THE GARDEN.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LII, Issue 121, 22 April 1932, Page 4

THE GARDEN.

Notes are published under this head ing, 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.

PLANTS. As we walk about in our gardens w© do not always think of the struggles that plant hunters and florists have had to bring plants to our notice. If w© were to think for a moment wo would soon seo what almost insurmountable objects plant hunters have gone to when finding something new, and that new thing has been improved upon bv those who are skilled in the knowledge of cross-pollinisation. The plant hunter and the hybridist work together for our common good. The common potato was brought from America by Sir Walter Raleigh, and we would say that if ho could only see what we are growing now he would not believe that this was the plant he introduced. The hillsides and swamps of the old and new world have been combed for plants that are of value to man and beast, and this is only because the beast is to support man that he may live and flourish. The garden parsnip is a plant that has been evolved within quite recent years from a wild useless one, and even now if neglected will quickv run back to its original ancestor. The rose is a plant that the earliest historians give as belonging to Persia and has been carried east and west from that country in the dim ages of long ago until its real history is shrouded in mystery. Each country may have had its own variety and then a foreigner came and married it and the offspring were the pioneers of a new race. All these things we have in our gardens if we only look for them and trace their origin back a bit. The original daffodil is a lowly flowor inhabiting many countries of the Northern Hemisphere, but the flowers that wo have to-day gracing the gardens and show benches are there because the plants of various countries were brought together for our mutual good and their improvement. No one to-day can deny that the stately Mme de Graaf was an immense improvement on the lowly Cernuus of the Spanish mountains. An improvement is going on everywhere, not only in size, but in shape and beauty of a flower and in the life-giving properties of our vegetables. New Zealand is becoming renowned all over the world for the quality of her seeds and this is an industry that should be fostered to the full capacity. For years it has been well known that pea seeds were grown here and sent home to some of the larger firms who sent them back to us. New Zealand-grown seeds stand

very high in the opinions of all those who are capable of judging these , things. Our own substitute for spinach is looked upon as one of the best of vegetables both in England and France. It may be cnpable of improvement, but wo can hardly see where. Runner beans have been improved during recent years and now we are told there is a perennial pea coming out which lasts the season through. QUESTION. “D.F.” asks for information about onion growing for unemployed men and says that ho proposes .to sow down an acre in onions and would like to know how to go about the work. April is the month to begin the work and it would be a good plan to sow a patch of seed now to provide plants tor transplanting early in the spring. Prepare the ground well by digging and then sow the seed much thicker than you would for spring sowing. June would be a good month to prepare the land. It would be necessary to plough it deep and well and then hand-work it after

it had been disced. Break up. the surface and rake all the lumps into a trench which could bo covered over with good soil and onions grown in it. The best varieties of onions to grow for market purposes are Brown Spanish and Straw-coloured Spanish. These you could begin to plant out as soon as they were large enough to handle which would be in July, and then seed could be sown in August to grow where it was sown. A good average crop would be from eight to ten tons to the acre, but we are afraid that we could not guarantee you as much as twopence per pound over the whole. Last season they were selling at from seven and six per hundredweight to as much as fifteen shillings apd even at these prices they should bo a payable crop. The main thing is to keep the surface well hoed, and not to allow any weeds to take the place of the plants. At the same time we think that you would do well to have one or more strings to your T3ow. Early, lettuces sell well in the early part of the season and it would give you a little encouragement to have something to sell while the onion crop was growing. It would be necessary to sow the seed now and then manure a piece of land with some animal manure to set the plants out into. The plants are grown one foot apart everv wav and when established after transplanting one ounce of nitrate of soda is sown to every square yard, care being taken not to let any fall on the leaves. This brings the plants on every fast and you would be getting the best price for good, hard hearts. Another very profitable crop is celery and this would take the place of the lettuce plants when they have been sold. It is necessary to plant this crop in wellmanured trenches which, when have about six inches of soil and manure in the bottom, would be about ten inches deep. These plants are not put out until November, and, to keep a succession going, can be planted up to the end of January. The work is pleasant and if you have a good wate” supply, you could have the plants ready in about four months from the time they were first set out. Early potatoes are always saleable and a few rows that vou could cover with hay or straw in frosty weather would give another interest. LILIES. ..A correspondent asks for some information about storing and planting lily bulbs and says that he has taken a new house and wishes to move his :

collection to it. The bulbs have to be lifted by the end of April and cannot b© planted for a couple of months or so.

It is generally recognised that lilies are hardy and can remain in the ground the whole year round, but in this case they have to be lifted and therefore we would advise lifting at i once and storing each kind in a box ,of sand. The Madonna lily is per- . baps the only exception and this has , begun to grow, but still it can be lifted and at once replanted in a large pot or a number of pots from which they can be transferred to their permanent quarters when ready. Never allow any kind of lily bulb to become very dry, and at the same time it must not be kept very wet. If any. of the bulbs show signs of rotting leave them in the sun for a few hours and then, when the scales fall apart, dust sulphur in between and this will generally check disease. As a rule lilies like a good loamy soil which can be enriched well down below with well-rotted cow manure, but any soil that suffers from stagnant water must have good drainage given and as long as they have this and a good general culture there should not bo any difficulty towards succeeding with them. CARNATIONS.. Carnation layers that were put down in January and February will now be well rooted and in good condition for planting out in their flowering quarters. Seedlings that are three inches or more in height can also be

put into places where they will bloom next season. ' The only exception is to b© mad© In the case of very wet, heavy and cold land, where it will be safer to pot up the layers and young plants into four or five inch pots that have been well crocked, but do not attempt to coddle them in frames; sink the pots in a nice, sunny place outside. This does not apply where unsuitable soils have been worked and drained until they are equal to the lighter carnation soils. This can be done in many cases by the use of burnt earth and sand. On damp, wet and cold land it is a good plan to raise the bed six inches or so above the surrounding soil even if it has to be kept in place by boarded edges. Soil that is suitable for outside planting should be deeply dug and a little well decayed manure worked into the lower parts. Manure that is suitable for this purpose is that which has been stacked for a long time or has been used under an old forcing frame. If old mortar rubbish is not obtainable a good dressing of lime should be given; about four ounces to the square yard is generally enough for the first application and more will be given as-surface dressings during the winter. The first application must be well mixed with the soil so that the roots will come in contact with it at once. When planting out carnations the gardener is often tempted to plant too closely. They should never be less than fifteen inches apart, and some of the stronger growing kinds will be better with another three inches. Never plant deeper than they stood as layers or plants or the newly buried portion of the stem may decay. The onl-r way the plants can b© protected from hares and rabbits is to enclose them with wirenetting. We have never been able to find any spraying material that is distasteful to these pests. When the garden is open and sunny carnations make a charming group in the foreground of mixed herbaceous borders, and can be put in groups of from twelve to twenty-four plants. Of course, for show purposes they are better when they are grown in beds or borders whore the flowers can be protected when required. As the carnation is a flower that seldom self-ferti-lisers, it will last for a very long time. Any variety that fertilises itself can bo picke.d out at once by the drooping florets.

VEGETABLES. The most successful cultivators of vegetables are those who plant another crop as soon as the on© before is finished. To do this it is possible to change the crops from place to place each season and ive do not think that it is a good plan to change this rule even when the soil of the vegetable garden is manured every year. Cabbages should never follow any crop of a like nature or it isverv likely that trouble will follow in the. shape of club root, which is very bad in some places. Some gardens are so badly effected that it is not possible to grow' any plants of the cabbage family in them at all. The only remedy is to use a plentiful supply of lime, but even then a little club-root may occur. Sow seeds of onions, cabbages, and cauliflowers for transplanting early in the spring. It is a well-known fact amongst gardeners that cauliflowers do better when they are kept growing all the time and the seed can be sown in boxes under glass. When they are established after having been pricked out they should be hardened off as soon as possible. When they are planted out in the early spring they can be lifted with a' good ball of soil, and will not go back at all. Lettuce seed can also be sown now for early spring planting, but this can also be kown after the turn of the year. Lettuce-crops that are in the ground now should be forced along as fast as possible while the ground is still warm.