GARDEN NOTES

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXII, Issue 98, 25 March 1942, Page 8

GARDEN NOTES

THE FLOWER GARDEN. Hydrangea cuttings can be taken now unci struck in beds in the open ground, llie cuttings should have two nodes and the leaves can be cut aivay. Take out a Y-shaped trench and put an inch or two ox sand along the bottom for the base of the cuttings to rest upon. Make the beds narrow so that the plants can be covered with hessian when the winter frosts begin. J3e careful to see that the plants do not dry out. When putting the cuttings in grow them in rows fifteen to eighteen inches apart and about nine inches from plant to plant. They will not take verv long to root, but they should bo left ill the cutting bed for another vear at least when they can bo taken up' with a good ball of earth and put in their permanent quarters. Seed of early flowering ten-week nnd beauty stocks should bo sown now. It is not necessary to sow the seed’ in boxes; if you have a spare frame (lie soil in it can be dug and manured and the seed sown thinly in rows. Stocks of all kinds are prone to the same disease as cabbages; that is, tho finger and toe disease, and the soil to grow them in should be heavily limed. Iceland poppies can bo planted out in well-worked soil. The beds for them should be narrow and raised six inches or so abovo the surrounding 6oil lo provide adequate drainage. Lime can ho used over the beds before planting. Mignonette plants do not stand transplanting very well and if this sweet smelling plant is grown the seed should be sown where it is wanted and when the young plants como up they can bo thinned out to about a foot apart. Time is geting on and all work on herbaceous borders should be .done. Remove the stalks of all perennial plants that have flowered and any manure that can bo spared from the vegetable garden can be worked into tho soil between the stools. Old rotted grass clippings are exellent for this work. Take stock of the garden now and see where any improvements can he made by adding or removing some shrubs to another part of the garden. It is too early yet to do this work, but make a note- of it and no time will be lost when the hour comes to do it.

Cineraria plants can bo grown where they have protection from frosts. It only needs a slightly overhead protection to save them from being cut. The soil for them need not be deeply dug. but some old rotten manure forked in will suit them well. Water after planting. THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR.

The month of April is the real beginning 1 of the gardens’s year. No doubt many of you have beard the frequent appeals and liavo read the fame in tho papers. These have outlined the necessity for more garden work, and have given the reasons for it; but. thoso who wish to do more for themselves and their country should get busy now and preparo*lhoir land as soon as possible. Old gardens will need manure and even land that is being broken up for the first time will receive considerable benefit from manure which can bo worked in as tho digging or trenching proceeds. If the land is not required for immediate use the surface can be left in a rough state so that the weather can sweeten it. Any that is wanted for seed sowing will have to be broken up and prepared in the usual way; but always work it in narrow beds whether-it is heavy or light and there will not be any necessity for walking on it when destroying the weeds that are sure to spring up. Winter or summer weeds will grow and they must be checked. A portion of the garden should be laid of! for a special herb bed because the supply of thoso is getting very low and it will be sometime before more dried herbs can be imported into the country. Thyme, sago and mint are those most required and can be planted in the winter.

THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. Those who arc going lo try and help with vegetables the sooner they begin getting the soil in order the better it will bo for the chances of a futuro crop. If the land has been used for other crops this year it can bo dug over and sown down with a cover crop for digging ill later on. Heavy land must have drains put in to carry away tho surplus water, and this also means that tho soil will be warmer in the spring. Tho reason for this is easy to understand when you think that the air is warmer than water, and when tho surplus water leaves the soil air immediately enters. The bacteria which inhabit (he soil cannot work in a waterlogged soil, but in a drained soil they will go on collecting food which is stored up against the time when plants are growing on it. By digging in a crop of some green material you provide another necessary ingredient in the shape of humus, which is really rotting vegetation. All vegetables require lime and there is no better time than the autumn. Land that has never been limed can bo given up to two tons per acre, but when lime has been used in other years tho land only requires a light dressing of about a quarter of tho above. Lime is particularly valuable on land that has shown signs of plant diseases, such as finger and toe in cabbages and cau.iflowers. If this disease has been very bad a heavy dressing should be given and ‘theso crops should be grown somewhero else. Soil should be got ready for sowing seeds of cabbages, cauliflowers, lettuces iyd onions for early spring use. It is not a good plan to make those beds more than three feet so that the woods can be lifted from either sido without walking on them. In spite of the cold weather you will find that weeds will grow, and the soil between the rows must be kept open and free to allow the plants to grow. The white butterflies have been veryactive during tho warm, day following the rain, and wo would advise all gardeners to spray their plants before the caterpillars get largo enough lo do any damage. It would be quite safe now to use an arsenical spray. Cabbages and cauliflowers that are to grow through the winter should be carefully earthed up or have some earth drawn up to the stems. This will stop tho plants waving about in the wind. Leeks and celery plants can be given plenty of liquid manure from now onwards. A little fowl manure should be added to each lot of manure water as it is made.

Many root vegetables such as carrots and beetroot keep well during the winter when they are lifted and kept in boxes of sand. The mo«t important thing is to lift them carefully, loosen the soil along each side of the plants and take the tops off. Pack them in a box and pour dry sand amongst them until they arc completely covered. When these vegetables arc loft in tho ground after they have reached maturity they will become hard and woody. Whin the weather is fine? lit£ the roots in the morning and allow them to dry for a few hours, when any soil that lias come up with them can bo rubbed off. Cub the leaves from carrots about an inch from the crown; but the leaves of beets are generally screwed off. Tho main crop of onions should be about ready for harvesting; when the tops arc dying off, lift them and dry tho bulbs before storing' them away in a dry shed. Runner beans, particularly the white varieties, that are kept for winter use should bo picked when tho pods arc fairly dry and then dried off in an airy shed, where they can remain until they are well dried off. when they can be shelled and kept in open tins until they have ceased to sweat. Beans treated in this way will keep for a couple of years.