GARDENING NOTES

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 11226, 3 June 1922, Page 5

GARDENING NOTES

(By “Rata.”) BUSH FRUITS FROM CUTTINGS. GOOSEBERRIES. To maintain a good stock of young gooseberries and currant bushes, a few cuttings should ,be put in every autumn. The younger bushes provide the finest fruits; therefore, it is advisable to have them ready to take the place of the older ones when discarded. Shoots of last season’s growth in gooseberries make the best cuttings. Gut off a shoot ten or twelve inches long from the parent bush, just below a joint. ’ Remove all the buds with the exception of four or five at the top. This operation is moßt necessary, otherwise when growth starts there will bo a mass of suckers at the base of the cutting. They should be firmly planted about six inches apart and four inches deep. CURRANTS. Red and black currants can he sue oessfully grown from outtings also The former should be planted by exactly the same method -*OB gooseberries, only a little deeper is better. With black currants the lower buds should not be removed, as it is from suckers produced by these buds that the fruit- ■ ing shoots are developed. MANURING FRUIT TREES. An economical method of manuring fruit trees, adopted by a number of orchardists, is as follows:—A number of holes are made, about three inches wide and one foot deep, and about eighteen inches apart, in a circle around the tree at the extremity of the branches. Place in each of these holes about two ounces of basic slag, and cover up with soil. One great advantage in this system is that tho trees reap the benefit of the manure alnfost immediately, as it is in close proximity to their fibrous roots. Another artificial manure which may he aoplied in this manner is composed of 2 lbs of superphosphates, one pound each of nitrate of soda and kainit, all well mixed together. GARDEN FRAME. One of the most useful adjuncts to a garden is a glass frame, and if placed on a losid of manure, a very usdful hotbed can be made, in which cuttings can be struok and boxes of seeds germinated. When sowing seeds in boxes the soil should be sterilised. This can best be done jby filling a tin and placing it in a hot oven or over a gas jet for sufficient, time to thoroughly heat the soil, kill all insects and weeds therein. .If it is impossible to procure stable manure, the frame can still he used, although the seeds, will take longer to germinate, and the cuttings may not root so readily. The frame shotud be placed in a sheltered odrner, and protected from the southerly winds. It is advisable to close it early in the afternoon, to reap the benefit of the midday heat. Care should be taken in watering seeds in hot beds, as they readily damp-off, and have no powers of resistance, if allowed to be drawn .up too much. SWEET PEAS. Sweet peas planted in April are now well above the ground, and they should be thinned out to six inches apart. The plants removed in this process can he utilised elsewhere in the garden. As soon as the young plants are about fohr indies high, pinch out the top of the growth, in order to force the laterals to shoot. When these api pear the two strongest should be left, and the remainder removed. The selected laterals must be supported by small twiggy manuka immediately, as if allowed to grow without some means of support, they fall hack, and never regain their upright position. When the growth is confined to two uprights they soon make speedy progress, and will require long stakes to cling to. Any laterals that appeal now must be removed, so as to force the vigour of the plants into the two stems. The removal of the tendrils, just beyond the first two leaves is important, at they are not necessary for the growth of the plant, and a certain amount of substance is used up in their sustenance. V

Slugs and snails are particularly fond of the young tender snoots of sweet peas, but, a dressing of lime on the surface soil will be found an effective remedy for these pests. No manure should be applied until the plants begin to flower, then lightly fork in horse manure to a width of about twelve inches from the plants. Subsequently, when liquid manure is applied, the soil will be nioe and open to receive it, and the plants will quickly respond to its application. Some amateur gardeners are not aware that the flower bud comes before the lateral; should the position be reversed, then no flower will follow. This is sometimes caused by the exoessive use of artificial manures, especially nitrate of soda, which oausos a ratnpant growth of foliage. One of the best liquid manures for peas is made from cow manure and’ soot mixed, alternating it with sulphate of ammonia, at the rate of 2oz to a kerosene tin. of water. GENERAL WORK IN THE GARDEN. This includes at this time of year the planting of lobelia in the borders. The clumps; can be lifted, divided and replanted. ' Pyrethums can be divided ant! replanted. All herbaceous plante can rbe lifted l now, separated, and transplanted, which process much improves them.' The outside vigorous shoots should be selected and the old plant dispensed with. This especially applies to perennial phlox, which gets crowded in the centre of ihe root and’ yields only trusses of bloom about half the size it should do. They flourish best in deep open soil well enriched with stable manure, and after division should be planted fairly deep where they will receive the benefit of the rain. A dry sandy spot, or a sloping bank, is fatal to their growth. Cuttings of scarlet geraniums should be planted now. They should be about 6 inches long and cut through just below a leaf joint, remove|the leaves and any flower buds that are forming, then insert the cuttings in a trench to the depth of about four inches, and press them firmly down, otherwise they will pot tako root if loosely planted. The majority of cuttings should be cut through just below a joint, as that is where the roots most easily start. All the leaves on tbe portion of stalk to be inserted in the soil should be,removed. This prevents decay, and permit® the soil to he pressed closely around the stalk. Another important point. to remember is to remove all the flower buds, for, if allowed to develop, these rob the cutting of a large proportion of its sustenance. Lastly, plant 4hem firmly. A cutting planted and allowed to wobble round with every breeze will never root.