THE GARDEN.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 63, 10 February 1933, Page 9

THE GARDEN.

Notes are published under this heading, and reader ainterested 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. The moisture that fell a week or two ago has practically disappeared and more is wanted, but, if one has to resort to the use of the hose and watering, one must do it thoroughly to do any real good. Damping the surface will only make the plants send their roots to the top of tire ground, and if they are neglected then they will be worse off than they were before. Another thing is that we do not like the water from the mains; for one thing it is too cold and another and very important item is that it has no oxygen in it. When the rain falls it carries a certain amount of air with it at the time of dropping, and this goes into the soil and is a valuable help to plant life. Cold water from the mains and well has ruined more gardens than it has improved. If such water must be used run it into a shallow tank or tub where it can be sunned and aired for a few days before it is put on the plants. When it is used, conserve it by hoeing the surface as soon as it is dry again and the loose soil will act as a mulch. Biennials and perennial plants can be raised from seed sown in the open ground now. To get the best results it is necessary to go to a little trouble when making up a bed for them, but we are sure you will find it less trouble to do this than to go to the trouble of filling boxes with soil. You will know what you want to grow and the number of plants you will require when they are grown, and can make up your bed accordingly. Leaf mould is invaluable to add to the soil. It not only acts as a fertiliser, but also helps the soil to hold moisture and at the same time keeps it open and free. When sowing, always ■ make shallow drills. The depth will depend on the kind of seed to be sown; for instance, antirrhinum seed must only be covered, while sweet pea seed will come up if sown an inch or two below the surface. Even though seeds are sown in the open ground, it pays well to prick them out into small nursery beds as soon as they are ready to handle. The nursery bed can be made up in the same way as the seed bed and not wider than can be easily reached from either side. Some shade must he given at the start, and this can easily be arranged with some scrim tacked down so that it does not flop about. The main thing, either with seeds or seedlings, is to' water carefully with a fine nosed can. When working up any beds that are found to be too dry for planting, give them a good soaking with water and then when the surface is dry again fork the whole bed over again before planting. It will be found that this treatment will help them to hold moisture longer than when they are planted straight away and are watered after the seedlings have been set out. All vacant plots and beds where plants have passed their usefulness should be cleaned up and got ready for planting another crop. If any manure is available, work it into the soil now and it will have the autumn and winter to rot down. Fresh manure is verv seldom available to plant life until it has been in the soil at least six months, when it begins to give plant food substance to the soil water, and in this form to reach the root hairs of plants. The action of the soil bacteria on the manure is what counts and as long as they are active growth will be good. • A REMEDY FOR EARWIGS.

A correspondent says; “I saw a paragraph in one of the papers recently about wood for pipe making. Unfortunately I did not keep it and am not quite sure what was said about it at the moment. I know several kinds of wood were mentioned, some being Australian and others Indian. I have been in tire island of Corsica and around many of the Mediterranean 2>orts and have seen and handled many loads of the so-called ‘briar.’ It is nothing more than the heath which is common to those places and is called botanlcally Erica Arborea. The natives dig the plants up and trim away all useless wood, and tie the selected part in bundles and ship it to France or England. The majority goes to France, however, and is re-distributed to other countries to be dried before it is turned into the many shaped pipes wo see to-day. When travelling through the Waikato a couple of years ago I saw large patches of the same heath and was wondering if they could not be turned to account. The growth there was quite equal to any 1 saw in Corsica or Algeria. Probably there is not enough of it to do any trade with at the present time, but there is plenty of waste land in that part of the country that would supply a good return if it was planted in a. crop of Erica Arborea. I was not interested enough at the time to ask how long it took to grow to a marketable size, but no doubt many of our leading horticulturists would he able to supply these details and also perhaps improved methods of culture.” DAHLIAS. Dahlias are probably the main attraction in the garden* at the present time, and to keep them going is the main care of the gardener. Old and faded flowers must never be left on the plants. Remove them at once and also some of the superfluous shoots which often become overcrowded from the mistaken idea that if these shoots are removed some flowers will be lost. A plant can only carry a certain number of flowers at one time, and if they are for show purposes they will be less than when they are grown as garden decorative plants. Flowers for exhibition must have a supply of liquid manure given to them regularly, but plants for garden decoration can be grown by simply keeping the soil well cultivated. The plants will not have the gross, sappy growth of the others, but they will need careful staking for all that. Later on, when a good fall of rain comes, they will make more growth than is required, but some of this can be removed to allow the air and sun free circulation amongst the branches. Caterpillars are the most troublesome pests that dahlias have, and they can be kept at bay by spraying the plants with arsenate of lead at the rate of two teaspoonsful to a gallon of water. Spray as soon as the pest is noticed, and in a very short time none will he seen. The pom pom dahlias do not require disbudding, but some of the branches may be removed to advantage, especially if they are too close together. CHRYSANTHEMUMS. February is generally looked upon by cnrysantliemuin growers us tiie tune wuen they begin selecting their buds to produce those large blooms so much admired at the shows. However, sclecting buds is nothing to the love and care given to these plants as soon as tlie hud has been “taken.” Taking the hud consists of selecting it and rubbing out all the laterals below it. Do not remove any leaves when doing this. In about three days’ time you can see whether the bud has set or not, and then you can begin feeding them with liquid manure which should be as varied as possible. Soot can be used with every change and the changes should be as frequent as possible. After a bag of manure has been in the water for three days take it out and bury it. It will make humus, but the extract wanted by the plants has gono out of it and into the water. This manure water is too strong for use as it conies out of the tub, so break it down with two or three times ifs own bulk of water. Liquid manuring can be continued until the flowers l»egin to show colour when it must stop or they will “damp off,” which means that they will begin to turn black in the centres and then they go rotten. Feeding too long with liquid manure also onuses the petnls to get spotted. Keep the leaves healthy by spraying with arsenate of lead, and if rust makes its appearance use liver of sulphur at the rate of one ounce to four gallons of water. It has a very unpleasant smell so keep it off your clothes. FLOWERS IN THE WINTER.

In answer to an enquiry for a remedy for earwigs, a reader has sent in the following, which it is believed had its origin at the Cawthron lnsti-

There are many gardens that have a small glasshouse mostly unoccupied during the later part of the autumn and winter, and those could be utilised for growing flowers for the colder months. Freesias potted up or even put in boxes now and kept under glass would bloom a month or more before those growing outside. All that is wanted is a little leaf mould and some good fibrous loam well mixed together and filled into the boxes which must he provided with sufficient drainage. The boxes must be put close to the glass so that the plants do not get too much drawn. Primula malacoides can lie grown in the same way and will flower well. A six inch pot will hold one plant, but any ordinary flat box such as one uses for growing seed in will hold six good plants. Schinzanthus, or tiic “poor man’s orchid,” can ho very successfully grown in pots or boxes and will come into flower when the plants are only about six or eight inches high, and will remain in flower for a long time. Watering has to be done well during the hot weather, but

tute and which has proved very satisfactory in the fruit growing districts of the South Island. The requirements are as follow; Six pounds of bran, 6ozs of sodium chloride; 3 quarts of hot water; two lbs of treacle. Dissolve the sodium chloride in the water and stir in the treacle. When thorougjdy dissolved, add to bran and stir the whole so as to ensure that every part has been saturated. Use very small quantities and spread carefully rather than placing in small heaps. Renew the application after rain or when the bran becomes too dry, or every 48 hours. This recipe is sufficient to make half a petrol tin of the mixture. THE RAIN. The rain that fell last week-end did a tremendous amount of good to gardens and it fell quietly so that it could penetrate the soil. Those who had taken the precaution of keeping their gardens well cultivated would receive the full benefit of it, and to keep the moisture in the ground as long as possible it will he necessary to cultivate freely. A good fall like this one does more good to plants than the hose and the more the soil is cultivated the longer the effect will last. Seeds can he. sown in the open ground as soon as the surface is dry enough and should come up at once. AH crops of potatoes that are ready for lifting should be dug at once or the moisture will start the tubers growing again and they will not keep. BRIARS.

as the cold weather comes on it does not take as much water to keep them going. When the flowers are over, the freesias can be taken outside to ripen off and can be used for planting out in the open next year and a new lot of bulks got for filling new boxes. The other plants can be tipped out of the boxes to make room for something else to follow. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN.

Some of the potato crop will be ready for lifting this month. As soon as the tops begin to dry off, it is a good plan to lift the tubers carefully and put them in boxes, which can be filled with sand after the potatoes are in them, and then covered with a sack or something to keep the . light pi. them. Potatoes stored in this way will keep for a long time and will bo better for being stored in the sand than they would have been if they were tipped out in a dark shed. Anotuer thing about storing in this way is that the potato moth cannot get at them to lay her eggs in the eyes. This moth causes a considerable loss every year, especially in small crops, and it pays to protect your tubers lrom it. As soon as the ground has been cleared, either plant it up with some crop such as leeks or spinach or sow it down with a cover crop to dig in later on. It is only by keeping the soil occupied that its fertility can be maintained, and by digging in cover crops ns green manure the fertility is kept up to that state which all ground treated to intensive culture requires. The onion crop will also be ready for lifting when the tops begin to turn yellow and are easily bent over. If you want bulbs to grow for seed purposes, choose those of good form and with the thinnest necks that you can get. Those with thick necks are not suitable for seed raising and should be used straight away as they do not keep too well and are a blemish on the crop. As soon as the tops have withered after having been pulled take them into a dry airy shed and lay them out thinly on the floor or in racks where thev will finish off.