The Home Garden.

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13166, 27 January 1936, Page 3

The Home Garden.

By Andy Gardiner

PROGRAMME OF WORK. THE FLOWER GARDEN. Sow Iceland poppies, cineraria and primula. Plant out zinnias for later bloom. Sow hardy annuals in vacant places for bloom in autumn. Stake and tie tall-growing herbaceous plants. Michaelmas daisies will look much bettei if only four to six stems are allowed on each plant. Insert cuttings of hydrangeas, pansies and pinks. Layer carnations in prepared soil. Budding of roses may be done now. Prune back spent blooms to a good bud. Cuttings of pelargoniums may be taken when the wood has ripened. Mulch the chrysanthemums well to retain the moisture in the soil. Dahlias should be we!! disbudded if choice blooms are required. Lift the bulbs that have completed their growth and ripen in a shady place. Remove all unwanted seed pods from the beds and borders to prolong the season of bloom. Trim hedges where required and clean away weeds from the base. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. Sow beans, short carrots and swede turnips. Plant out cabbage, cauliflower and other winter greens in showery weather. Onions showing signs of ripening should have the tops bent over away from the sun. Keep up . the supplies of lettuce by sowing every fortnight. Marrows, pumpkins, cucumbers aucl celery need copious supplies of water during dry periods. Rhubarb should not be allowed to run to seed; remove the flower spikes as soon as they appear. Thin out young growths 01 raspberry and loganberry; four to six young canes are enough to leave for next season s crop. Summer prune fruit trees as required from the middle to the end of this month. Look over fruit trees grafted in spring. Any that have failed may be budded on to the young growth during the next few weeks. Make up outdoor mushroom beds in a. sheltered place. Keep side shoots picked from tomatoes. It caterpillar is present, spray with arsenate of lead.

HELPING THE ROSES. THE AUTUMN DISPLAY. Roses have flowered with remarkable freedom, but in hot situations blooms have fallen •rapidly, allowing secondary buds to come along, and to maintain the colour display. F alien flowers have left seed pods behind them, and on many plants these are so numerous that the seed could only develop at the expense of ill-spared energy. Plants which use their strength in this manner will be unable to produce a good autumn orop of flowers, and will most likely be weak next year. The prudent course is to do a certain amount of summer pruning, and that without delay. Take each stem that has flowered and examine it. carefully. If it is a fine, strong branch cut it back to the leaf bud that is already pushing out a strong, sturdy shoot. Weaker stems may be cut further back to a dormant but only a joint or two above th© junction with the main stem. Take note of the foliage during pruning operations and cut far enough back to remove leaves that have been badly infested with caterpillars, or any of the fungoid diseases which cause brown or yellow spots. Burn these primings and give the plants a good spraying with an insecticide or fungicide, whichever seems most necessary. The quality of the later flowers will depend on the availability of reachly-absorbable nourishment. Slowacting manures, such as bonemeal, are not of much value at this period. M hat is needed is something of the nature of liquid manure—either natural manures soaked in water, or guano in liquid form. PRUNING SHRUBS On© is inclined to think ol pruning as a task for the autumn and winter, hut there is (1 s much work of this kind to he' done in the flower garden now as during the dormant period. Almost al! flowering shrubs that bloom before the end of November aire best pruned immediately after the flowering is over, the reason being that they make most of their flowering wood one season to produce flowers the next. Early summer pruning not interfere with the display, and i ■ re still plenty of time for the' shrubs to inak& and ripen wood before winter. RIP E NING PC) TATO ES Owing to the spell of dry weather and th© small rainfall in some districts, potatoes are ripening rapidly. Jt will be advisable to get them dug without delay. A few roots may be lifted here and there if the grower cannot make up his mind from the appearance of the tops. II the skin is firm on the' tubers and will not push off easily when rubbing with the thumb, it is certain that the tubers will not increase further in size. When the potatoes are thoroughly ripened in the soil befor© the normal growing season ends, and rain comes, sufficient to moisten the' earth thoroughly, on© of two things happens. It. the tubers aro very rip© and firm they will sprout and commence growth. If they are not so rip© the tubers will swell irregularly, and “grow out,” as it is termed, formknobs and other undesirable additions. In either case the flavour and value of the' potatoes for culinary purposes is much reduced.

M A KING LIQUID MANURE

Where liquid manure is required for feeding plants in small gardens a simple way ot making sure of a

supply is to suspend a bag containing the manure in a barrel. An improved mixture will be obtained if a bit of soot is added as well. Sootwater much improves the green colour of the leaves 01 plants, and as the soot is difficult to mix with water, besides leaving a film on the surface of the soil, obstructing the passage of air, better results are obtained by the clear solution made by soaking the bag. After the bags have s baked for

two days, dilute the draw-off with an equal quantity of water before use. -For a small garden a peck of cow, sheep or poultry manure may be used in on© bag, and a gallon of soot in the other, to about 36 gallons of water.

MADONNA LILIES. EA R LY PLANTING IMPORTANT. In one rrespect Lilitrm candidum is unique among lilies, as it is the only species which, in addition to making a summer flowering stem, makes a certain amount of autumn growth. This is an important fact as it affords a clue to the successful cultivation of the plant. Autumn growth will usually commence in Februarv. It is imperative to get the bulbs in th© soil during the short period which elapses between th© ripening of the summer growth and the making ot autumn foliage, otherwise the foliage growth which plays a not inconsiderable part in the strengthenJ, n K of the bulbs, will certainly sufJ er - The same is true o>f purchased bulbs ; kept in storage they will commence growth while still out of the soil. In some districts the growth of Li Hum candidum can only be described as rampant; in others, constant failures are as irritating as they are inexplicable. There is little doubt that this lily lias a preference for medium to heavy land, for th© gardens in whi< h it has failed to succeed have usually been of a sandy nature. Another point is that the bulbs should not be deeply buried. Lilium < amlidum is not a stem-rooting species, and is always happiest when planted at such a,depth as to allow oi the bulbs receiving some benefit from the warmth of summer sunshine. Two inches of soil above the bulbs will be sufficient. It is also a good plan to surround them with some clean, sharp sand. This will not only . assure local drainage, but will also help to protect them from soil pests. Madonna I flies do not have an aversion to lim© like some of the other lily species. They might almost be termed lime lovers., although this does not mean that they will appreciate over-generous supplies. Once established, leave the bulbs undisturbed, unless it is an imperative necessity to move them. Many of the large clumps that are such a feature of the old cottage gardens ot England, ireniain undisturbed for 20 or 30 years on end. It is therefore wise to select the site for them with care, and with due regard tq their requirements. c yclamen from seed. NEEDS OF "THE PLANTS. Specimens of cyclamen which were purchased in bloom during the win-

ter months are now undergoing the resting period. Provided these have been well cared for they will give good results for another season or two, though they will not be comparable with plants raised from seed. When signs of renewed life are evident, usually during the next month or so, the plants should be. removed to a cold frame. It is not a good plan to restore the water ration immediately. The cyclamen will he quite satisfied with overhead spraying with clear water, and trequent da innings-down- ot the space between the pots. As soon as root action is evident, re-potting may be taken in hand. Ill© most important points are to se© that the~ compost is sweet and wholesome, and that the pots, drainage and crocks are thoroughly clean. Dirt in any form is foreign to the nature of the plants. A good compost can be made of three parts of fibrous loam, one and a half parts of leaf mould and a good" dash of sharp sand. Fertilisers are unnecessary at this as the plants have a strong objection to overrich or elaborate soil concoctions. A fairly close atmosphere is advisable for a day or two after potting, but from "that time until the end of March, a frame is an ideal place lor them. Careful watering and a system of ventilation have for their object summer warmth, without undue exposure to strong sunlight, In surroundings that are always more or less moist. It is now generally agreed that cyclamen conns deteriorate after two or three seasons* flowering, and the method of raising from seed each year has much to commend it. It is essential to grow only th© best strains. A good strain will prod uee flowers equal to named varieties. Seed can be sown at any time from January to March. Being hard-coat-ed it is very slow to germinate, and a porous compost is necessary. The seeds are large enough to be handled individually, and can be sown at a distance of not less than one inch apart, and covered with their own depth of soil. Germination is rather erratic, and watering must be carefully attended to. as this is always a source of danger with hard-coated seeds. Ii too much is given and the soil i> kept in a continually saturated condition. the seed will probably rot before it has time to germinate. T«> conserve the moisture already in the soil, the pans should be covered with a sheet of glass, which must be removed as soon as the plants are up. Direct sunshine should be avoided. A shady corner of the greenhouse Will suit the pans after March, and by July the seedlings should have developed two or three leaves, when they ar 3 ready for potting up sin<dv. being shifted on by successive sTzes nil they reach the sin. pot. which is usually large enough for fir>t-vear plants. In the case of extra large specimens, however, it mav 7>© b© necessary to give them the extra room of a 6in. pot. As a rule seedlings will flower earlier than the repotted conns saved from the previous season.