HOME GARDEN

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 25054, 18 November 1944, Page 4

HOME GARDEN

ANSWERING HEADER SOME CURRENT PROBLEM BY KEPOS « . Every season brings it own for me to solve. Among these W* may ■ be the. solution of your o trV ticular difficulty. ffn P*n Question: My rhubarb, olanirH V , son and left undisturbed, k- lhrni ß, **' Answer: The plants are their natural function in flovr ■ These stems should bo broken o?' the base as soon as they are not! J? to avoid wasting the energy of plant; the leaf growth which eJ afterward can be used i u the way. There is no wav 0 f *! 14 ' rhubarb from flowing when it ? raised from seed. There is a U variety which may be propagated? division. u "I

Question: Having sown a qaantitv nf for drying and storing for winter,,,. quandary arises as to the time nf T' ing. I have been advised to leave on the haulm until they are nntU question this, as peas usually have gathered when ready for use or thV , stops producing. t!le Play Answer: The advice is quite 50,,.'; The variety of peas for drying i s e ,! largely because the pods mature *} about the same time and, there J srrz esiu,no " ,,rttar^ result? apphed, and what wo?!d\ S »

Answer: Epsom salts is pulphate . magnesia. Magnesium is a cwrttfj of chlorophyll, the green colour?* matter in the leaf. A magnesium is shown by yellowing f the leaf and. toward, the end of tk! season, dead patches of tissue. Emf salts will supply the deficiency and be applied in solution during the an, ing season at the rate of lib to 2ft per five gallons of water.

Question: In growing pumpkin* melons and cucumbers, is it betters the male (lowers as they appear on s!iX of these plants? or Answer: In the case of punm]™, melons and marrows, the male' flow* are required for fertilisation punW Cucumbers do not require feftiE so these flowers may be removed if J.' like, though the doing so is 0 f lift), importance.

Question: My young onions Senear <« i collapsing and the foliage dyfnf would be the trouble, and the remedy? Answer: The trouble is most probably mildew and the plants should Z sprayed with a copper fungicide such as Bordeaux powder, one ounce to eacfc gallon of water. Where mildew hj, appeared in previous seasons, it is quitlikely to appear again/and it is alwava a wise precaution to spray the oniJa crops or dust with sulphur before any disease appears. 3 Question: Some apple trees raised from pips are now ten yeare old and haw bloomed. Can anything be done to mak« tM» flower? ««■ Answer: Fruit trees from seed w very erratic in coming into beark and even when they do, are more ofea inferior to established kinds, althoagb" an odd one here and \there may be an improvement. To hasten the blossom, ing the trees can be heavily not pruned in April; this will check the growth and probably cause them to form fruit buds. Question: Can yon advise why a row of put should go brown at the base and wither offj Answer: The trouble is most probably root rot. Excessive soil moisture farours this disease. Woll-drained soils and a dressing of fertiliser to get a good start where needed and a good crop can often be grown in spite of the root rot. A change of ground for peas is advisable and choose the higher portions of the garden, as the spores of the disease can be carried in the soil water.