THE GARDEN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26747, 16 April 1948, Page 9

THE GARDEN

Contributed by D. TANNOCK. A.H.R.H.11. i=r= "?« =r— —==^=li ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS *• Pukeuri." —Your strawberries are attacked by leaf blight. At the present time cut oil and burn the affected leaves and spray with Bordeaux mixture as soon as growth commences in the spring and again after the fruit is picked. “ Waitepeka."—The shrub with the prickles is a berberis, probably Berberis vulgaris, which is sometimes used for forming a hedge. The other is a privet (Ligustrum vulgare), the common privet. Both are deciduous. It would be better to use the oval-leaved privet, a semievergreen. in the hedge mixture. “Apple,” Palmerston.—Your apple is probably a seedling, and I do not know its name. “Apple.” Roslyn.—Your apple is Reinette de Canada, a very good cooker. Others also doing well with me and cropping well are Golden Delicious, Alfriston. Sturmer and Peasrood's Nonsuch. You would be better to keep your fuchsia in the pot until the spring, and to put it in a place where it will not get frosted. B. M„ Balclutha.—Your tomatoes are attacked by a virus disease. As this is infectious and may be in the soil, it is necessary to sterilise your soil or renew it from a part of the„garden where tomatoes have not been grown. Be sure you get clean, healthy plants. “ Coccinea,” Roslyn.—Antirrhinums are really perennials, but are better treated as annuals or bienials. You should save some seed from your plants arid raise young plants to take the place of the old ones in the spring. J. C., Palmerston.—You need not trench your asparagus bed more than two feet six inches deep. You had better put in a drain with suitable outlet and a layer of rubble in the bottom of the bed. There is little use putting in rubble unless the water can be led away. Old tins, broken crockery and empty bottles are not suitable. You should put in all the seaweed you can get, chopping it up and mixing it with the lower layer of soil. Do not put in too much sheep manure to begin with. It is not necessary to apply salt at first. The old foliage can be cut back as soon as it turns yellow. You would require 50 plants, 3 rows at 18 inches apart. There is now an autumn feel in the air, and though we do not expect frost sufficiently hard to do any damage for another month, it is necessary to make arrangements for getting the more tender plants, and such plants as perpetual carnations, chrysanthemums, geraniums, and fuchsias into shelter at short notice. If the greenhouse is filled with chrysanthemums, a cold frame will be sufficient shelter-,-with a few sacks placed on the glass when frost is expected. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN As there is little to plant or sow at present, advantage should be taken of the slack time to trench a portion of the garden, burying in all the rough vegetable matter available, hedge clippings and anything which will keep the soil open and assist drainage during the winter months. Should draining be necessary, this can receive attention. Peas to stand through the winter can be sown now, a well-drained warm position being selected, and cabbage can be planted to headup in the spring. The old leaves of Brussels sprouts can be removed as soon as they turn yellow, and as aphis is troublesome this year, as a result of the long, dry spell, they should be sprayed with soapy water and then dusted with derris dust. Broccoli and savoys should also be sprayed with soapy water, and swede turnips, which are also attacked by aphis, can have their soapy water reinforced with a teaspoonful ot nicotine sulphate in every gallon. Seeds of runner beans, French beans can be collected as they ripen, dried and stored away. Vegetable marrows and onions cart also be stored away as they ripen in a cool, dry, airy shed. In new gardens the portion intended for vegetables should be trenched. THE FLOWER GARDEN Carnations layers which should now be well rooted can be lifted and either potted up, boxed, or planted out in their permanent position, if they are available. As soon as the summer flowering plants are past their best they should be cut over, and in the case of annuals thrown out and the beds and borders planted up ’with spring flowering bulbs such as daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, anemones and ranunculus, and spring flowering plants such as wallflower, double daisies, polyanthus primroses, true primroses, forget-me-nots, and early summer flowering plants like Sweet William, Canterbury Bells antirshiriums, and any perennials which are available. Cinerarias can also be planted out in sheltered positions where they are not likely to be frosted. Pansies, iceland poppies, violas, and all kinds of rock garden plants can also be planted, but in some gardens it,is better to keep the Iceland poppies in boxes during the winter and plant in the spring GREENHOUSE AND NURSERY All chrvsanthemums growing in pots or tins should be placed in the greenhouse or under shelter of some kiod as soon as they show colour, and those planted out can be lifted and put into pots or boxes or planted out in the border in the tomato house. Cuttings of roses, fruit bushes, and most kinds of ornamental trees and shrubs can be put in now. and tulips, hyacinths, freesias, lachenalias, Soleil d'Or Narcissi and other spring flowering bulbs and corms can be potted up and placed in a cool semishaded place to start them into growth. As soon as the grapes are cut the ventilators should be opened and plenty of air given at all times. Cuttings of geraniums, pelargoniums carnations etc., should be placed in a cold frame and the sashes put on at nights in case of frost. The cyclamen, cinerarias and primulas can still remain in the frames, for some time, but scrim or sacks should be available for covering the glass on frosty nights. Climbers growing on the roof of the greenhouse should be thinned, and shading on the glass removed to allow full light to reach the chrysanthemums. THE FRUIT GARDEN Gather and store apples and pears as they ripen, and enclose bunches of grapes growing in the open in muslin bags to protect them from birds;. Raxe off all rough vegetable matter, including hedge clippings, which was spread under and round raspberries and fruit bushes to act as a mulch during the summer, and also all diseased and mummified apples and leaves. These should be buried in the bottom of the trench in the, vegetable garden. Prepare the positions for planting fruit trees and bushes by trenching or double digging. DUNEDIN GARDENING CLUB At the meeting of the Dunedin Gardening Club to be held in the University Club on Tuesday, April 20, Mr D. Tanonck, the president, will give a talk on “ The Amateur’s Fruit Garden.” Specimens of fruit grown in Dunedin will be exhibited.