THE GARDEN

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 261, 2 October 1940, Page 4

THE GARDEN

4 the flower garden. The weather has been fine enoug L to get on wit'll planting out of a kinus of plants. Anyone wishing t get a good collection of pqiytuicliu _ primroses can help his collection a lo by picking out the plants desired froi flowering plants now. If you selec ; them when they' are in flower you kno\ ,- exactly what colours you are getting | If you are planting them out inti ' soil that they are going to occup; permanently, give the soil a gooi dressing of cow manure and dig it u before putting the plants in. Violets can be divided up and re planted in good soil. These plants lik< 1 a well-worked soil that has been deeply dug and heavily manured. Get tin: work done as soon as you can, because these plants require a long season o: growth. Give rose beds a.good manuring now with animal manure and lightly di£ this into the surface. Then a dressing of sulphate. of potash and superphosphate can be given to balance the animal manure. Go over the carnation beds and cui away any shoots that are not requiret or are growing too thickly together . All damaged and diseased leaves shoulc be removed and burnt before they hayt " time to contaminate t'he others, fetn up the soil round the plants with a fork and work in some lime and soot. ? NARCISSUS FLY. | “Reader” says: “Can y T ou tell me any tiling about the narcissus fly ? Last season 1 found a kind ot grub in one of my bulbs and thoughtlessly destroyed it. Since then 1 nave been ! wondering if it was that narcissus fly that is mentioned in sonic ot the garden magazines. I cannot remember what the grub was like, but there was a hole in the bulb and it was soit.” We have never seen this pest, and t'he only information we can give you ' is taken from a list of bulb pests. It seems that there are two kinds, , one the greater bulb fly (merodon I equixtris) and the other the lesser bulb fly (eumerus strigatus). The larvae or grubs of the grca'ter bulb fly attack the bulbs (one grub being lound in each bulb), and may kill them if the bulbs axe small and weak. Large, strong-growing bulbs are so injured that the bulbs fail to grow. The fly that lays the egg is said to resemble a small bumble bee. The general colour is dark brown and the body is covered with reddish-brown hairs, and it is about three-quarters of an inch across when the wings are expanded. These flies begin to lay their eggs about May in England, -which corresponds to October in this part of the world. The fly lays its eggs in the hole caused by the dying foliage. The grub hatches out and enters the bulb by the base. It remains in t'he bulb during the winter and emerges in September in New Zealand. The flies are only active in bright, sunny weather and will not ; lay their eggs when the plants arc | in the shade. The lesser flies lay more ! eggs and are smaller than the other, ' and a large number of grubs are found I in affected bulbs. When these or the I greater flies are known to be present, the control measures for both are identical. In the first case, never plant a bulb that is soft. The liot-water .treatment similar to that given to bulbs for eehvorm is recommended. Keep them in water for three-quarters of an hour at a temperature of 110 degrees. The bulbs should not be dried in the sun, but under cover of sacks, or in a shed. Many flies may be killed by spraying a liquid poison bait on the foliage in coarse drops. Some damage to the foliage may result, but since it is beginning to die down naturally no harm will be done to the bulbs. To make the spray, dissolve one ounce of sodium arsenate, which is poisonous, in a gallon of water; add half a pound of white sugar, allow it to dissolve, then stir in a quarter of a pound of crude glycerine, which is added to stop the stuff from drying up too quickly. Spray with a coarse nozzle and in sunny -weather, when the flies are on the wing. The sprays should be given every week for three or four weeks, and when the bulb foliage dies down keep the surface of the soil well cultivated to fill up any holes 1 left by the dying ioliage. ROCK GARDENS. It has often been said that a rock garden is an unnecessary, elaboration and that rock and alpine plants do quite as well on banks and in the garden borders. Yet in spite of sucu ideas rock gardening has taken a hold on gardeners, probably because a properly constructed rock garden can be made a thing -of beauty, and they have also found that a wonderful variety of plants can be grown on it, principally because pockets of specially prepared soil can be prepared lor each different subject. Such a garden can be made that does not take up much room. To build a really good rock garden may not lie as easy as one would think, but many amateur gardeners have built splendid examples simply by following something they . have seen in Nature. When considering this work, the first important thing is to choose- a suitable site where it is possible-to get plenty of drainage. Ihe-rock or stone is not so important as the amount of it that can be got. In the ease of large rock gardens it will be necessary to got some large stones, but for small and medium gardens the rocks used need not be so large. As the rocks are placed in position the pockets can be filled with the right kind of soil for each kind of plant. Make a list of the plants you wish to grow and then the right soil and right place can be found Iqr each. The rocks can be embedded in! the soil so that the plants can find rootage in the cool spots underneath, them. In some cases a pool can be made and water introduced to make a change. Stepping stones can bo placed both in the pool and along Ihe paths across the rockery. However interesting this may be, it has to be tried beiore one becomes enthusiastic. At this time of the year changes can be made in the garden and new plant.-, introduced to take the place of some you may wish to discard. Plants that 'nave exceeded their allotted space can be taken out and replaced by others, and at the same time the soil can [ be taken out and replaced with some fresh soil, which often does more good than anything else to the surrounding plants. In all rockeries space can bo found for a few of the small dwarf-1 "■rowing shrubs and conifers, which are always interesting. There are also a number of dwarf-growing flowering plants which are well worth a place. There are some good I'hododendrons I which, although slow growing- are most, free in blooming. Some of these will always create interest and should be included. I -

green manuring. A correspondent • says: “I wish to tell you that. I am another convert to green manuring of the garden. Last year I divided my garden into two parts and decided to try green manuring on one half and to manure the other half with animal manure. As far as the green manure went'], have

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.

| Lave dug in four crops and it would [j have done your eyes good to have seen ilthe last one of oats, it was a wonder--01 l'ul colour and about three feet tall. s The lour crops that were dug in wore oats and peas (a fair crop), then •j blue lupins to follow; a little supert phospate was sown with these and the f crop , was lairly good. After this a crop of mustard was sown, hut dug \' it in before it flowered because the , grub of the white butterfly was too [ attentive to it. This was followed by , another crop of oats which 1 .have .just finished digging in. Growing .(plants on the first plot are doing well —better than they have ever done be- ’ fore. I am digging in my first crop on , the other half and wondered if I | should change for any other crop. The ■ mustard could he changed and perhaps i peas would give the best results. 1 yarn showing my friends what can be , done with a small piece of ground ; and the amount of vegetables and 1 flowers that can be got from it.” You had better use field peas for digging in or you will be tempted to keep them. QUESTIONS. “Fruit” says: “Two years ago I planted some fruit trees which have not made much growth. The weeds and grass have been Kept away from them, -the spaces they are growing in are about six teet across. The grass on | the rest of the soil lias been kept cut. | Is there anything I can do to make them grow? Also, what would be a suitab.e manure for ericas, red manukas and azaleas ?' The latter have been in the garden for years a.nd do not make auy growth. They have had one or two flower heads, but should be better than this. My daffodils, are said to be good show varieties, but they are nothing like those i saw at. the show recently and 1 have been wondering if there is anything 1 could do to improve them. 1 beiieve m.y soil is of good average quality; at least, it is as good as or better than that of some of the prizewinners at the show.. Your help will be appreciated.” it would be a good plan to give your fruit trees a good dressing of i farmyard manure and to fork this into the ground round them as soon as you can. it is quite possib.e that the garden that was there before you planted the fruit trees had impoverished the ground. Alter the manure has been cug Ln, give the surface a dressing of ■ artificial manure made up as follows: | 31b of blood and bone, 21b of suporphosI phate, 21b of sulphate of potash. 1 tJprinkle this round them at the rate j of about half a pound per tree. The I farmyard manure is not a complete I manure in itself, but the artificials will make this up. The .best manure 'you can give the shrubs is well rotted icow manure, but there must not be | any lime ill it. because lime is fatal to these plants. Spread this manure over | the ground and lightly fork it into j the soil beyond the spread of the f’oli- , age. Azaleas like a peaty soil, and *r any of this can be got you will find I that it is better than any kind of 'manure. Give a good dressing and (work it into the soil about the plant, i 'The question about the daffodils will have to bo left for the present, but in the meantime we would like a few. more particulars regarding the working of the soil, and the time when the 'bulbs were planted last season. In the meantime, work the soil between the rows to allow the air to get into the soil, which will help the bulbs to j ripen up. When the tops begin to turn 1 ' yellow and dry up the bulbs can be litt- 1 ed and dried off. The time will come | then for the soil to be prepared in , such a way that the flowers will be | I improved so that you wifi be able to , show some which will be a credit to j ' you. 1 THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. t Continue to sow peas for succession 1 j as required. Do not sow the seed too , thickly, and as soon as the young j plants are strong enough to begin to •< climb stick them with nice twiggy l

sticks • the main thing is to keep the; plants-from lying about on the ground. Parsnips are most useful for winterfood, and when large roots are wanted the seed should be sown in well-worked soil; as soon as the young plants come up, thin them oin, to four or live inches apart, and keep the soil between the rows well worked. Ited beet is another useful vegetable and is one t'hat should be grown in every garden. As soon as the plants are ail inch or two high a light dusting of salt along the rows is most useful to them. Silver beet should also be sown. The time has come when it' is not always possible to get good cabbages owing to the white butterflies, and silver beet will give a good change. Spinach is another useful vegetable to grow. It likes a rich, well-worked soil and can be improved by the use of liquid manure, which should be given two or three times | a week.

Ground can be got ready for the second crop of potatoes now. This is one of the most important of all the crops that can be grown, and should not be neglected by any gardener. Tomato seeds should be sown in good soil under glass and the young plants pricked out into other boxes, where they will have more room to develop before the time comes for putting them into their permanent position. It is not necessary to put the plants out in very rich soil, because they can be fed with liquid manure and artificials when they begin to set fruit. Start cucumbers and marrows in between two pieces of cloth or sacking, and as soon as they shoot prick them out either singly in small pots or into a box of soil. Pumpkins can be treated in the same way, and planted out from pots when the, proper time comes. Those who like pickles should try a few gherkins; they are as easy to grow as cucumbers and give plenty of fruits for picking when they are small. Thero are several plants that are grown for pickling purposes, such as small tomatoes, beans, small carrots, onions, and so on. Ited cabbages, if required, should be sown now. It is easy enough to raise these if the plants are dusted with derris dust as soon as the moth, or butterfly, begins to make itself seen. This stuff is not poisonous and can be used in any place.