THE GARDEN

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXI, Issue 139, 14 May 1941, Page 10

THE GARDEN

THE FLOWER GARDEN.

After the dry weather the deluge came and in many cases the ground in many gardens became Hooded and plants have suffered in consequence. Dahlias that have been cut down by frost will be the worst sufferers, and if they can be- lifted from the ground and dried off they can be put in a dry part of the garden and covered with sand; a good dusting of limn will help them. Some may go rotten, but this cannot bo holi>ecl. As soon as chrysanthemums have finished flowering the plants can be cut down and then the roots can bo lifted and (rotted up in fresh soil with plenty of sand in it to let the moisture through. Allow the suckers to grow about threo inches or more in height before

they are taken as cuttings. The best time to begin taking cuttings is after the shortest day, and if preparations arc made now to get everything ready the work will bo much easier, f uchsia cuttings that were taken earlier in the season should he rooted enough to pot up into small pots for a slart. These pots can bo put into a frame and kept there until all chance of frosts has gone. It is not necessary to -keep the frame tightly closed, but give the plants plenty of air. Hydrangea cuttings can be treated in the same way, but in most cases they will loe their leaves; however, as long as the lntds are not frozen the plants will begin to grow in the spring and can then he planted out in nursery rows for another year. They will not need much water during the winter, and if they have enough to keep them alive they will he all right. The herbaceous border can he taken in hand now and manured aXJ divided. When an old herbaceous plant is marked down for division, lift it and give the situation a good dressing of manure. The best manure for herbaceous plants is old cow manure that is well rotted, and if this can. be mixed with leaf mould or. old rotted straw refuse it will he found ideal for the. growth of such plants. In some it pays well to use a little artificial manure, but amateur gardeners must guard against the desire to use it in heavy doses. A mere sprinkling will do more good than a heavy drossing. Violets, for instance, are improved by a light dressing of blood and bone manure which can be sown along the side of the row and lightly forked or hoed in. Carnation plants are not fond of manure of any kind except well-rotted cow manure and leaf mould, which can be worked lightly into the soil round the plants. Lime can lie given to them every week or so by dusting over the surface leaves. There are other plants that like a certain amount ot lime, particularly during the winter time. Iceland iioppies are heller if there is a ccrlain amount of lime ill the soil. Anemones and ranunculus also like lime, and if the beds have not been limed at some time it will help tilings considerably to give them a dressing now. This is a good time to manure and topdress lawns. It is easy enough to lopdress a lawn with artificial manures. Basic slag is useful as a grass. fodder; but it is inclined to bring clover in the lawn. One of our gardening, friends has written to say that he has found finely sifted cow manure to he one of the best of all things to use. This is spread over the ground and raked into the grass as an ordinary top-dressing. NEW GARDENERS. Every year there are new gardens made and some arc more or less failures, and yet a little assistance and advice at the right time would change nil tins. The soil should always be the iirst consideration, and thei.# are so many different kinds that it would bo impossible to name them all here'. The three principal kinds are I clay soils, with a heavier impervious clay foundation; the next is a good friable loam through which water will percolate, and the third can bo called a sandy soil tho greater proportion of which is pure sand and is generally a hungry j kind of soil. The only way in which ‘clay soils can be made to grow plants is to drain them well. Drains can be put in to take the surplus water away and thenc I should be at least two feet below the surface;- then the soil can be worked to that depth by a process that is known as trenching. Jn this case the surface, soil i is broken up and the clay below is broken up into as small pieces as possible. Any manure that can be worked in can bo mixed up with the surface soil and Jiine used on the surface will help the mechanical condition of the soil. The second j kind of soil may require some drainage, but not to the same extent as a clay soil. In any case the ground work is the same, and manure can be worked in as the work proceeds. These soils often give the best results to begin with, but they will take more manure to keep them going. In tho case of clay soils, they must not be worked when wet or they will rako up like bricks and it will take a long time to bring them back to fertility. Sandy soils are easy enough to deal with, but they cannot be expected to grow plants in the same way os the other two unless they are well manured with manure that will help the sand to hold water. | Olay soils will hold water without any help and the main thing about them is to get the surplus water away as quickly as possible. Except in extremely dry weather, water will not be necessary, and as a rule it is better to rely entirely on surface culture. To water excessively means that the surface soil becomes consolidated and air cannot enter. Tho second kind of soil we have mentioned requires surface work as much as any other, especially during the time that crops are growing in it. Sandy soils, when they are manured, will bo found to grow somo crops quite well and these are some plants which will grow' better in these than in any of the others. Unfortunately, they are liable to dry • out very quickly and will require water before any of the others are dry enough. Strange to say, lime is quite as important as for heavy soils. When put on sandy soils it helps to hold the particles together, which is what is wanted, because the soil then holds water. ’lost root crops will be found quite satisfactory oil sandy soils as long as they do not come in contact with fresh manure. Old well-rotted stuff, well mixed in. does a lot of good, and though the roots may come in contact with it they will not he harmed.

QUESTION. “Curious” says: “I havo - heard that cel worms arc responsible for tomato troubles and I want to know bow to get rid of them.” The main tiling is to too that •you have a proper rotation of crops. Never grow tho same kind of crop in the same soil two years running; The cel worm that attacks one crop does not affect another. If you are growing your own seedling plants for putting out, it would be a good plan to sterilise the soil that is used. Some method must bo worked out so that steam is forced through the soil until tho temperature is raised to about 180 degrees. Treatment with chemicals is not always satisfactory: horticultural napthalcno is. satisfactory to a certain extent, but a crop should never he grown on the soil it has been used ujxrn for at least a month afterwards. Soils that have been treated with carbon bisulphide may be out of business for a long time. We know of one case where tho soil was useless for nearly two years. Some growers seem to have had some success with powdered quicklime, which is dug into the ground before it has been slackened. This works well in some cases. I’otash salts are also said to have a sterilising effect. No doubt in time some substanco will bo found which will deal with these posts, hut as far as we know it has not been discovered yet. There are some articles written by Dr Poalo, of Sydney, which go into the subject very deeply, but still lie is not satisfied. STRAWBERRIES. Nearly every gardener wants to grow strawberries, hut few seem to succeed with them. The principal cause of failure is that the soil is rarely prepared properly. It does not matter what the. soil is, whether it is heavy clay or a friable loam, strawberries ean bo grown in it if it is prepared properly by draining and

Notes are published under this heading, and readers interested in gardening arc invited to send in questions relat» ing to matters upon which they wish expert advice; answers will be published with the weekly notes.

manuring. Another thing that is important is to liavo narrow beds which can be weeded without walking on them. If tho bed is made four feet wido it will take four plants across and the rows should bo from 15 to 18 inches apart. When putting the plants in position, spread their roots out carefully and plant lirrnly, but do not bury the crowns. Young strong runners mako the best plants and give the best results, and when well eared for ivill go on fruiting for three years before t is necessary to replace them. We have jeen asked to give the names of some .arieties that do well here, but it hits been bund that one variety that' does well in >no garden does not do as well in another. Get a variety that does well in ,'our vicinity. One thing that is very im-

portant is to have a bed that can be covered either with small-meshed wire-net-ting or with fish-netting, which is often used for the purpose. If the plants are left uncovered they will lie attacked by birds, which are very fond of them anil will eat the berries before they even begin to ripen. Keep the runners off the plants from the time they begin to show. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. There are plenty ot gardens where spent crops have not been cleared away. Tins is a pity because spent crops exnaust tho soil much quicker than many people think, and . decides that they turn into weeds and it may take a lot of time to get them out—much longer than it would if they were taken out us coon as they had finished their period of usefulness. Tomato plants, for instance, may have some small green fruit hanging on them, but it is a mistake to think that they are worth keeping. It tho green fruit are ol any use, pick them and spread them out on a bench in the sun, where some may ripen and the others can he used green for pickles or something of that sort. Runner beans are perennial plunts and can be lott in p.ace until next spring, when they can be given a good dressing of manure, which is worked into tiie ground on cither side of tho row. All potato crops can bo lifted new and taken inside. It left in the ground too long they may begin to sprout or even may go rotten and grubs may begin to take a heavy toll of them. ■Such plants as leeks and celery arc left in the soil until they are required for use, but then they are npt producing seed, which is ihe most exhausting tiling Hie soil has to do. Another thing about these crops is that the soil lias been heavily manured for them and the plants growing in it keep the soil working. Onion teed sown last month should he showing up now and if carefully weeded should get a good start before the cold weather slows up growth. Cabbage ami cauliflower seed can be sown in boxes under the cover of a liamc. As soon as the young plants show up admit plenty of air to them by arising the frames a few inches at fiiet and then more and more until the frames can bo taken away altogether. We have always found that ir pays well to prick out box-grown plants into oilier boxes as soon as they arc large enough to handle. They can then be returned to the frames until they have taken a fresh hold of the soil. One thing that is very important is to have fresh clean soil to sow the seed in. If old soil has to be used, choose some as far away as possible from the place where cabbages or turnips have been growing. Even then it (lays to mix in plenty of slaked lime, which should he well mixed into the soil. Broad beans can be sown now; they are plants that do belter in a limed soil than I in one deficient in this. jMost gardeners | when sowing broad beans sow lime in the drill with the seed. Slaked lime is better for this purpose than agricultural lime, because it works quicker. When sowing, beans, give flic plants at least six 'inches of space in the rows and make the rows four to five feet apart.