IN THE GARDEN

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXVI, 18 August 1933, Page 7

IN THE GARDEN

OPERATIONS FOR THE WEEK VEGETABLE PLOTS Seed sowing must ho. done with discretion. Localities and situation should ho considered for a little time yet. In some places, where the frosts are not severe, many things may be sown, such as peas, beans, carrots of the Early Horn kind. A small sowing of lettuce, radish, onions and spinach may also be made. Apply dressings of potash, superphosphate and kainit to the onion buds. Rake and re-rake the surface of the ground. Plant the seedlings in rows Dili apart and 12in between the rows. Brown Spanish are recognised as the best keepers. Straw Spanish is a large onion maturing a few weeks before the former variety. Secure stakes for peas.' Smalljbranclied manuka cut olf to the height required ami laid fiat until the time for use, makes excellent stakes. Larger planting of potatoes can now be made of both early and late varieties. Leave the tubers spread out in boxes to sprout and when planted they will crop quicker. While the seed is sprouting, dig and trench the ground well, burying the refuse and weeds from the garden. Lettuce plants are still difficult to raise in tlie open ground, on account of the slugs. The best method is to sow in boxes in good soil and grow on until ready for transplanting.

From this time onward a succession of peas can bo maintained by making a sowing about every three or four weeks, or as soon as the previous sowing is an inch above the ground. Few vegetables are more highly esteemed than asparagus, and a well-cared-for bed gives good returns. Yet you will often find the beds allowed to remain in an uncared-for condition until it is time to commence gathering tlie; icrop. To be successful the beds should be at all times kept free from weeds and a high standard of cultivation adopted, and although it is only in the best kept gardens that a weedless bed may be seen during that period when most of us find other work more pressing, there is no reason why it should not be got in good order before severe weather comes. Not only do the weeds come up more readily, but the danger of spoiling countless heads through the injudicious use of the weeding tool is not nearly as likely now as when the cleaning off is deferred until spring. Parsley, sage, thyme, marjoram and other herbs that are easily raised from seed should be sown, or if okl plants are on hand they should be divided and transplanted. Sowing or planting irrespective of the condition or suitability of the soil leads to many failures and disappointments. With spring crops, specially, tlie condition of the soil is an all-important factor to the success attained. Forking or digging should not be done while the soil is in a wet, sodden condition. Always allow a few fine days to lapse before treading upon tlie soil.

If early planted, potatoes are lacking in growth give a good sprinkling of superphosphate along tlie rows before earthing. Superphosphate applied to winter rhubarb will prolong its season of usefulness.

The great value of poultry manure in tlie garden has long been recognised, but tlie difficulty in the past regarding a more general distribution lias been because the material could not easily be handled in tlie crude state. Moreover, if used fresh for most kinds of fruits, vegetables, and flowering plants, it is apt to prove too strong by encouraging excessive growth of foliage. In the crude state it is therefore desirable to mix the manure with ashes or soil before applying it to tlie garden. Amateurs who keep fowls will find that by spreading the manure out in thin layers, under cover, the material can be air-dried without much loss of nitrogen. The manurial value of kiln-dried poultry manure compares favourably with other organic fertilisers. It has the following analysis: Moisture, 7.75 per cent.; organic matter, 57.04 per cent.; total nitrogen, 4.31 per cent.; total phosphoric acid, 2.92 per cent.; total calcium, 3.55 per cent. A large proportion of the plant nutrients in the dried manure are present in a readily assimilable form. It is an excellent material for reconditioning lawns and tennis courts; the turf soon responds to the treatment by taking on a beautiful emerald green. The manure should be spread evenly over the turf during winter, and by spring rains will have washed it into the soil. The manure is also of considerable value in the cultivation of greenhouse plants in pots, and is free from weed seeds. in ’MIDST THE FLOWERS Many gardeners sow salvia, zinnia portulacca, celosia, and cockscomb far too early. These varieties should not be planted until the warmer weather. It takes the experienced nurseryman all his time to raise these sorts early. Sow the following spring seeds now: Phlox, French and African marigold, candytuft, aster, cosmos, pansy, lobelia, Virginian stock, poppy and verbena. Give careful attention to all borddVs. Trim up the okl lobelia edgings, tliinning out where too thick and planting surplus where needed. Pansy and viola arc well worth considering if a new border is considered.

The top-dressing of lawns should now be commenced. A good application of soil spread over the surface will promote satisfactory growth and evenness during the summer months.' A dusting of blood and bone and also superphosphate should be given over the surface soil before planting seedlings. A ring of superphosphate around seedlings or other plants is a good safeguard against slugs. Pansies and violas, beauty and tenweeks stocks, antirrihimiins, lobelias, primula mulacoides, nemesias, coreopsis of sorts, penstemon, Iceland poppies, luimiilus and Margaret carnations may now ho planted. Take off and insert cuttings of chrysanthemums in pots, pans, or shallow trays. Place them in a cool frame. Propagation may also he made by cutting oil the suckers with a few roots attached and placing them closely together in a separate bed. Clematis indivisa, the large-flowered New Zealand species, may he planted any time now, as well as the large-llow-ered deciduous varieties, and the smallilowered very vigorous growers, flaml inula, Montana, viticella, panicuhita and Virginiana. j Hasten the planting of all permanent j trees and shrubs, also hedge plants and i roses. Prune cupressus and other conii for hedges. j Dahlias for very early cuttings j should be removed to a glass frame, or j greenhouse, tu restart them. Cut off

some of the surplus tubers. Place the varieties evenly in the frame and cover the tubers with fine eartli, leaving the crowns bare. Wistarias require an annual pruning. Remove the long runners near the base and shorten hack some of the laterals and long shoots.: •..Bignonia grandiflora also need attention. Prune back some of the projecting branches. Begonias, verbena, petunia, and double lobelia may be struck from cuttings. Violets are greatly benefited nt this stage of tlieir flowering, by an occasional dose of liquid manure. Liquid poultry manure is the most effective. Do not apply it on the leaves or make it too strong. Edgings should be kept free from weeds, while grass edgings should he neatly clipped. Seedlings of calendulas, stocks, mimulus, lobelias, coreopsis, grandiflora, candytufts, cornflowers and other hardy varieties may be planted out when the soil is dry enough. Cineraris, herbaceous, calceolarias, cyclamens, Chinese and other primulas, and scrizanthus growing in pots should receive weekly applications of plant food or liquid manure. Sweet peas must not be too highly manured at this season, when the soil is still cold.