THE GARDEN.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LII, Issue 204, 29 July 1932, Page 4

THE GARDEN.

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 FLOWER GARDEN. There are plenty of plants that can be set out in the flower garden which are hardy enough to stand the severest frosts that we get here. Plants that have been raised during June and July under glass will need hardening off before being planted out, and the way to do this is to put them out in the sun and air when it is warm enough and to cover them up at night, so that they do not get frost-bitten. Nemesias make a fine show when they are massed, and are also useful as cut flowers. The young plants should he set out about a foot apart so that the hoe can be used between them until thfey cover the ground. Antirrhinums, stocks and Iceland poppies are all hardy plants that should be put in as soon as possible. To make a good bed of antirrhinums, it is better to nip the tops out so that the young plants will spread and cover 'the ground. Iceland poppies like a fairly good soil that has been well worked for something else. Pick the first buds as soon as they are seen so as to get the plants to stool out well. They do better in beds by themselves.

Push on with any work that requires doing such as renovating the herbaceous borders, and split up any plants that are likely to he growing too thickly together in the coming season. A small piece planted back will do better than a whole clump growing tightly together. Clip hedges and burn the clippings. This work can be done when ground work cannot be attempted. THE' SCARCITY OF MANURE.

The scarcity of manure Is causing a lot of people to go in for artificial manures without first making a foundation for them. Artificial manures are good when there is plenty of humus in' the soil, but it cannot be exported to do much good when it is put into soil that is worked out. Such a soil has to be given a dressing of organic manure or a covering crop has to be planted and this dug in before artificial manures can do the work they should. 'Hie study of 6oil microbes is still in its infancy, and very little is known of the work of bac- . teria except the types engaged in makI ing nitrates from organic nitrogen and those found on the roots of leguminous plants. There must be warmth, moisture, carbonate of lime and humus upon which to work. Moisture must not be stagnant, and where such a state prevails drains must be put in to take the surplus water away. Given all these things, it is humus that is going to make up for the lack of animal manure which is so had to get. Humus belongs to the organics, something that once had life, whether animal or vegetable. Sacks and old clothes help to make it, and there are large quantities of rubbish being thrown away every year which, if buried in the soil, would help the good work. Grass clippings are invaluable, and these can either be dug in or put in the compost heap. Any hedge clippings and hard wood plants can be burnt and the ashes used round fruit trees. Nothing should be wasted which can he turned into humus. Every vacant piece of ground should be dug over ana a crop suitable for the season sown on it for the purpose of digging in. Of course, it stands to reason that all diseased plants should be burnt. Fire is a purifier and ashes do not contain disease spores. Humus possesses three very important factors, chemical, physical and biological. During its decomposition it forms a number of acids, which are the chemical changes, the principal of which is humic acid. This acid is even more valuable than phosphoric acid. It corrodes the particles of soil, and the potash, lime and other contents of the soil are brought into a condition suitable for plants to make use of. Humus also has an effect on the physical properties of the soil. In texture it is like a sponge, and can retain large quantities of water. Under test, weight for weight, it was found that humus retained more than eight times the water that dried sand was capable of holding, and when evaporated the sand lost four pounds of water to every pound taken from the humus. The biological properties of humus are caused by the action of decomposition carried out by the bacteria. It supplies the bacteria with the medium in which to live. Dryness is fatal to bacteria, so that it can be seen that as long as there is humus in the soil moisture and bacteria nre active. In England synthetic manure is being manufactured from straw. The straw is mad© into a stack, and in building it is damped with water containing certain fertilisers, and through the activities of bacteria manure is made which is equal in value to the best farmyard manure. Humus, being moisture drawing, also draws nitrogen from the air. Wood ashes cantain all kinds of plant foods and should

never be washed, but they must be kept dry until they can be worked into the ground. Do not throw away any rubbish that can be turned to account. FRUIT TREES.

A correspondent says: —“I have rend your article on fruit trees with great interest and consider that every garden worthy of the name should have a few trees where there is room. I have always found that fruit trees grown in these gardens generally grow very fast, and it is in the pruning that many of them come to grief. When planting fruit trees in a small garden care must be taken to give them a reasonable amount of room to expand as they grow. Trees planted close together are neither ornamental nor useful and those planted on walls require an expert pruner to shape them. However, I cannot see why anyone with the ordinary amount of brains cannot learn to prune in a very short time. Once the principles of the work are known they can be followed out into all kinds of by-ways, one of which I consider is the espalier system of fruit growing. Having seen this done and having helped in the work in my youth, I have never found any. difficulty, but perhaps to those who have not been so favourably placed the work would be harder. I would suggest that each of our schools plant two or three trees in their grounds so that the children could be shown the work from the start. There are plenty of intelligent teachers who have a knowledge of gardening and who could explain what was wanted and what had been done. Espalier trees produce a wonderful amount of fruit when properly treated, and as they do not take up too much room they would be a valuable addition to our gardens. Pears and a'pples are the principal fruits grown under this system.”

QUESTION. “Fruit” says: —“I am sending you some fruit given to me and I was told that they could be used with apples lor pies and jelly making. They are very astringent and I was wondering if they were wholesome to eat cooked. It would be a very hungry person who would eat them raw. The tree they, are grown on is like a quince. Kindly tell me what they are and what they are used lor.” The fruit sent is that of the Chinese quince and a great many people use it for flavouring jellies and conserves, but, as you say, the fruit is too astringent to use raw. The tree is generally grown as a garden specimen for flowers and fruit, and is no use commercially. The Cydonia, which is flowering now, belongs to the same family and the fruits are used in the same way. “Ferns” says: —“Kindly tell me when maidenhair ferns should be repotted. Should they be cut back to the ground, and what kind of soil is best for them?”

The best time to repot maidenhair ferns is about August, just before the young fronds begin to appear. Turn the plants out of the pots and wash them thoroughly and tlren put fresh crocks in. Do not put small plants into large pots and it is not necessary to remove all the old tops. Some growers do so, but all that is necessary is to remove all dead and unhealthy shoots. The best kind of soil to use is a mixture of one-third of leaf mould, one-third of well rotted cow manure, and one-third of sharp, clean sand. Mix these things well together and add a handful of crushed charcoal to each large pot. Pot lairly firmly and stand the pots in water to give "the soil a thorough soaking and to settle it about the roots. When the soil sinks below an inch from the top of the pots add some moro of the pottine material to fill up. PRUNING HYDRANGEAS. One of the customs that is having a hard death is that of cutting hydrangeas down to the ground in the winter time and this is the thing that makes many gardeners think they are not worth growing. If the plants are getting too large for the positions they occupy they can be cut hard back about the end of January or in February and then, if they are given copious waterings, they will soon send up a lot of new strong shoots which will flower the following season; but to cut them down now means that the whole season will be lost. For all that, these plants can be pruned lightly now bv cutting out all parts that are too old and -weak and cutting the flower head back to a couple of strong buds a little lower down the stalk. Some of the modern types of hydrangea make much less growth than the older kinds and therefore there is no necessity to cut them hard. We are often asked why certain plants do not flower very freely, and when' we have told the

growers the mistakes they have been making they seem to think that the plants flowered well in their youth but now they are only a mass of leaves; but it must be remembered that when the plants were smaller there did not seem to be the same necessity to cut as when they got larger, and, in fact, the plants that did the best were those that were allowed to grow until they had flowered. If the above advice is followed and the old wood of two or three years growth is cut out and the new shoots of last season left alone, we are confident that a lot more of these beautiful things will be grown and, what is more, a lot more good heads of bloom will bo seen. the vegtable garden.

The weather has been very good so far and a lot of work can be in readiness for the planting season. It would surprise anyone who had not worked it out what a lot can be saved by growing one’s own vegetables and, not only that, but the vegetables can bo gathered absolutely fresh and are much moire palatable. Every bit of ground can be made to grow something, and after the actual spade work has been done there is nothing much moro beyond hoeing and thinning crops out. Crops that are grown too closely together do not give the same returns as can be got from those that are evenly spaced. Potatoes can be planted now in a piece of ground that is fairly well drained. So long as the ground is ready for planting, continue to set out crops that will be required first. Potatoes and cabbages come under this heading, and to keep up a constant supply they should be planted in succession in the same way as potatoes and peas. Plant out shallots and onions. The first will be ready long before the latter and will fill in a gap. When peas are sown the soil should be fairly dry and lime dusted over the trench before it is filled in will help the peas and keep vermin away. All root crops that are still in the soil should be dug and put in boxes full of sand, where they will keep until required for use. If they are left too long in the soil and the weather turns mild they will begin to grow and are soon spoilt when this happens, Do not cut the tops too close, hut rather twist them off such things as carrots and parsnips. THE LAWN.

A very interesting qeustion in regard to lawns cropped up last season. A gat© was left open and a mob of cattle got on to it with the result that it was considerably cut up. This was top-dressed with good soil and grass seed to fill in the holes, but when it came to the time to roll it smooth a lot of rough places were found and it was decided to try tlie effect of disc harrows on it. Very little cut was put on the discs and they were run over it three or four times, cutting an inch or two into the sod. The lawn was then rolled and watered, with the result that the lumps disappeared and the lawn was quite, playable before Christmas. Wo have lately inspected this lawn and consider that the surface has been much improved, not only as a smooth surface but also as a sward of grass. The cutting to which the surface was subjected seems to havo thrickened the sole more than any topdressing or manure could have done and the finer grasses so much wanted in lawn work are very much better and thicker than they were before. Of course, this practice is the samo as that with which some farmers are treating their grass land, and we must say that when the scheme was first mooted wo were not at all enthusiastic about its application to a fine sward like that of a lawn. Since, however, we have heard of a somewhat similar thing being done on some of the large lawns in England and that the work is considered necessary in cases where the sward wants renewing.