IN THE GARDEN

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXX, 22 May 1936, Page 3

IN THE GARDEN

HINTS FOR AMATEURS THE VEGETABLE I’LOTS Onion seed sown earlier will have germinated and the beds need the hoe through them. Any weeds in the rows should he pulled out by hand. Cabbage and cauliflower plants i will respond to a dose ol nitrate of soda. .i! the plants suffered very badly li'oni fly, get rid of them anil replant. A sowing of turnips can be made m warm ground; also spinach. These are quickly maturing crops, and can bo sown to fill up odd spaces. Make a sowing of broad beans. These need a fairly stiff soil, and if the soil is not too rich’ the plants will crop better. Parsley seed sown now will not be too late.’ Many gardeners forget about such things as parsley, lnarjarom, sage, lavender and thyme. Seed of all ol these can be sown now. Any seedling crops of carrots, etc., should be thinned as soon as possible so as to give the crop every chance to mature.

Any green crops already up should be turned in now to rot. Oats should be forked well in or the birds will get the most of them. As stable manure for asparagus beds is very often difficult to get, all the green stuff that accumulates in the garden and the spent tops of (lowers and vegetables should be used to (ill the bottom of the bed. The older the asparagus roots, the quicker they will come into bearing. No kitchen garden should be without shallots and garlic. These, bulbs are obtainable now and should be planted during June. Lfceks can still be planted. The earlier planted that are growing well should have some soil drawn up to the stems. Lettuce may be sown. Select as warm a position as possible and if the soil is heavy put two or throe inches of sand on top. The seed will come up almost immediately. The soil must be well drained and well manured. Lettuce like fresh manure and respond readily to generous treatment. A raised bed is best. ’MIDST THE FLOWERS vDalilias stalks should now be cut. back in readiness for an early shift into winter quarters. Dahlias should not be allowed to stay too long in land that can be used for the growing of sweet peas, snapdragons, Iceland poppies, leptasync, blue delphiniums, dinnthus, giant marigolds or nemesias. Once the _ root tubers are well formed, and as big as they are likely to be this season, a shift to new quarters will not do the dahlia clumps very much injury. All summer flowering annuals should now he cleared from the borders, and the ground, wherever there is open spaces, forked over and some well-rotted manure or leaf mould worked in, adding about two ounces of bone-dust to each square yard. The ground should he prepared lor shrub-planting. Daffodils are coining through the ground, and care must he taken not to injure the young growths. Oil poor soils daffodils will be benefited by a dressing of either- basic slag or bonedust round about the dumps or along the rows, mixing it well into the soil. Four ounces of the former or two ounces of Hie latter will be quite sufficient. Basic slag is best for heavy soils, and bone-dust for light soils. When planting roses, put them in firmly. They should first be pruned. Thq mild .autumn has delayed the ripening of the wood of the plants, and where this is so the young wood will shrivel when lifted if allowed to get the least dry after lifting, but after the first good rain the earlier the planting is done the better. When planting roses take out a hole sufficient to allow the roots are well covered, shake in a hand a slight downward inclination at the extremities. Plant firmly and when the roots are well covered, shake in a handful of bone-dust before quite tilling up tlie hole.

Chrysanthemums are getting over, and once the (lowers are spent, the tops should be cut down to about six inches from the soil. Clear away ail weeds and rubbish from the base of the plants to encourage the suckers to make strong growth.

Make careful note of any dahlias or chrysanthemums that are wrongly named, and cither label them correctly, or mark them so as to know exactly what they are, and to prevent them getting mixed with other named sorts. Bulbs are now showing in most eases, and the work of hoeing and weeding between the rows should be done as soon as the bulbs show. If left till the foliage of the bulbs is well up, it is almost impossible to do the work without damage. Daphnes are sometimes affected with a disease which causes the leaves to turn yellow. In such cases pick off and burn all affected leaves. On no account allow any leaves to lie about on the ground. Get some vermonite from a seed merchant and spray the bush with a solution of it. Take care that the spray readies the undersides of the leaves. The syringe should Le used gently but thoroughly. Spray again when the new leaves arc appearing. It may take sumo time to get the plant quite free from the disease. Plenty of water should be applied to the plant during the summer, as daphnes like a moist root run.