THE GARDEN. WORK FOR THE WEEK

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21598, 19 March 1932, Page 7

THE GARDEN. WORK FOR THE WEEK

J| NOTES BY - tannock, a .h.r.h.s.

THE GREENHOUSE AND NURSERY Cphtinue to put in cuttings of violas, pansies, and.pentstemon, and prepare for the geranium cuttings. Seed of the greenhouse "calceolarias can be sown now to provide plants .for next summer, and schizarithug, and other annuals can be sown to iprovide a display in early spring.: * We do not make the main sowing for'Vj'Some time yet, but a few early plants'are useful should the cinerarias go over quickly. Continue to take the. buds on 'the chrysanthemums) removing all Side shoots, whjch'arjse on the stem._ JForthnatelyl rust s?6 ms to, be'little in. evidence. this year, but should it appear spray;; with liver of sulphur (sulphide of potassium)', one ounce dissolved in-two-gallons' of urirtef;. ■ THE FLOWER GARDEN Continue to pick off the old flowers on sweet peas, dahlias, and roses, remove annuals'as soon as they are past their best, and cut over the herbaceous perennials. Plant out bulbs and . tubers of all kinds’,and . also Canterbury bells, biennial stocks, forget-me-nots, and primrose , po!yantlius,/ and rake up leaves which are now beginning to fall. The flower garden should remain bright and tidy, until-after Easter at least. THE VEGETABLE AND FRUIT GARDEN Continue to collect and store apples and pears, to plant out cabbage and broccoli, and make a sowing of onions, lettuce, and spinach. , STRAWBERRIES As fruits- go, the strawberry is of comparatively recent creation. It does not appear to have been cultivated'by the ancients, and it is probable that it was only in the‘beginning of times that it became a cultivated A plant. In the make-up of the large fruited strawberry there is probably three species—Fragaria vesea, a native of temperate Europe and Asia; Fragaria Virginiana, of North America; and Fragaria chiloensis, a native of South America. From these, three races have been bred the large fruited or English strawberry, the Alpine * and the Perpetual strawberry.- The strawberry likes, fairly' Heavy soil, but it must be deeply liberally manured, and well drained. The plant also requires an open, sunny position well away from the roots of trees or hedges. It is a crop well suited to follow potatoes, these being planted as the first crop after .the ground has been trenched. It will be necessary, however, to dig in a liberal dressing of farmyard manure before planting, Jor.,, one® .plgnte.d it is ■'hot advmabld'th'disturb the soil to any great depth, and any manuring we can do has to be in the nature of topdressing. It is also an advantage to , work in a good quantity of lime rubble if the soil ;js very heavy, and wood ashes add charcoal are desirable with any kind of soil. Fork over- the surface soil, breaking all lumps, and, if the soil is dry, tread it well , before planting. . The. distance apart varies, but in a small garden two feet apart betwen the rows and one foot between the plants in the row is. very suitable. In large plantations 2J feet . would be better to allow the use of implements for cultivating. When planted at a foot apart in-the rows every second plant can be taken but after the first year to allow the remaining plants-more room. If strong, well, rooted plants be put out now they will root into the. new soil before winter sets in and bear a crop next summer. If planted during the winter or in spring they will not be allowed to crop the first year, in which ease it is advisable,; to-grow a crop of lettuce, spinach, onions, shallots or carrots (which will . not i iri’ake too many leaves and shade the.'strawberries) between the rows for the-first season. Plant firmly, keeping the crown just above the surface 01 the soil, and, should the weather be dry, water well to settle the soil in among the .roots of the plants. It may Injn'eedssairy to scuffle hoe the soil between the plants before the winter, otherwise the plantation will not require any attention until the spring, when all old withered leaves can be cut off. After pricking tip the soil with a fork a good mulching, of strawy stable manure can be applied., The rain will wash the soluble, part of the manure down to the roots of the plants, and the straw will.be clean and ready to. keep the fruit off the dirt when, it develops. If strawberry plantations fruit well for three years, they have done the most we can expect of them, and it is better to dig them in at the end of that tune and start again. The old plants grow up out of the ground and do not- produce anything like such good crops as young ones. Where it is important to maintain regular supplies it is better to divide the strawberry patch into three or four parts. , One part, the oldest, will bs cleared/iff after fruiting each year, and each year we’.'should propagate a sufficient supply of runners to plant up an equal area. ■ By doing away with the oldest plants end nlantiav ■*?* auautiAv of

young ones, we keep our plantation perennially (and I might almost say automatically) young, vigorous, and productive. Old plantations which have fruited should be cleaned off, all runners and old withered foliage cut away, and the —space between the rows forked up and left loose for the winter. It will also be an advantage to work in a dressing of basic superphosphate or bone meal when cultivating. Varieties to plant are Laxton’s Noble, Royal Sovereign, Fillbasket, Melba, Rennet’s Prolific, and Ettesburgh. To get strawberries in the autumn it is usual to grow the alpine varieties, these being raised from seed and treated as annuals or rather biennials. Plants can be raised from runners; but these are riot nearly so vigorous or so productive as seedlings. Seed is sown about October or November. in boxes, as is done with ordinary annuals, and as soon as the seedlings are large enough to handle, they are pricked out into other boxes, being given a richer soil. After being hardened off they can be lined out on, a semi-shaded border in good, rich soil. In the autumn they can be planted out in their permanent position, 18 inches apart each way, missing out every fourth row to provide a path. If the plants are vigorous and well grown, they may be allowed to bear an early crop, but it is a better plan, when autumn berries are required, to pick off all the flowers until the middle of summer. By this means a good crop of autumn fruit is assured up till the time we get frosts. When the plants are treated as annuals, the seed is sown in heat in midwinter, a-nd the plants grown on as half hardy annuals, ready to plant out in their permanent positions in spring,' when .they will fruit in- the autumn. Sutton's Large Red Alpine is a good variety 'v;;-;'SOWING A NEW’ LAWN The- present time is suitable for sowing down new lawns. . There is sufficient heat in the soil to bring about germination and the grass plants will be sufficiently established before winter to stand the frosts. When sown late they are liable to be lifted out of the ground by the frost. It should be realised that grass plants require soil qiyte as carefully prepared as that for any other garden crop. It should be dug deeply, or, better still, trenched in preparation. The most satisfactory way of all ,is to trench the ground, then to take off a crop of potatoes, these being dug in plenty of time to allow of levelling and preparing the ground. Sow the seed in early autumn as soon as we get satisfactory rains. Drainage is very necessary, whether the lawn is to be used for games or not, and this should be. provided by laying agricultural pipes (two or three inch size) at intervals of 12 feet to 15 feet, taking care to provide a suitable outlet. When on a slope it is also necessary to provide a drain to catch the water on the top side of the lawn. This should be partly filled with clinkers or rock to render it more effective. Lawns to be used for games such as lawn tennis or croquet should be made perfectly level in the first case, which is far better than trusting to making up hollows later on. First dig or fork over the ground making it ■ roughly level, then tramp it all over and level with the rake. Put in level pegs and strain wires nine feet apart, levelling the soil with a straight board pulled along on top of the wires. Sow the seed at the rate of IJoz to 2oz to the square yard, and rake in, or, better still, cover with about half an inch of fine sifted soil. For an ordinary lawn it is not necessary to go to the same trouble to get it level, but it is most important to have it well cultivated, firm, smoothe, and fine on top and free of stones. I do not advocate rolling as soon as the seed is sown, but a light roller can be run over after germination has taken place. , For a small lawn it is better to obtain a lawn grass mixture as sold by seedsmen, either with or without clover. A good mixture for an ordinary lawn would be Perennial ryegrass, 31b; Brown top, 11b; Ghewings fescue, 11b; Crested Dogstail, 11b; and Suckling clover, 11b. In very dry districts yarrow is recommended, and the addition of this or of suckling clover is recommended on light soil and where the lawn dries up in the summer and autumn. Old lawns can also be renovated now by pricking up the surface where it is beaten or tramped down firm, then raking it over, with a steel rake, sowing some grass seed on thin or bare places, and top-dressing with fine sifted soil. Should moss be troublesome a good heavy dressing of lime will be an advantage. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS E. J. P., Central Otago.—White dolphininums are not at all common, but they have no special value, blue and the various shades of purple being the most desirable colours for this plant. There is likely to be a proportion of white plants obtained from the seed saved from plants of this colour. White flowers generally a** -*ot in great demand these days.

P. T., Tapanui.—The potatoes appear to be scorched. It would have been better to put them in a shady or semi-shady place at first. “ Nemo,” Milburn, —The names of the plants are: No. I, Salsafy, a garden vegetable not often grown; No. 2, Borage, also cultivated in some gardens.