THE GARDEN. WORK FOR THE WEEK

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21976, 10 June 1933, Page 2

THE GARDEN. WORK FOR THE WEEK

NOTES BY »D.TANNOCK, 4H.R.H.S,'*

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS Wm. Gardner.—The shrub you inquired about is known as Lonicera Periclyinenum, the common name being woodbine. It is easily cultivated in any good garden soil, and can be propagated by cuttings or layers. Pruning should be done in winter, since it flowers on the young wood, and all old and weak wood should be removed. “ Old Pear Tree.”—Old age and resultant loss of vitality appear to be the cause of the deformed condition of the pear you sent. _ Root pruning might improve the fruit, but this is very doubtful. It would be as well to remove the tree if your specimen was a true sample of the crop. WORK FOR THE WEEK Continue to put in cuttings of perpetual flowering carnations. Bring into the greenhouse bulbs which were potted or boxed for forcing in batches as required. Cut. over chrysanthemums, place old plants in cold frames, and put in cuttings as they become available. Give cinerarias, primulas, and cyclamen a little liquid manure once a week when the pots are filled with roots. Sow lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, onions, and leeks for early supplies and show specimens. Prune and clean vineries and clean, tomato houses. The Flower Garden. —Continue to plant roses and carnations, and if the soil is in good working order continue to plant and transplant trees and shrubs. Repair paths and form new ones. Clean rock garden, and plant out, alpines. Clean the bog garden, and mulch the Japanese irises, spiraeas, gunneras, and all other stronggrowing plants. Dig herbaceous and mixed borders, and replant where necessary, Plant lilies and Hyacinthus candicans. Prune ornamental trees and shrubs. Fork bulb beds and borders and topdress with basic phosphate or basic slag. Vegetable and Fruit Garden. —Continue to prune fruit trees and bushes, to clean up and burn twigs, diseased fruit, and leaves. Clean and dig round fruit trees, afterwards mulching with farmyard manure. Dig or trench all vacant ground. Form new asparagus beds and prepare for spring sowing or planting. Hoe or fork among strawberries and all growing crops. Spray fruit trees witn red oil for scale, and Bordeaux (winter formula), or lime sulphur for mildew. HEATING GREENHOUSES AND FRAMES Those who have some form of heating apparatus in their greenhouse or frame have a distinct advantage over those who have to depend on sun heat. They can commence sowing seeds quite early, knowing that they will be able to bring on the seedlings steadily until they are lit to be put out into cold frames to be hardened off. If economically inclined, the owner can make use of the heated structures to bring on early vegetables and for forcing rhubarb, seakale, or chickory. Those who grow tomatoes will also find heat a distinct advantage for bringing on early crops, and securing fruit several weeks, earlier than in an uuheated house, and thereby securing better prices. Artificial heat is also valuable for maintaining a dry atmosphere in the autumn, when the chrysanthemum flowers are at their best, and if carnations are grown during the winter, , , , I .. The most common method of heating is by means of hot water pipes, there being a large number of types of boiler suitable f6r small systems. Stoking, however, is a lot of bother, and is liable to be neglected on cold, wet nights, just when it is most important. For large installation, the “ automatic stokers ” get over this difficulty, but they would be too expensive for an amateur. Heating by electricity ■is the least troublesome and most reliable, and where the current can. be obtained at a - low rate —from, say, 7.30 in the evening to 7.30 in the morning, it is very economical. The, current is controlled by clockwork which switches it on in the evening and off again in the morning, and the degree of temperature is controlled by a thermostat. With the coiTect kind of protected wire it is: not necessary to have , a transformer, and the whole installation need not be very expensive. In tomato grow ing it is found to be as important to have the soil heated, as well as the atmosphere, and a bed for growing.them is made up as follows; —First six inches oi clinkers to act as an insulator and to provide good drainage; next, one inch of prepared soil, and then the wires are laid, two flows and two returns being sufficient for a bed three feet wide and 12 feet long. Over the wires place a layer of soil ,an inch deep, and on top of this a layer of fine wire netting to pre’vent the electric wires from being dug up later on. On top of the netting place nine inches of the prepared soil, ramming it firm, and allow it to, stand a day or two to become heated right through. A night temperature of 60deg is quite sufficient, and it is advisable to test it with a soil thermometer to check the .thermostat. The temperature of the soil will also , affect the atmosphere, but if plants other than tomatoes ; are to be grown it may be advisable to have a wire round the wall as well. This system of heating is also effective in frames for forcing vegetables and germinating seeds and rooting cuttings, ■ and it has also been used for bringing on-plants such as spring bulbs in the open. With a heated greenhouse it is possible to grow a much greater variety of plants, such as maidenhair ferns, palms, streptocarpus, gloxinias, : winter flowering begonias,' and orchids. Another method of. providing heat for a frame is by means of fermenting materials, usually fresh strawy stable manure and leaves. This When obtained is tossed up loosely to start fermentation and mixed with leaves, the quantity of leaves being determined by the degree of heat desired and the length of time it is required for. The leaves are intended to dilute the mixture, the fewer leaves the higher the temperature and the shorter it lasts, the more leaves the lower the temperature and the longer it will last. About half and half is a good mixture for a frame for raising seedlings and striking cuttings in spring. After the heap has lain for a few days and fermentation started it is turned over, the outside being put inside to secure even fermentation. There are two methods of preparing a hot frame. One is to build up a heap about a foot or 18 inches larger than the frame and place it on top. Another and better way is to have a deep frame and place the mixture inside. This retains -the heat longer and is more 'economical. Build-up the heap’either inside of outside the frame evenly, tramping it firmly* as each layer is put in, and here again we can control the temperature to some extent, for the firmer it is packed tlie lower the temperature will be and the'longer it will last, the looser it is, the quicker it will ferment, and a higher temperature will be obtained. Put on the sashes at once, but tilt them .up a little for a few days to allow fumes to escape, and then put iu three to six inches of soil mixture. If the seeds are to be sown in pots or boxes the smaller quantity will be sufficient. A hotbed made up as described will maintain beat for several weeks, and after the seedlings are raised, or cuttings struck, it is very useful for growing cucumbers, melons, or vegetable marrows. An advantage of the manure hotbed is that you have a very fine, wellrotted mixture of manure and leafmould, suitable for mixing with potting soils, in addition to the heat; SEED SOWING To get early supplies of vegetables and to raise bedding and greenhouse plants it is an advantage to begin sowing seeds early, and to get the hardier kinds through and established in their pots or boxes, to make room for the inevitable rush in the spring when all greenhouse and frame space is overtaxed. Soil for seed growing need not be rich, for the seedlings are not in it very lung, but it must be fine, and open, and of a texture which will encourage the development of fibrous roots, and bold on to these roots during the process of pricking out and transplanting. A mixture of two parts loam, one part leafmould, and half a part sand will be suitable, and this

should be passed through a half-inch sieve and all Jumps broken. For topping the pots and boxes for covering the very fine seeds a portion of the mixture should be put through a very fine sieve. Needless to say, it should be sterilised if possible. Good drainage is essential, and if six-inch pots are used, these should be half-filled with crocks, smaller quantities being required for smaller sizes. For boxes an inch of rough leaves or the siftings of the soil will provide sufficient drainage, provided there are ample holes or slits in the bottom. Put in two inches of the coarser mixture, making it firm and level, and then add about half an inch of fine material, making it firm and level and smooth with a piece of board; or in the case of pots with a flat-bottomed pot or tin. When sowing in boxes it is better to mark them'out into sections with pieces of stick or glass so that the varieties will not get mixed. Open the seed packets carefully and sow thinly. It is better to hold back a quantity of each kind to make another sowing at a later date, in case something should go wrong with the first. Remember to sow thinly, for thick sowing is the cause of most damping off, and the seedlings are drawn and spindly. ’Press the seeds into the soil, and just cover with the fine soil, making it firm and_ level on top with the board or levelling tool. •Water carefully with the fine rose, stand in the warm greenhouse or frame, and shade with a piece of paper until germination takes place, when all shading should be removed, and the boxes or pots put up as near the glass as possible. When sowing very fine seeds like gloxinias and begonias it is better to water the pots before sowing, and to allow them to drain overnight. Sow the seed evenly, but don’t attempt to cover with soil; just sprinkle some sand over the surface to keep the seeds in their place, cover with a sheet of glass to keep in the moisture, and shade with a piece of paper.