DUNEDIN GARDENING CLUB

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21982, 17 June 1933, Page 14

DUNEDIN GARDENING CLUB

The Dunedin Gardening Club met on Tuesday evening for the first time this season, when there was a good attendance. The president (Mr Hollingwortb) gave the opening address, and stated that the committee had drawn up the syllabus for the year, which provided for lectures and demonstrations, and there were many interesting subjects to be dealt with. He then dealt with various matters in connection with gardening. He had been experimenting with the growing of turnips, etc., on club root infected land. He had been using superphosphate as a manure for some time with - no success, but this last • year he dressed the land with lime, and six weeks after , used basic slag. The superphosphate gave a better start in their young stages, but did not do so well later on. The basic slag, on the other hand, gave a slower growth, but it lasted right through, and he had obtained as good a crop of garden swedes as anyone could,.wish to see. This, last year the carrot/fly had been very prevalent and many gardeners had lost .their crops. He had used Epsom salts (half an ounce, to a gallon of water) with very good results. It had much to recommend it, for it was cheap and easily made and handled. It was also quite effective for the black aphis on broad beans. Black aphis appeared to like the top tuft of leaves for its'starting point. It was beneficial to pinch the tops out. Now was the season for. .planting roses, trees, and shrubs, and no time should be lost in getting orders in. It was also the time for dividing and planting rhubarb, which should be done about every four years to get the best results. Rhubarb required good cultivation and heavy manuring. Unless in very favoured localities early peas would be better sown in boxes and transplanted in the early spring. They required a lot of protection from pests. Lime and soot made a preventive against slugs, and black cotton for birds. The black .cotton should be put on whenever the peas were up. It was also the time to plant hedges. Holly made the best hedge for a boundary, and it made good growth if well treated. It required a trench two feet deep and two feet wide, with a heavy application of farmyard manure in the bottom, and the top spit well cultivated. The sides of a holly hedge for any other hedge could be trimmed, but Ton no account should the leading shoots be trimmed until they obtained the height Required. On the motion of Mr W. Blackburn, a Vtearty vote of thanks was accorded Mr 1 Vollingworth for his interesting talk.