GARDEN NOTES

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXI, Issue 192, 16 July 1941, Page 4

GARDEN NOTES

THE FLOWER GARDEN. The recent wet cold weather has put a stop to most of tlio giuund work in the garden ami tho opportunity should bu taken to get boxes ready for seed sowing. There are some of tho old boxes which, perhaps, can bo put into good condition by the uso of a few nails and tho scrubbing brush. It always pays to clean these boxes before using them the second season. It might l>o necessary to pick out. all tho older boxes for ho.diug bulbs or gladiolus conns, and keep tho newer ones for seeds. There is no doubt that some of the \arious ills that attack seedling plants can bo traced to diity boxes Another thing that tan bo done is to get a quantity of soil ready for futuro work. J/.'nf mould can be worked through a quarter-inch sieve and either mixed up with the soil or kept in a separate bin to be put in when tho boxes are being tilled. Such plants a* Iceland poppies that aro in flower should to kept well picked .so that tho plants do not begin to run to seed. Keep tho weeds round tho plants pulled out;' it is useless to think of doing any hoeing amongst them. Daffodils aro beginning to poke through tho soil and grout care must be taken when cleaning amongst the plants not to injure these shoots, which aro very tender when thev aro coming- through. Whether bulbs aro going to be earlier than usual is haul to say, but we do not think that tho cold weather in the winter has very much to do with tho (lowering period in tho spring. It is tho warmth in tho spring that brings them along quickly. A few warm days then will make a great deal of difTcreuco to the plants. Anemones that were put in early are beginning to flower and will ho a very weleonno addition to the (lowers we have now. The primuses of various kinds aro beginning to flower freely, particularly tho flowering apricots. These will be followed shortly by the flowering plums, which aie always a sure sign of the advance of spring. I.awns will have; to be get in order and the advantage of dry weather must be taken to get this work done. If the first cut is a heavy one it. should either bo raked off or taken off in the grass-catcher. Do not waste ibis grass, because it is the most valuable ma.nuio we have. It can be put on the compost heap or it can be placed on various parts or the garden to be worked in when the soil is dug cr forked over. All rubbish that will not rot down on tho compost heap should be burnt, and the u.-hes spread over the various parts of the garden. Never leave these allies in a heap to bo destroyed by tho rain. There is a lot of useful plant food lost every .year by neglect in this respect. In'these ilavs nothing should be neglected that will add to the fertility of the soil. Whore dahlias are still in the soil these can be lifted and put in a dry place and covered with a coating of sand or dry, fine soil. They can bo left here until they are required for euttiltg up for olanting out in their permanent beds. The bed for dahlias should bo prepared well in advance of planting. A good dressing of manure can bo spiead over it and dug in and then tho surface can be given a dressing of lime. HOSE PRUNING.

There aro some gardeners who are not content to wait until tho proper time for pruning-. Thev seem to think that as soon as the leaves have fallen the plants should be cut back regardless of the weather. This work should be left until the danger Irom frosts is o.er; a tovcro frost after pruning will do more harm lo tho plants than anything else. In the first place, pruning incites the plants to grow, and if a frost comes on when tho young shoots are beginning to grow it will mean that tie buds that aie in shoots will be spoilt. In n season like I his. one never knows when tho lest severe frost will come, but generally after about Iho middle of August it should to fairly

safe to do the work. There is every reason why rose pruning should be carefully and propelly performed; they will then give a crop of flowers from November until frosts become severe next wintor. There are no plants that give a greater wealth of bloom over a. longer period. When the plants are badly pruned some of the eiop will bu spoilt. It may be useful to know why pruning is done. Put briefly, a rose tries to mako more growths and to produce more shoots than it can manage to feed.. Leave a strong bush unprunod for a year and it will have' grown lo two or three times its size, but the hungry family of branches will be eucli u tax en its strength thai. it is quito incapable of producing good dowers. Prune the roses to keep the number of shoots down to reasonable limits; These limits may vary a little according to our requirements. When we want a. few choice blooms for exhibition purposes wo prune so that only a few | branches remain, and the bush will give all its energies to the few that come on I them. For garden decoration more shoots '.•an lso left. There are some other considerations which must bo counted. Weakgrowing varieties, if they are making a good numlier of growths, should be pruned moie so "t, .-, than thoso with a good, vigor ■'.-> s l -oo of growth. This is done so that lliu weak roots may have the smallest number of shoots to perfect. Those of a medium type of growth should not bo pruned as bard as the weaker varieties but harder than the strongest growing ones. There are three main types oY roses—hybrid teas, hybrid perpetuate, and the new pernettiauns. The fust that arc pruned are generally the hybrid pcrpetuals, l>eeause they aro slower to lwgtn growth than the hybrid teas. The pcrnottianas do not liko very hard pruning. Tho few rules that govern pruning are simple enough. The first thing is to out out all dead and weak wood and any very old wood, which should lie cut as close to the haso of the plant as possible. The second important rule is to cut immediately above a bud pointing away from the centre of tho plant. If the secateurs are clean and sharp thev will make a, good clean cut. When the cuts are made high above a bud- the end that is left invariably dies back and often carries disoa.-e to the rest of the branch. Hoses newly planted this season should not be pruneu until they show signs of growing and this pruning should bo a hard one, cutting the growths back to two or three eyes. This may seem to lie a drastic process to tho amateur, but it is the best thing to do for the plants. The only exception to this rule are tho climbing sports, which are better when they are left alone for the first season and the long growths tied into place.

QUESTION. ".T.A.S." says: "I find it increasingly hard to get flowers in the winter time and I am thinking of planting berry shrubs. Please give mo a list and approximate heights." There are several kinds of berbcrns that can be grown. Tho variety Prattii grows to aliout six feet and will stand plenty of cutting. There are several varieties of cotoneasters such as Walterii and Frigida which grow to seven or eight feet, Euonymous europacus is a good berrying shrub and will spread over a considerable space if allowed. Pyracanthas arc good, and some of them grow into large trees if they are given space. Yunancnsis is one of the best, but the berries must be protected from birds. Some of the viburnums are pood berry plants and grow up to ten feet. Stranovesia keeps its berries all through the winter and seems lo be distasteful to birds. Some of the rose species aro wonderful fruiters. The varieties of the musk roso are very strong growers and give plenty of berries. Another good variety is Lonicispcis, which carries its fruits right through the winter. This plant is a strong growing climber and requires plenty ot room 10 grow in. "Soil" says: "Can a soil be deepened because my soil is poor und only about six inches thick on top of a gravelly clay?" Such a soil can l>e deepened in timo by trenching and working plenty of tnanuro as tho work proceeds. A little of the clay mixed with the uupper soil as fho work proceeds will help. A dressing of lime will also help to break up the clay and add it to the soil. The main tiling is to keep moving the soil every year. When tho sub-soil is heavy, drainage is another aid to the deeping of soil, and it would bo useless to fry to work a heavy clay soil without drains.

SWEET PEAS. As soon as sweet peas begin to grow it is necessary to sec to the staking, the centre shoots should be pinched out and about three cido shoots should be allowed to grow in their place. These shoots can bo trained up to carry the flowers. In many cases the-c sweet peas grow much too "tall and instead of carrying them straight up they should be carried out horizontally for about throe feet before they arc taken up for flowering. This means a considerable amount of. work in tying the plants in, but it is well worth vvhilo when the time comes for picking them, and one can dispense with the step ladder which is so often needed. The soil at the base of the plants must he kept well worked, and a dusting of soil and lime mixed together is a very useful thing to use. Later, when the buds are forming, a dusting of muriate of twlash along the rows is a considerable help to the plants. Tf the sweet peas are being grown solely for s<>cd purposed they should be grown in clumps of one kind to themselves. They produce a lot of seed when treated in this way, but the flowers arc generally small and aro not suitable for exhibition purposes. For whatever purpose they are grown, good cultivation is necessary at all times. Exhibition blooms are considerably improved by frequent dressings of liquid manure. This must not bo very strong and, like liquid for any other plant, should have some soot in each tiibful. This, if placed in a bag, will last for a week or more before it should bo thrown away and another put in. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. If the early potatoes have not been put in boxes to shoot they should bo put in as soon as possible now. It is a mistake to keep early seed potatoes in a sack whero thev send out long white shoots which have to be broken off. Stand each seed on end with tho eyes uppermost and put the botes out where they can get plenty of sun but whore frosts do not reach them. 'I he position for early potatoes should be well dug and manured some lime in advance of planting-, and it would be a good thing to got this work ihne as soon as possible. 'I he amount of land yen will require can be worked out if you allow two feet between the lows and the sets aie placed a foot apart in the rows. A little wood ashes sprinkled along tie rows will be a great help to the plants. A good strawy manure is tho bejt tiling that can Lo need in drills. Broad beans can slill bo sown; the soil should be in a good mechanical condition with plenty of lime in it. Sow tho seeds six inches apart and about two inches deep. Same gardeners have been trying out the eJfect of dipning broad beans in a solution of formalin one part to 400 parts of water. They aro left in this for about half an hour before sowing and are said to be quite free from rust.

Jerusalem artichokes are well worth growing and are a valuable article of food. They should be planted in rows, preferably on the outside of the vegetable garden, vvheie they can be utilised as shelter. The soil for them should be well worked ami plenty of manure worked in. Set the tubers out about 1G inches apart and about four inches deep. When the plants are about a foot, in height they should lie earthed up and later another earthing up will help them. The old English rule that shallols should le planted on the shortest day and harvested on the longest is a rule that cannot be followed out, in a variable climate like ouls, but it pays well to get the bulbs in as early a- possible so that they will come into uso while the onion crop is growing. The large yellowis one of the best for anv purpose. If is mild in flavour and will keep well. The small while one is chiefly grown as a pickling onion and is very good fot that purpose. Lettuces can be grown whore thev- can be covered with a frame that is not required for other purposes. Set the plants out in a raised bid the sau.o size as the frame and then put the frame over them anil put the lights on. In about six weeks' time the frame can bo move,l away altogether and tie plants allowed to grow. A light dressing of nitrate of soda is a very useful tiling to give them and hoe this' into the ground before watering. Cabbages also benefit, from the same treatment anil a liltlo nitnale will help them wonderfully.

As soon as young peas show through the ground they must have some protection from birds. Black cotton strung on sticks is a great help, but the best protection is from wire netting.