Gardening News & Notes

Northern Advocate, 15 March 1947, Page 3

Gardening News & Notes

Vegetables . . . Sow cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, radish, carrots, etc. Sow the carrots without delay if you want them for winter and early spring use, as their growth is slow during the cold weather. Sow onions for early crop. Give a good ground, good drainage, and a firm soil. Don’t sow old seed. Celery should be encouraged to grow on. Liquid animal manure or a little nitrate of soda will help; but these should not be overdone, as celery, particularly in the young stages, is susceptible to mildew at this season. Plant out cabbage and cauliflower. Parsnips are best sown while the soil is holding moisture. The flat seeds should not be allowed to become bone-dry once they are sown. A little nitrate of soda is a good stimulant at this season for backward crops. Apply dry on the soil about the plants, or water into the ground, essentially during showery weather. Sow mustard, oats, or other soiling crop for digging in later. Keep the soil lightly chipped between rows of growing crops. A few potatoes may be put in if you have the right position, frost-free well drained, and open to sunlight. The tubers should be sprouted before planting, otherwise they will take too long to come through.

Flowers . . . It is necessary to get early-flower-ing Iceland poppies, stocks, etc. established before winter sets in. If the weather is dry, put plenty of water under the plant before setting it. The plants have not time to recover from a check. Continue to saw seed of annuals for spring show of bloom. Beaufortia is an Australian shrub that has flowered particularly well during the last two dry summers. The flowers are orange scarlet, of the bottle-brush type, produced at the ends of the branches. The small round leaves are packed close to the stem. Ceratostigma is a small twiggy shrub wiWa bright clear blue small flowers in profusion. It too is flowering well. This shrub makes a fine break in colour in a bed of bright sh/des. It is frost-tendei’. If you have some good compost or rotted manure that is dry, it is a good plan to put it through a sieve. The fine stuff may then be used for pot plants and seed boxes. The coarser material may be dug into the ground. Continue to sow seed of sweet peas. Sunshine, and shelter from frost and cold winds is necessary for the win-ter-flowering varieties. Good drainage and a good, well-manured soil are necessary for all sweet peas. Continue to plant gazanias, arctotis. verbenas, carnations, perennial salvias. daisy bushes, gaillardias, ageratum. alonsoa, thrift, pentstemons. scabiosa. and other perennial, mixed border, or rock-garden plants, from cuttings, divisions of the roots, or seedlings. Continue to plant bulbs, corms, etc. for spring flowering. The Guernsey lily is the first of the nerines to flower. The scarlet flowers should be plentiful the next few weeks. Transplanting takes place immediately after flowering, before leaf growth begins. The bulb should have the neck above ground. Sunshine and a moderately ’good firm soil are necessary. Vallota purpurea, the Scarborough lily, has been very generous with its beautiful scarlet blooms. They flower best when allowed to grow naturally. making good clumps in firm ground, and pushing their bulbs well out of the ground. Well-rotted and sieved animal manure or good compost makes an excellent dressing for impoverished lawns. Healthv Foliage . . . Everything possible should be done to keep the foliage of our plants healthy. The leaves manufacture carbohydrates that act as fuel in stimulating the development of root, stem,, flowers, and fruit. Per medium of the leaf functions, such underground crops as carrots, beetroot, parsnips, kumaras. potatoes, etc. expand and develop. Be reasonable in the use of fertilisers and manures, particularly of nitrogenous fertilisers. Deep digging helps by improving drainage. Where possible, have the plants spaced, so that the foliage gets as much fresh air and sunlight as possible. Surface hoeing is also a great aid to healthy growth, by smothering weeds and aerating the soil. Where necessary, use lime to correct acidity. Spell the ground ns often as possible, leaving it in the rough state to get the air and sunlight. Burn all diseased rubbish. Remember that potash salts and wood ashes help to make healthy growth. And don’t grow the same kind of crop in the same plot season after season.