GARDENING NOTES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18198, 19 March 1921, Page 3

GARDENING NOTES.

By D. Taxkooz. WORK FOR THE WEEK. THE GREENHOUSE AND NTJESEEY. Continue to pot the cinerarias into their flowering pots, standing them in the greenhouse for a few days until they take to the new soil, and afterwards putting theim out into the cold frames, where they will continue their growth. Pot up pelargoniums from the-cutting boxes if they axe well rooted, and set aside the gloxinias to ripen off. , , , Ventilate the plant houses freely whenever the outside weather conditions are favourable to ripen the growths, and thereby enable the foliage plants, which axe used for house decoration, to withstand the changed conditions of temperature to which they will be subjected later on. Tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, and in fact all spring flowering bulbs can be potted or boxed up in preparation for forcing them later on, and though I do not caro much for flowers out of season, they come in very useful in the early spring when very few flowers are • available. To provide cut flowers only they can bo planted in boxes, but when used for house or greenhouse decoration they are better in pots. _ Great care has to be taken when selecting the bulbs for forcing. They should be well grown, well ripened, with thin necks and even shape. The boxes in which they are to be planted should be about four inches deep with holes in the bottom for drainage, and there ought to be about two inches or rough, turfy loam and well-rotted manure in the bottom to assist the drainage. Common varieties are quite suitable, and the paper white polyanthus kinds are the most extensively used. The soil should consist of three parte good fibrous loam, one port leafmould or well-decayed manure, one part sand, and a six-inch potful of bone meal or an eight inch potful of basic phosphate to every barrowload of the mixture. Put the bulbs about two inches apart, burying them up to the neck and making the soil fairly firm. It is not necessary to plunge the. boxes in a bed of ashes. They can be placed on the shady side of a wall or hedge and covered with, some spent hops or leafmould.

For potting tip tulips, hyacinths, and daffodils a similar soil mixture will do, and five and six-inch pots will be quite suitable. Wash them clean both inside and outside. Put plenty of crocks in the bottom, then some rough stuff, and fill the pot up loosely nearly to the top. Usually five or six tulips ere put in a pot to form nice specimens, and all the bulbs jn one pot should bo about the same stage of development so that they will all flower together. Push the bulbs Into the loose soil, but have about a third of the bulb above the soil, and make the surface finn and level. Hyacinths are larger and require more room, one bulb being enough for a five-inch pot and three for a six-inch size. Again push the bulb into the soil, and leave about a third exposed. Daffodils when potted up are very useful for both house and greenhouse decoration. Bulb* about the same size and development should be selected, and these are buried in the soil with their necks sticking out., The number to a pot will depend on the size of the bulbs, but as a rule from three to five will be enough for a sixinch pot. The tulips and hyacinths should be plunged in a bed of ashes in a warm, dry position, and, as it is desirable to keep the ashes away from the tops of the hyacinths, small pots can be inverted over each bulb 1 before they are plunged. Daffodils do not need to be plunged, and they can be stood in a similar position to the boxes, which are to be forced and covered with tan, spent A 10 ? 8 . or leafmould. Daffodils are often grown in moss fibre in tindrained bowls, but there is no special virtue in the moss fibre, and they would do just as well in fibrous loam provided great care is taken with the watering. Potting should be done early so that the rooting process may commence at once, for there is no use taking in bulbs to be forced until they have a good root system and the pots are nearly filled with roots. Liliums ore often grown in pots, though in most districts they are quite a success outside when a special place is selected and prepared for them. When potting the stemrooting lilies the pots should be filled about half-full of soil to begin with, and topdressings can be given from time to time. As they do not remain dormant very long, they should be potted up as soon as the stems ripen off. When forcing bulbs they should be brought into the cool green house or a frame first and then brought into more heat to stimulate growth, but if they are not intended for cutting they should hot remain in the heat very long. As the foliage and flower stalks axe very soft, and easily bent over, it is advisable to provide a neat little bamboo stake for each bulb, and to tie them up loosely from time to time. THB FLOWER GARDES. Continue to pick the pods of the sweet peas as they form, and also the seed heads from the dahlias unless seed is desired. The growing seeds absorb a considerable portion of the plant food, and if left will soon starve the buds and prevent further blooming. The real aim of all flowering plants is to produce seeds by means of which they intend to reproduce themselves, and as soon as they have done that they are quite content to go to rest. Carnations which were layered some time ago will now have formed roots, and they can be severed from the parent plant with a strong, sharp knife. They can be left where they are for some time yet, but in late autumn they can be planted out in the positions in which they are to grow, or they can be potted up and wintered in a cold frame and planted out in the spring. Many of the autumn-flowering plants are bulbous or tuberous-rooted, and these can easily stand n dry autumn; in fact, they like it lO ripen their foliage and plump up the bulbs for next year’s display. Give them plenty of water and a little liquid maqjire once a week to encourage the growth of stem and leaf. Keep the surface soil stirred with the scuffle hoe. and water with a can should there bo any restrictions regarding the use of the hose. TIIE VEGETABLE GARDES. Blight usually appears on the- winter greens at this season, and unless it is checked in some way it will ruin most of them, as well as damaging the swede turnips. It is a slatey blue aphis which multiplies abundantly, and though it might be impossible to destroy it altogether, it can be kept in check by spraying with hot soapy water or even plain hot water will do. It cannot stand to be scalded, and if you can stand your hand in the water it vwill not hurt the plants. .As the spray is cheap, it can be applied in abundapee, and also with considerable force, to reach all the blight which are in the centres 01 the plants or under the leaves. The blight can also be washed off with warm soapy wter and a piece of rag or old sponge. Onions are ripening now, and to hasten the process their leaves are bent over and slightly twisted. This stops the now of sap and hastens the ripening process, producing good keeping onions. Mere large quantities are grown twisting would be out of ti.~ question, but rolling an emoty barrel over Ihem can be tried. It breaks down the foh’ag© and hastens the ripening pro00=3 When harvesting onions they can be nulled and left on the ground for a few days Loaded the weather is dry. Then spread out on a dry, ainr shed or earn, or jhey can ho tied up by the leaves or pleated into a rone and hung up to the rafters. Lateor on and the dried leaves oon be pulled off and the bulbs,stored away in shallow boxes in a dry, frost-proof shed, where they can be obtained as desired. Thin out autumn-sown crops, earth un those which require it, sur ' vsl stirred among growing crops.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. " Tomato Blight,” Ravensbourne.—The tomato forwarded is badly affected with a bacterial disease known as Bacillus solanceaxum, which attacks tomatoes and potatoes in the way you have described. Little can be done in the way of curative treatment at this stage except to eradicate and bum all diseased plants. To prevent a recurrence of the disease next season the following precautions should be taken:—lf it is _ impossible to obtain fresh soil or to sterilise your old soil, treat it with superphosphate of lime. During the >vinter thoroughly cleanse your house. Do not grow the same variety again, and, if possible, obtain your seed or young plants from an unaffected area. Fumigate your house to kill all minute insect pests, as it has been proved that insects act as agents in spreading the disease from one plant_ to another. Careful management is essential, for once the plants get into a low condition they are more susceptible to the attacks of diseases than they would otherwise be. < “ W. G. G.”—The apple forwarded is not affected by scab, black spot, or brown rot disease, but appears to have received a knock or bruise during some period of its young state. It is well to anticipate, however, and spray your fruit trees in the spring when the leaves have expanded and again when the fruit is formed with Bordeaux mixture or lime sulphur wash, both of which are_ pood fungicides for warding off diseases which cause the blotching and cracking of fruit. in small garden's it is advisable to purchase the ready-made article manufactured by some firm of repute.) During the winter all dead wood, pruning*, dead leaves, and old fruit should be collected and burnt.