THE GARDEN

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXI, Issue 126, 30 April 1941, Page 4

THE GARDEN

Notes are published under this heading, and readers interested in gardening are invited to send in ejuestions re la t* ing to matters upon which they wish expert advice, answers will be published with the weekly notes.

TIIE FLOWER GARDEN. Primula maiucoides can be set out ill wen-worked soil. If tlio soil in tbc boxes is dry tlio plants should bo given a good watering so that each one can be lilted with a good bull of ourth round its roots. In fact this is the best way to treat any kind of seedlings. Tliero arc plenty of plants that cun bo set out now. btocUs. wall-flowers, • pansies, violas, cinerarias, Iceland poppies, carnations, calendulas, larkspur and so on cun be planted out lor spring blooming. It may be necessary to koep tlio weeds down during Off! winter, but this is easily done if tbc beds can lie reached from either side. As soon as lilin ins have died down they should he planted out because they have a very short dormant period. When planting themi sco that the ground is well .. rained and place some sand and leaf mould above and bolow the bulbs so that any water diains away quickly. The secret of success "hen growing lilies is to give them perfect drainage and to top-dross the ground round B thom with loaf mould, particularly during the hot dry weather of summer. It is often considered advisable to plan lily bulbs in such a position that they get the protection of leaves Some of then certainly do better when they are planted in this manner, and if such places c found for them they should bo kept tor can be planted out in tint open garden now, but it must not be allowed to flower before the spring IliesO plants are quite hardy as long as they arc not allowed to flower. If flowering stalks appear, simply cut them out. Keep the plants growing as fast as possible an they will flower far better in the spring than spring plants would do. Pansies are beautiful flowers to set out in any garden and good plantations of them should be made to brighten up areas. Have you ever examined the roots of a pansy plant? If not, we would advise you (o do so. You will find that they are a mass of very fine roots, peculiar to surface roofing plants; therefore it is necessary to make the surface soil very firm and'at the same time add plenty of good plant food to it. Old well-rotted cow manure is us good as anything because it docs not beat up. If animal manure cannot be got leaf mould is very good and a light dusting of blood and bone manure. In heavy soil use lune and sand to break up the hard lumps. If you have any particular plants which you would like to save, cuttings from the base of the plants which have not flowered can be struck under glass and will make good flowering plants next spring. Sow sweet pea seed in boxes or in the open ground if the. soil has been properly prepared by trenching; if this has not been done, sow the seed in boxes or pots and then they can be planted out when the soil is ready. There are plenty of rock gardens about the country now and they should he ihoroughly overhauled : any places that require renewing should have some of the soil removed and a fresh lot. put in before the new plants are set in their places. A top-dressing will help other plants to groW ’ FALLING LEAVES. The beautiful colours of autumn arc beginning to be seen on every hand and pre-

sently these beautiful leaves will be falling to the ground. We are inclined to look upon therm as a nuisance, hut if we are concerned about the growth of plants there is nothing that will please us more than to rake them up and lake them away to the compost heap or lo a heap made entirely ot leaves. A good heap is worlli more to (lie gardener than a load of farmyard manure twice its size. There is no plant grown that dock not benefit by haying a dressing of leaf mould forked in lightly around it. Loaf mould ik also excellent when it is mixed with needling soil, and the tenderest seeds can be sown on it without any fear of harm resulting. When mixed with sand and koil it is an excellent potting material fov these plants that are grown in pots in the glasshouse. In England oak leaved are considered the best for any purpose and arc always collected carefully and put in a special pit by themselves. Other leaven, such as beech, lime, and elm are put in another pit. There wore generally used for hot beds for mixing with horse manure. This has the quality of retaining heat for a longer period. When putting leaves in a pit, it is a good plan to put dome soil In with them. It will help them to rot down quicker; but it is just a.s well to avoid using lime because the mould might bo required for something that docs not like it.

QUESTIONS. “A Reader” wants to know when and how to topdress a lawn. This work can bo done ai any time now, the sooner the better. Get sonic nice, easily worked soil which should be worked through a quarter inch sieve. If dome well-rotted manure can be got, work this through the sieve also anti mix it into the soil that id to bo used for top-dro=6ing. Even if this fine soil is put on the grass without any addition of manure it will invigorate the grass but with the manure added it will act better and more effectively. The mixture can he spread over Hie grass and raked well into. the roots. Any uneven spots cun be raised by having the turf lifted and some soil put in underneath and tlio surface roiled down hard. Some of the top-dressing can he spread over the surface and, raked in. It may take one or two applications ol top-dressing to bring the surface up. • “Vegetables’’ wants to prepare his garden for next season and desires to know if all vegetables can he lifted and what to do with them. All vegetables that hove become matured can be lifted at once and [jut in boxes of sand and kept there for the winter. -Carrots, red beet, potatoes, parsnips and so on can be lifted and treated in this way, but such , vegetables as leeks, celery and ccleriac will have to be left in the ground as they go oil growing during the winter. This is not very important, because the soil for these vegetables h~a been well manured before these crops were put in and will not require any particular attention until they are taken cut in the spring. The manure that was put in with them will be enough for next season, and this soil can be used for other eiops such as peas and beans. “Lawn” asks about bare patches on the playing parts of the lawn : It is easy enough to replace worn turf if you have some other turf that you can use for the purpose. Take out the worn patches in j the lawn in squares or oblongs about throe inches in depth. The turf is cut in pieces, either square or oblong, and three inches in depth. Place these in position until the worn patches are filled and then rake fine soil over the whole lot until the cracks are well filled. N The turf can then be rolled down and should soon settle. After this it will lo found that the I worn-out places will be fit to piny on next ’ spring. In cases whoro there is no extra turf obtainable, the only thing to do is i lo dig up the patches and sow them down with good lawn grass seed at once. After the digging has been done it will be necessary to roll the dug part until it is solid, then rake the surface over to get a a line tilth in which to sow the seed. Any uneven parts of the lawn can be taken out by raising the turf and pushing some j soil underneath and then rolling the surj lace down again. When doing this it is necessary to put in more soil than is actually needed, because when soil is rolled down it will settle more than you think. I.awns can be dressed all over with soil in which some manure lias been worked. | All soil used for Ibis purpose should be ! worked through n quarter inch siqvo. It will be easy enough to rake this soil i into the roots and leave it for the rain to settle; aftei it can he rolled. HEDGES AND SHELTER. Those who are contemplating p'anting hedges or shelter should begin preparation as soon as they can. 'lt is rather strange that anyone who plants a shrub goes to a great deal of trouble to prepare the land beforehand; yet the work that is done | for these plants 'is just as important for I hedge and shelter trees. In the case of ! putting in a hedge, trench the ground, work 1 in some manure and innke the position at least twice as wide as the space the plants will actually require. These hedge plants will grow quicker and better if they are kept well cultivated from the time , they are put in. We do not know whether j it is thoughtlessness or just a lack of ordinary brain matter that, makes some gardeners put in an expensive hedge and then leave it to grow as it likes, or docs not like, without any further attention. If the plants are treated in a rational manner they will soon grow and be able to take care cf themselves. ’1 bo same thing may bo applied to shelter trees planted out for the purposes of sheltering the I farm. When trees are planted the ground should he ploughed and worked up to a fine slate. The value of this working need not be lost, because the land can lie used for seme kind c.f crop such as potatoes or pens and the soil can lie kent worked while the crop is growing. The working will bo good for the trees and by tlio time the erop has boon lifted it is more than probable that, the trees will ho well enough advanced to lake care of themselves. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. Wo have been asked why it is that the vegetable garden always seems to grow more weeds than any oilier part. Wc cannot say why, except that perhaps the same attention may riot have been given to the matter of manuring. Generally speaking, land that will grow good weeds will grow other things as well. Weeds arc not a serious matter as long as they are not allowed to seed and scatter their seeds to

the soil. Cultivated plantb can become weeds if this in allowed to happen. 1 ar,snips, in particular are hard to get nd ot if the plants sccli and the seed falls on the ground when it in ripe. I his seeding will also upset ail theories about the length of time need will last. It is olten said that parsnip seed docs not last more than two years when it is kept in packots, hut wo know of one garden where parsnips were allowed to seed six years ago and p ants are still coming up although no p ants have been allow ed to seed'since. If plains that arc lo seed are put on one side tlio heads of seed should he tied up and protected from falling by having muslin hags tied over them. A.s soon as they are ripe they can lie taken inside and dried out on paper, and when dry they can be taken away and put in tins to keep until next season. Beans and peas arc liable to sweat if they are put in tins when they are not properly dried off, and this will turn them a had colour and may even affect tlio get-

initiation. Land, should be prepared now for sowm D onion, cabbage und cauliflower seed. I’ or onion seed tnc land should bo deeply dug and tbc surface broken up as finely as possible; then roll or tread it down firmly before sowing file seed. Make the beds narrow- and sow the seed in drill so that the plants can lie kept clean. Jhe same thing applies to cabbage seed, hut we have we have found the he t way to raise cau.iflower seed is in a box in the same way a.s other seedlings arc raised. When the young plants arc large enough they can be pricked off into ether boxes and kept growing until you are ready to plant them out in the open ground, which can ho done ,ao soon as the days begin to lengthen again. Broad beans can be planted now and- wilt continue to grow slowly through the winter. It is important not to put the seeds too close together in tlio row and to ha\c plenty of room between the rows, tf more than one is grown. Continue to give leeks, ecicrv, and celeraie plenty of liquid manure and they will respond to it even if the weather is cold. , Old tomato plants that have finished cropping should be lifted now and burnt. They arc no good for the compost heap and are likely to disease other plants , if thev arc put there. Marrows and pumpkins that have not been stored should he taken in under rover and protected from the weather. Those that arc ripe should bo used before the others because they will no. I last so long.