garden

Manawatu Times, Volume 59, Issue 274, 22 November 1934, Page 5

garden

(Specially written for the “Manawatu Daily Times” by “Lorna.")

Routine Work in the Borders. With the driest part of the year approaching, the work of keeping the garden well hoed is of the utmost importance. A fine, well worked surface is a great aid in retaining moisture. Continue with the planting out of all kinds of annuals. Plant gladioli conns at intervals. Sow sweet peas for autumn blooms. Continue to plant mickaelmas daisies and heleniums. Prepare soil for dahlias and chrysanthemums. The planting of these may be continued into December. Liquid manure ail plants where flowers are wanted for exhibition purposes. Pay special attention to recently planted shrubs and roses. Should the season be dry, these will need a thorough soaking of water occasionally and a thick mulch of- litter or lawn grass clippings placed around them will help keep tho soil moist. Prune boronia and heath bushes back a few inches. Boronias and daphne bushes benefit from the cool root run in duced by a mulch. Where possible, keep pansies and violas well supplied with moisture. Water the lawn beforo any of the grass on it turns brown. These patches once formed are hard to get green again. Lift shrubs from the borders where space is needed, and replant in the reserve garden. In many gardens there are waste places where these will bloom and not tako up the more valuable parts of the garden. Take seed of any extra good cinerarias. The Vegetable Garden. Tho free use of the hoe will do much to keep the vegetables in good growing order. Continue to sow peas and beans. Plant tomatoes in deeply dug soil.. Sow seed of tho purple leaved spinach, which grows quickly and stands dry weather conditions better. Continue to sow pumpkins, marrows, cucumbers, etc. Sow seed of brussels sprouts, savoy cabbage, succession cabbage, late maturing cauliflower, broccoli, and leek and celery. . Sow lettuce and other salad plants at fortnightly intervals. Sow seed of parsley. Thoroughly water and mulch newly planted fruit trees. Mceky soakings of liquid manure will help along tho strawberries. Cauliflowers in Winter.

Seed may now be sown of the lato varieties of cauliflower for winter use. Varieties maturing in from seven to nine months are the ones that should be chosen. The first consideration is well drained land, as they mostly have to withstand wet winter conditions and although the cauliflower is a moisture loving plant, anything approaching stagnation is inimical to its welfare, hence good drainage is essential. An open situationy shoulld also bo selected where the plants get full exposure to light and air and sufficiently wide planting should be practised to allow a free circulation through the bed promoting sturdy and well ripened wood The soil should bo firm and not too rich and it is good practice to prepare tho ground some timo beforo planting to allow of thorough consolidation, or they may even be planted in ground recently occupied by other crops without further .preparation, if such ground has been liberally treated. Tho most serious disease in the cultivation of the cauliflower or broccoli is that of finger and toe In some soils it has been increasingly difficult to grow this crop on account of the virulence of the disease, and in some cases it has been aggravated by the injudicious use of acid manures. The most effective preventative is lime, and it is noticeablo that tho diseaso is almost unknown on calcareous soils. The use of ground lime is effective, but not so quick in action or powerful as burned lime, which is slaked before spreading. It is also a manifest advantage in tho control of the diseaso to practico rotation of crops, but as so many crucifers act as hosts to the disease this is sometimes difficult and the good effects of the practise arc frequently minimised by tho growth of cruciferous weeds. In order to check tho “fly” during the hot months, free use of tobacco dust should bo practised. This is both economical and effective dusted over tho plants at weekly or fortnightly interval's. Propagate Carnations. Select sturdy but not unduly stout side shoots and insert firmly round the edges of small pots filled with very sandy compost. If a little bottom heat can be given so much the better,, but really strong heat will lead to failure. The Modern Chrysanthemum. Hunting time for the above popular autumn flower is with us again. It is rightly termed “Queen of the Autumn’ because it is both beautiful and the last to go. Plants can be set out as late as December. When planting for cut flower work, it is best to get the late varieties iu first on account of their needing a longer growing season to mature their blooms. Mid season varieties planted late cannot successfully

take the place of late varieties as generally they give po.or results and inferior blooms. There arc now varieties to bo had which bloom in January and others which bloom as late on as Juno and July. These market varieties do not produce large enough blooms for exhibition purposes, but are ideal for all cut flower work. The main object in tho development of these varieties has been to produce popular colours, substance of petal and ability to stand up to bad weather conditions. In planting any type, tho small, starvcd-looking plant is the better proposition in preference to an overfed one taken from exhibition plants, and the plants should never bo hurried at this stage. Where the garden is troubled with disease, it is best to dip each plant iu a solution of lime sulphur, 1 to 100, aud nicotine solution,ono teaspoon to tho gallon. The tip of the plant needs particular attention, as pests congregate in tho tight heads. The most important item in their culture is a thorough firming of tho soil around each plant, which causes growth to bo slower, producing a strong, sturdy plant with well ripened wood. Rapidly grown plants produce soft blooms which do not last any time when cut compared with those which are produced on the well ripened wood. The soil should be fed a little, to start the plants, but not over much, just so that the plauts grow quietly ou but not to tho limit of starving them. After they get well' started nip out the growing point in order to make the plant branch and where really good types of cut .blooms arc required, remove all but five of the branches, and when these growths are some six inches long, .take their tips out too, taking up the same number of shoots from each one, thus securing a plant which will finally yield and be filled with nice quality blooms. Such a plant makes a very fine specimen as a pot or tub plant. Among the modern varieties, two very good late flowering ones are to be had in Miss England, a lovely porcelain pink, June and July, and Marvondah, a late maroon of great merit. In early varieties, Crimson Ace flowers in January, Sunbeam is a February flowering yellow reflex, H. Sutcliffe, the earliest of all yellows and W. M. Woodfull, a large glowing reddish bronze.

Potpourri. Now that rose petal's are plentiful, it is a good time for the manufacture ot' potpourri. If this is made on rather a large scale, it is convenient to prepare the different ingredients in separate jars. But everything is treated alike in being put into the jars, salted and pressed. The layers should be about half an inch thick after pressing, and the salt over each layer should be enough to show evenly alt over without actually covering. It is important that the roses should bo picked when free from rain or dew. They should be just full blown, but not over blown. The petals are picked off and separated, and laid out in a room to becomo half dry. No definite time can be given for this, but it usually takes from two to three days. The leaves of the sweet geranium arc torn into strips, and tako about as long to dry as the rose petals. Bay leaves, lavender and sweet verbena have less natural moisture, they can go straight into the jars without any special drying. The material is not only pressed down in the jars as it goes in, but must also bo weighted down by means of a wooden disc that nearly fits the inside of the jar and a stone or other weight, the wooden presser may have to be in two pieces if the jar narrows at the neck. When all is ready, a mixture of spices and sweet gums is prepared, a suitable quantity for a bulk of two thirds of a bushel would be: mace, cloves and cinnamon, half an ounce each, coriander, allspice, gum storax and gum benzoin, half an ounce each, all pounded, and violet powder, a quarter of a pound. The prepared rose petals will be found to be iu elose, flaky masses that, must be carefully broken up by hand and well mixed up with all the rest and with tho spice mixture. Potpourri is the essence of every delightful scent, in a handy solid form. It can also be made by a moist process which is more troublesome but the result is sweeter and more lasting. In the moist process, the materials arc only partly dried so that it, has a tough, leathery consistency, it is then put into a glazed jar, a good handful at a lime, pressed down, and sprinkled with a salt mixture, consisting of equal parts of bay salt and common salt. Tho bay salt, which is sold in lumps, is roughly pounded, so that some of it is quite small and some the size of peas, and is mixed with the common salt. Tho usual quantities for potpourri are, rose petals, a good half of the bulk. If a preponderance, of these is secured, the exact proportions of the rest do not matter. Anything may be added which has a lasting fragrance from possessing some kind of essential oil.