Enjoy Your GARDEN

Northern Advocate, 14 January 1939, Page 7

Enjoy Your GARDEN

Spend the Leisure Hours of Daylight with the Flowers

The Vegetable Garden Early planted onions are reaching maturity. When weeding between the rows, see that the bulbs are left exposed as well as possible. In order to .hasten ripening turn down the tops, that is, provided they have softened and are easily bent over. Do 'this by hand if you have time. Give the tops a twist in turning them down, so as to prevent unnecessary rise of sap into the green leaves. At the same time, turn them down in such a way that the bulbs get as much sun as possible. When the tops have dried down, lift jhe bulbs and leave them in the sun for a couple of days, until

Helpful Hints

they become thorbughly dry. Store iii a dry, well ventilated Shed. Store them so that they Cah be easily looked over, as those that have been affected by blight will readily decay, and the infection rapidly spread to eighbouring bulbs'. A good plan is to tie them to a notched stick by the dried tops when any that go had may be removed by cutting them free. After digging, potatoes should not be left in the sun longer than necessary to dry the skins, otherwise they will commence to green. Store in a dry, well ventilated shed. Potatoes for seed tor next season may be planted any time towards the

end of the month. Only the best formed tubers should be used, and they should be healthy, and they should be taken from a prolific root.

Do not pull summer rhubarb tco heavily, otherwise the roots will not

develop as they should. The roots get most of their nourishment per medium of the leaves, the starchmaking units of the plant.

Finch out-the seed heads from winter rhubarb, so that as much nourishment as possible will go into the roots, so that they might bear well during the winter months.

Keep the carrot bed weeded and the foliage exposed to full sun. During the driest weather give a gtod soaking with water. Carrots may be lifted and stored in dry sand, or in a cool, dark shed or cellar without sand. If sand is not available, dry ashes may be used.

Make a sowing of carrots as soon as there is a decided break in the weather. The earlier they can be got through, the better they will be for winter use.

Give the cauliflower plants a good hosing in the mornings as often as possible during dry weather. This refreshes the plants and is a wonderful deterrent against the “fly.” If the plants are attacked by the fly, see that the central bud at least is intact. An occasional pinch of tobacco powder cr derris dust will keep them right. As long as the central bud is preserved

the plants will come on later and make good heads. Keep the soil lightly stirred between the rows.

Spent plants of peas and beans should not be pulled out. It is better to bury them where they grew. The plants will then decay and enrich the

ground with nitrogen to serve the crop that: follows. This following crop should 'be of a leafy nature if possible, as pitrogen is of particular; use for leafy growth. Cabbages, let- j tuce. cauliflowers or celery are good following crops, and will be found to j do well after peas and beans, or other i allied plants. I

Tomatoes will need attention. The

laterals should be removed as soon as they show- The plants may also want spraying for caterpillars or blight, both of which are bad at this season. A dressing with sulphate of potash or wood ashes, well washed in will tend to give the plants resistance against blight. Do not water the ground about the plants unless the latter need it badly. And do not w r ater the foliage. Steamy atmosphere about the plants encourages blight. Pick the fruit before it is quite ripe, so as to give the green fruit a chance to advance.

Marrows and pumpkins are thirsty plants, and the only way they can get water is from the soil. Give an occasional bucket of water during dry weather. Apply this at night. About Seeds

Talking of seeds, it is well in the first place to bear in mind the conditions necessary for germination. These are warmth, air and moisture. Lacking any one of these three conditions, seed will fail to germinate. But it it must be borne in mind that these conditions vary according to the plants concerned. Some seeds require glass house conditions, while others germinate at much lower temperatures. Temperature, however, influ-

ences germination much less than moisture, and it has less influence on the storage of seeds. Seeds will stand wide ranges of temperature without losing their vitality, provided they are kept perfectly dry. A damp atmosphere causes rapid deterioration. The life cf a seed varies with the class to which it belongs. Some seeds, such as Californian Poppy and Gerbera, lose their vitality in a few months, even when dry-stored, while ethers, such as cucumber and melons live on for years.

Seeds should bo allowed to thoroughly ripen before gathering. Immature seeds allowed to dry off, will germinate if sown soon after ripening, but they are always poor keepers. Again, seed should be harvested in dry weather; seed harvested in wet Weather never keeps as well. Although most seeds will stand lojig exposure, up to lOOdeg. F. without injury. it is well to keeep the temperature down, if the seeds arc to bo kept for any length of time. Again, the bad effects of moisture on stored seeds is heightened when the temperature is high. The safe plan is to make every effort to keep the seeds bone dry. Depth to plant is important. The seed holds enough potential energy

to do a certain amount of work and no more. Deep planting is asking the seed to give more than it hrs to give. A gardener’s rule is to sow at a depth equal to twice the length, or diameter of the seed, but this rule is elastic and must depend to some extent on the nature of the soil and on the supply of available moisture. Most mistakes are made, however, by sowing too deep. The moisture factor can bo readily controlled when the seeds are sown under cover; and in the open, a shading with brushwood such as teatreo or fern, will help to keep the soil from becoming too dry before germination has become an established fact.

The effect of direct sunlight on germinating seeds is to retard germination, and in the cases of poppies, larkspur and a few others, sunlight is definitely harmful. To be on the safe side then, it is best to exclude direct sunlight until the young seedlings have pushed through.

Most seeds, if given a fair chance, germinate freely,. but seeds of certain families are slow. Those of the Umbel] iferao. for example, are slower. This family includes celery, carrot, parsley and parsnips.

Hard bony seeds require some treatment before sowing. The seed coat may be broken or the seeds may be soaked in hot water. They must net be boiled in v water; rather the boiling water should be poured' over them, and allowed to cool gradually.

To summarise: Harvest only ripened seed. Harvest during dry weather. Store in a dry place. Sow fresh seed. Don’t sow deep. Exclude sunlight dur-

ing germination. See that there Is sufficient moisture present for germination.