GARDEN NOTES

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 17956, 7 December 1932, Page 4

GARDEN NOTES

HINTS FOR THE WEEK Tomatoes may now receive a- small dose of fertiliser. This should be carefully worked into the soil near the plant. Such feeding should bo weak and often to obtain the best results. Flooding with liquid manure, tends to split the fruit. Work the fertiliser into ilin soil with the fingers while going over the plants to remove side shoots each week-end.

A further sowing of turnips also may be made. Model or Yellow Globe are suitable varieties. Thin the crop when it is large enough to handle, and keep the soil loose bv constant hoeing. A succession of dwarf beans should be sown. If the soil is dry it is wise to soak the trench well before sowing, while if the seeds are soaked overnight they will germinate several days sooner. Stake the dahlias if this has not already been done. Where growth is very thick it is advisable to thin out the' weakest shoots. After stirring tho soil with the hoe a topdressing of any form of well-decaved manure is advisable. ■ The rose bed should receive as much attention as possible at present time. Blown blooms must bo taken off and any blooms ready to cut should be removed with more than enough wood. The main idea is not to weaken the tree bv over-working it. Careful trimming and shaping of the tree now will leave it with enough to make good strong growth. Summer pruning of fruit trees also needs the same care. All leading shoots, or those required for extension, should have the tops pinched, but all side shoots should be cut back to six leaves from the base of new. growth. If the main sowing of biennials has not already been made it is time it should be done. Seeds of wallflowers, eheiranthus. allioni, sweet williams, myosotis, Canterbury bells, foxgloves, polyanthi, and similar plants will now germinate rapidly. A reminder to those who love to burl their own roses is given. Those who have not attempted to bud roses are advised to ask for assistance. It is only a matter of care and careful handling of the knife, hut the results give pleasure, especially when more than one of a kind are budded on a strong briar. LAYERING R HOD ODENDR OMiS

Select tho brandies that are nearest the ground and bend them down. Remove the soil to a depth of 2in. to receive the part of the branch to bo layered. After it is replaced get a strong peg and make it secure so that the branch is 2in. under the soil, and place another layer of soil over tho buried part. Leave it for a season and examine it for roots before cutting tho branch away. Last season’s growth makes the best layers. Another way is to strip off a few of the lower loaves, then take the shoot in the left hand and make a cut about l£in. in length with a sharp knife up the centre of tho shoot. This is technically called tongueing the shoot. DURATION OF CUT FLOWERS Much depends on the time of the day at which the flowers are gathered, and also the age of the bloom. If you gather a fully-opened flower and one that may have been at its best for some time you cannot expect it to last as long as one that is fresh and that has not been exposed to the sun and weather. Again, much depends upon the temperature of the room in which the cut flowers are placed, and also the capacity of the vase used for holding water. In other words, the duration of cut flowers is a matter of common sense and love for tho blooms themselves. LETTUCE A good many varieties of cabbage lettuce run to seed during the hot weather. A splendid one to sow now is Continuity. Tho foliage, although of a purplish color is of a crisp and succculent nature. Ample supplies of water should be given to all lettuces during hot dry weather; thus it is advisable to plant the crop near a tap or near the back of the house so that washing water and any spoiled water from the sink can bo carried to the salad patch with ease. „ PEAS lif order to follow-on with peas from now on it will pay to tako a little care of tho more important details of their culture. For instance, whilo the early crop may be successful in heavy ground that has been well dug aud freely worked, this follow-on crop needs something lighter. With a lighter soil, well prepared, the young peas got away quickly, and therefore arrive at the blooming stage earlier. It is as well to choose a sheltered spot with the maximum of sunshine. Tho shelter should break the hot winds that usually are with us before the pea is well podded. A trench should be taken out 15 or 18in. deep and the major portion filled in with green rubbish or rotted manure of any kind. This must be covered with Gin. of soil, sprinkled over with slacked lime, and raked over. Then a further inch of soil is added and tho peas sown on this. The poas are best protected by a coating of kerosene and red lead by shaking them in a paper bag containing the mixture. Do not touch tho peas with the hands, as the poison is absorbed through the skin. Scatter the peas in the trench from the bag and place each in position with a stick. Take care doing this, as the peas need space and may bo placed Sin. apart. 'Cover the peas with 2in. of soil and protect the rows with black cotton guards to keep the birds from disturbing them. If the season proves dry and the soil powdery it is well to give the trench a liberal watering before pitting in tho peas. This obviates the necessity of further watering until the peas arc well up. When the growth, is some Gin. high, the soil on each side of the peas should be drawn to tho growth, and, when weeding, the woods may be placed at the roots of the pea and covered with soil. This will keep the roots of the pea cool and aid its growth. 'There are several excellent peas for this crop, but Autocrat is probably the most suitable.

TOMATOES While the plants are growing and the flowers aro setting their fruits on the tomato plants do not forget the _ roots. A generous top-dressing into which the surface roots can push and draw additional nourishment will add 25 per cent, to the crop. Use equal parts of manure and soil, and put on a dressing not less than 3in. thick. Too often the plants when young are given far too rich a soil, with the result that they make thick, watery stems, which break as soon as they aro required to carry a crop of fruit. The original food supply becomes exhausted, and as a result the

plants are overfed when they do not want it, and starved when the greatest strain is thrown on them. , Keep the plants well watered, and it anv roots are scon coming from the sides of the stems top-dress again. Keep the plants regularly tied to the stakes as they grow, arid pull out every little side lateral as it appears,-leaving only tho shoots that bear the- blossom buds.