which apply just as well lie re as they do in England. He says: “A broader view and a little closer' observation is teaching us that there are few birds that do not really earn the food they take from the gardener. There are worse foes against whom the gardener might wage a war, arid the writer recently had a striking experience of this. Some ground that had been neglected was desired to be turned into flower beds. When the soil was turned over it was a sight with leather jackets —enough to fill one with despair. For a time many plants decayed, and when about to dig it over and put some fumigant into the soil some biacKbirds were noticed at work. They tore away the lower leaves of such things as polyanthus, that impeded them, with vigour. They seemed determined to clear those beds and they did. They worked- for months on them and now no ground could be cleaner.” We have had a similar experience here with a piece of ground infested with grass grub which would not grow grass or anything. So it was dug over and left for a while when starlings were found stirring the ground over and over and now the ground is

cleaner than it has ever been before. “The constant war fought by thrushes against slugs and snails is well known. If it is not, it should be. Nobody with any sense or understanding declares war on birds. They have enough battles to fight in their own kingdom and perhaps it would be better if attention was turned to these enemies. Generally it is better to leave nature to strike its own balance. It is not necessary to destroy birds in order to save garden produce. Raspberries and strawberries may be wired in while they are in bearing. Peas may be sprayed with soft soap and quassia chips or protected with black cotton.. Scarlet wool is even better and one strand stretched along a row will keep birds away. Blazing scarlet must be used; crimson will not do. Tlio cheeky house sparrow is one of tho gardener’s greatest friends, especially in the early part of the season when rose aphis is coming apace. One sparrow will clean lip a shoot in a very short space of time, and after all is said and done a sparrow takes very little fruit if it can get water. What gardener can work in peace when flying insects abound. _ Even the cabbage moth falls a victim to birds. The gardener who sets out to destroy birds is making the rod for his own back. A garden cannot be run on sentiment, neither can you run one without birds. Allow them in the garden and net the stuff you wish to save and all will be well. IRIS GROWING. F.B. says: “I have read all that I could find about iris growing and am astonished to find they nearly all recommend poor soil and any amount of lime. Now, I give you my own experiences in tho matter which are rather the opposite. Some short time ago it became necessary to alter the house and the garden was altered at tho same time. An asparagus bed and some ground that had been prepared for sweet peas was given to the irises and they have done much better and have flowered better than -they ever did on the poor ground, and the plants look healthier though to my knowledge they have never had any lime and the asparagus bed had never been given any. I think iris growers have a lot to find out about these plants yet, and I think'that it would bo a' good thing if other growers gave their experiences and I am sure that a lot of old ideas may be exploded. Perhaps because we are ‘down under’ the plants behave in an opposite way from that which they do ‘above.’ I know that in many English gardens shade means nearly the same thing as moisture while on this side of the globe shade is generally dryness. There rockeries are made in full sun; here the best I have seen are semi-shaded at least. There may be other opposites, but these are all I can think of now.” THE VEGETABLE GARDEN.

All kinds of cabbages and cauliflowers are gross feeders; they, like plenty of manure in the soil, but for all that they do not exhaust the soil by a long way and anything not of a cabbage nature will grow in the ground afterwards. There is an old saying amongst gardeners that “where good cabbages can be grown good roses can be grown also.” A few early potatoes can he put in now, but a fairly dry part of the garden should be given to them. Take out a trench about four ‘or five inches deep and spread some manure along the bottom and on top of this place the sets about a foot apart. Only well sprouted sets should be used; the others can bo left in the box for future planting. It is better to plant a few at a time rather than a large quantity at once. When the sets are in the ground cover them with about three inches of soil, and when they first begin to show through the ground a little more can be drawn over them. In this way they will often escape a frost which would otherwise ruin them. Plant out onions as soon as the ground is dry enough, but on no account plant in the wet. If you have bought the plants put them in a handy place and wait until the ground is ready. Onion seed may also be sown at any time providing that the soil is in the right condition. Those who are contemplating making asparagus beds should get the work done as soon as possible. To make a good asparagus bed the soil should be worked in the same way as you would for roses. That is to say, it should be deeply dug and the lower parts worked up with some heavy manure that will hold the moisture. Allow the soil to settle down for a week or two before planting, and then set the plants out two feet apart each I way and deep enough so that their crowns will be about two inches below the surface. It is better to have a bed about four feet wide and into which you can plant two rows and you will then he able to work the bed from either side. Old beds should be cleaned up and manured in readiness for this season’s crop. A little soil from the sides can be thrown on top of the manure. Make up some narrow beds with plenty of manure and plant out lettuces. The beds should be about three feet wide and at least six inches higher than tho surrounding soil to keep the drainage right. When the young plants are set out they will want to be protected from slugs. Old lines of runner beans should be cleaned up by forking over the soil round them and working in plenty of good manure. Established plants will give a better crop than new plants raised from seed this year and will come into bearing much sooner which is an advantage.