GARDEN & ORCHARD.

Otago Witness, Issue 3624, 28 August 1923, Page 9

GARDEN & ORCHARD.

By

D. TANNOCK.

WORK FOR THE WEEK. TILE GREENHOUSE AND NURSERY. This is a busy season under glass, and as a rule every available shelter is filled to overflowing with the summer bedding plants in all their various stages. The sowing of half-hardy annuals can still be carried out with success; there is nothing gained by planting them out too soon, even if there is space available, and it is not advisable to have them starved and stunted in the boxes. Continue to prick out seedlings of all kinds, to pot up trie chrysanthemums f rom the cutting boxes into 3in pots, and to put out the geraniums and the most forward and hardy of the annuals to gradually harden them off Scrim or other covering can be removed from the frames in which the pansies, violas, and pentstemons were rooted, cuttings and seedlings can be lined out m nursery rows, and the ground between rows of nursery stock which is not to be planted out tin’s season should be dug over lightly. Start dry tubers of begonias, dahlias, gloxinias, and gesnerias into growth, and maintain a growing atmosphere with the minimum of fire heat, and ventilate carefully. THE FLOWER GARDEN. Continue to prune the roses and to dig or fork over tile beds and borders; it is net too late. to plant out hedges, orna - mental trees, arid shrubs, and to reriovate and replant old shrubberies. Top-dress lawns with sulphate of ammonia or lawn sand to destroy broad-leaved weeds sucli as daisies and plantains, and prepare the soil whenever weather conditions are favourable for sowing new lawns. Plant out gladioli, lilies, and other summer and autumn flowering bulbs, hasten on tho trenching of new beds and borders and all alterations and new work, for as soon as gras; and weeds begin to grow vigorously, with the usual maintenance work, there is little time to spare' in most gardens THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. Plant potatoes and sow and plant early varieties of vegetables. Lift parsnips and carrots, if this has net already been done, and dig and manure all vacant land in preparation for planting and sowing the mam-crop vegetables later. The tomato (Lyeopersicum esculentum) is a native of South America, and was at first cultivated in greenhouses and conservatories for its ornamental fruits, which were called Love Apples. As an article of food the tomato is of comparatively modern development. It is. safe to say that there is no fruit so varied in its uses. It can be cooked in several ways, eaten raw as a salad, made into sauce and pickles, and even made into jam. It is safe to say that it receives more attention than any other indoor fruit, and though it can be grown quite successfully in the open air in many even in Nelson, where the climate is specially suitable, the open-air cultivation gardens are gradually being covered over with glass. The tomato is not so difficult to grow as the vine, and though skill and care is necessary to get the very best results, comparatively good crops can be had with a moderate amount of skill and experience. To bring on the seedlings, a certain amount of heat is necessary, and growers would be well advised to arrange with the growers of plants to get well-grown plants in boxes so that they can be planted out direct from the box to the border or tin. It is hardly fair to dig them up with the minimum of soil, wrap them up in a paper and to nut them out in a semi-wilted condition. They certainly can stand a lot of rough usage and will recover even when very wilted at first, but this is a distinct handicap, and to get the best results they should he grown off from the seed-box to the fruiting stage without a cheek. To get early crops, a certain amount of fire heat is necessary, and by getting them in early and bringing on another crop in boxes or tins it is possible to take two crons out of a house in one year. This is a suitable time for getting the tomato-house in order. The woodwork and glass should he washed, broken glass .renewed, and the wood painted if necessary; brickwork can be lime-washed, and if there are no other plants growing in the house it should be fumigated with sulphur. This is done by throwing some flowers of sulphur on a shovel of red-hot coke and shutting up the house for a short time. This will destroy the spores of fungoid pests and any insects which may be lurking about. There is a difference of opinion as to the merits of growing them in beds or in tins, pots or boxes, and if the soil can be renewed or sterilised, the beds give the least trouble; but I consider they are better under control in boxes or tins. They require less soil, and it is possible to do the watering and feeding without damping the atmosphere. Unlike vines and cucumbers, the tomatoes like a dry atmosphere and full exposure to the sunlight, as well as plenty of fresh air on every possible occasion. Though they like a good strong soil, it should not be too rich in organic matter or in soluble nitrates, which would encourage a strong growth of stem and leaf that would be liable to attacks of disease. A suitable soil would consist of good turfy loam or as good a substitute as possible—two parts leatmould and dry horse droppings one part, sand and lime rubble half a port with two 6in potfuls of bone meal and wood ashes to every barrow load of the mixture. This soil can be got together and mixed now in preparation for planting out later on. When preparing the boxes or tins, place some crocks or clinkers in the bottom for drainage, cover the drainage with some leaves or rough soil and fill about three parts full at first, leaving room for a topdressing later on, and also sufficient space to hold enough water to saturate the soil when watering. To get well-grown young plants is so important, that I believe it would pay those who only require a dozen or so to arrange with the nurseryman to grow them on in pots, and those who require larger lots to get them pricked out in boxes so that they will have plenty of room to develop properly, and also so that they can be lifted with a ball of soil attached to their roots. Cheap plants never pay, and care should he taken to get the best possible varieties. Whether in pots, boxes, tins, or borders, the soil should be made very firm to secure short, jointed growth and reasonable foliage. As soon as tho plants are put out they should be provided with some kind

of support; a thin bamboo stake at lirst and afterwards a string or wire fastened to a peg in the soil and a wire on the roof. It is not desirable to crowd too many plants into a small house, and a distance of 18 inches between the plants with 3ft between the rows will be close enough. For those who have not houses, but possess a frame, the following methods can De adapted:—A frame is usually made up with a mild hotbed for raising seedlings or bringing on early crops of potatoes, lettuce, carrots, and radish, and if the tomatoes are boxed up as recommended and the boxes partly plunged in the soil or planted right out in it at the bottom of the sashes, and the stems tied down to wires fastened from the bottom to the top of the frame, they get a fine lot of sunlight and are protected from cold winds and changeable weather, and very good crops of fruit can be obtained. The plants can be placed 18 inches apart, and confined to one stem, all side growths being pinched out. Air must be gjiven by opening the sashes too and bottom, w T hen weather conditions are favourable, and the sashes can bo pulled off altogether during the day when the weather is warm. For those w-ho have neither a house nor a frame is is still possible to grow and ripen tomatoes in the open air provided a warm, sunny, sheltered position be selected. They are better grown against a wall or fence in Dunedin, and should face the north. The soil should Ire dug over, and when they are grown in the same position year after year it should be renewed from time to time, drain well and make it firm, enriching it with bone meal of basic superphosphate. Plants intended for the open should be potted up into bin pots in a soil similar to that recommended for inside cultivation and, when they are established, gr, dually harden them off, first placing them in a cold frame and then outside. It is desirable to have the first bunch of flowers showing when the are planted out, which is usually about the beginning of November. A good chemical manure for tomatoes can be made up with three pounds of superphosphate, two pounds of nitrate of potash, one pound of sulphate of ammonia, and two ounces of sulphate of iron. This chemical manure can be applied as a topdressing and watered in, or one ounce can be dissolved in a gallon of water and apolied as a liquid manure. It is not uncommon for tomatoes to tse attacked by the potato disease if the atmosphere of the house has been kept too warm and moist, and it is quite a good idea to spray with Bordeaux mixture several times during the season. For white flv and other insect pests fumigate occasionally with X.L. All.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. “Amateur,” St. Clair. —For apples suitable for a garden in St. Clair would be Hawtbornden, Bismark, Irish Peach, and Cox’s Orange Pippin. Pears: William’q Bon Chretien and Winter Cole. Plums: Golden Drop and Pond’s Seedling. “J. B. P.,” Kakanui.—For cleaning the moss from your fruit trees spray with caustic wash. Caustic soda (88 per cent.), 21hs ; water, 10 callous. Keep the water well stirred while adding the soda slowly, use at once, and he careful to protect the hands and face from splashes. Don’t apply this wash two years in succession, and apply it at once.