THE HARDEN.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LI, Issue 27, 2 January 1931, Page 2

THE HARDEN.

Notes are published under this heading, and readers interested in gardening are invited to send in questions relating to matters upon which they wish expert advice; answers will be published with the weekly notes.

THE PAST YEAR,

All gardeners like to look back on a good season and dream of more glories to come, but, no matter how rose-cojoured their glasses may be, they cannot say the past one has been a wonderful season. The year 1930 opened with a wet month and then suddenly took a change for a dry, hot season. Everything was to be coaxed along in March aiid the most part of April. There was never any dearth of flowers. Roses flowered well late into the season and in many cases could bo found in bloom in the winter months. Dahlias, which are sometimes called the Queen of Autumn flowers, were very good and lasted well until frosts came along. The autumn shows were noted for the exceptionally good blooms that were exhibited. Hydrangeas showed rather a falling off from other seasons, but this was mainly due to the dry weather. Where they were growing in suitable shady spots and could get water, they turned out to be good. Some very fine chrysanthemums were to bo seen at the various shows, but as these are specialised plants and are grown by people who give their whole time to them, they cannot be called seasonable flowers. Autumn crops of vegetables were splendid and m most cases gardeners had fine crops stored away for winter use. The late autumn and winter months, although not wet, were cold and boisterous and interfered with planting to a. marked degree. Daffodils began the season well and were a fine clean lot, but as the season advanced they began to be more and more spoilt by storms and hail. However, none of the shows had to be put off on account of the weather. The weather after the bulb shows were over began to get colder. and more wet and in nearly every .oaso rose shows had to be postponed for a week or a fortnight, and even then they were not all they should ■ have been. The flowers were badly bruised and damaged and in a number of cases they did not show their true characteristics at all. The lateness of blooming would no doubt be responsible for this, but as we write they seem to bo taking on a new lease of life and are coming on as they have never done before. Many gardeners have complained this season about the way seeds behave. Many have not got up half of what they have sown, which can be put down to the cold and wet months of October and November. We have been privileged to inspect a garden diary kept by a gardener for the past year , and have gleaned many interesting facts, from it. Failures seem to have been quite common and all have been faithfully recorded and also the manures used and the quantity of each per row. This diary is a mine of most useful information and we would advise anyone wishing to make a good garden to get one and begin at once. There is a place for the rainfall and the maximum and minimum temperature, which, by the way, is nearly six points below that of last season. By recording your failures as well as the successes, you are helping yourself to better. things later on, and it is useful to know what was the result of using a certain kind of manure and the quantity you had'to'apply to get that result. By keeping such a diary it is easy, to look up and see, what the results were and you will then know what to use again. One of the first items we noticed was “sprayed potatoes, used eight gallons,” and then about, a fortnight later the same-entry with the note after it as a precaution, “blight not advancing.” CANTERBURY BELLS. There' are few brighter flowers that can ,be used in a garden than Canterbury bells. These plants, although not strictly biennials, are sown and grown as such. (A biennial is a plant the seed of which is sown one season to provide flowers the next season). Sometimes a few plants will survive a third or even a fourth season, but as young plants are so easily grown it is not worth while to save the old ones. The seed can bo sown at once either in boxes or in prepared borders outside. The variety known as Hose-in-Hose is one of the most beautiful and a packet will give more than enough plants for an ordinary garden. They do not like a very rich soil or they will grow too tall and require staking. As soon as the young plants can be handled, prick them out into a nursery bed and shade them until they begin to grow. They can be left there until they are wanted for planting out in the open borders about the end of the autumn. They should be planted about fifteen inches apart every way and the soil well worked between them as often as possible with the hoe. If the faded flowers are picked off with the Geed pods they will give another good crop.

GOOD GARDENING

Gardens are often said to be the parents of farming. A good gardener is one who can make use of everything without- any waste. There is a use for the smallest odds and ends. For instance, we recently saw some neat bundles of hedge clippings tied up and stacked to dry. These, we were told, were the kindling firewood for the year. All the large pieces were used as pea sticks and certainly the rows of peas were about as good as any we have ever seen. Some branches of macrocarpa about six feet long were used for runner beans and also for clumps of sweet peas, which were dotted about the garden and looked extremely well. Some asters and other plants had been set out and each one was carefully shaded with a bushy piece of macrocarpa. There were two bins in one corner of the yard for putting the different materials in. One held lawn clippings and weeds and had been recently turned over. A groat deal of the stuff was ready for digging in and this would be done as some crop was cleared away. The other bin' was roofed over and contained soil for boxes and pots and was well worked up. The owner told us that he got a load or two of fresh soil every year, preferably from a paddock that had been in grass for a number of years and on which stock had been running. This was stacked up for six months or so and was then put into the covered bin and mixed with any. soil left over from previous years. When used for boxes it was sifted and some coarse sand was mixed with it. He had no glasshouse, but a couple of small frames supplied all he wanted in this respect. All the plants that were required were raised here and no trouble was experienced in getting enough. He had not bought any manure beyond a load of stable manure for early potatoes and as this crop was moved round he gradually manured the whole of the garden with this and the compost heap. Such gardens are the envy of all and are a source of joy to their owners. They not only provide all the flowers required, but are never short of vegetables of any kind. Small fruits were grown and showed promise of good returns. A small palxih of strawberry plants was covered in and .we were told the whole of the netting was paid for by the fruit that had been sold the previous year. Tins was don© without stinting th© household of good fruit. A QUESTION. “D.E.H.” says: “On cleaning out the ash pit I have collected four kerosene boxes of pure wood ashes. Our section is a mixture of clay soil with patches of quite light ground. I would be grateful if you could advise as to when and how to us© th© wood ashes to the best advantage. I have a fairly big rose bed but no not know if it is time to use the ashes as a dressing for it.” , -i Wood ashes are a valuable manure for garden crops if they have been kept cky and their value depends to a great extent,on the variety of wood that has been used to make them, llimu is about the poorest of the lot, gorse trimmings are the best. Wood ashes on the average contain about half as much potash as Kainit and should therefore be used in double quantities. Kainit is used at the rate of two to three hundred-weight to the acre. Now would be a good time to apply a dressing to the rose bed and hoe it well into the surface. The potash will harden the cuticle of the leaf and will help the plants to withstand attacks of disease. It is also good for fruit-bearing trees and plants and for potatoes. It should always be worked into the soil as soon as it has been applied to it to stop any chance of the potash being bleached out. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN.. - Celery should be planted out in trenches now. This plant is a heavy feeder and 'while it does not take all the good out of the manure it is groiyn in it makes heavy inroads into it. Whether it is planted in single or double rows does not matter, as long as there is room to work between the plants when the time for earthing up and blanching comes along. Celeriac is another good vegetable that should be grown more. It is the turnip-rooted variety- of celery and is grown for its roots, which are used as a flavouring for soups or cooked in the same way as Earsnips or turnips. It likes a rich, eavy soil rather than a light one. bet the plants out at least a foot apart. Tomatoes want almost daily attention now. The best method of growing them is the single stem and to do this one stake is required for each plant and all the side shoots are pinched out as soon as they form. As soon as the first bunch of fruit has set the plants should be sprayed with Bordeaux (summer formula) and a little sulphur of potash given to each plant to assist the fruit to form. This manure also helps to keep blight away from the plants.