THE GARDEN

Southland Times, Issue 19757, 3 February 1923, Page 11 (Supplement)

THE GARDEN

(By

“Horticola.”)

Although so much depends upon the weather, generally speaking, peas do not pay for sowing much after this date. Therefore it is advisable to make a large sowing in prepared trenches. If the soil is dry, give it a good soaking previous to sowing the seed, or germination may probably be defective. It is wise to avoid crowding the plants, especially at this season, as light and air build up strong foliage to stand against mildew, which is so liable to attack late crops. It seems hardly necessary to say that on no account should sweet peas be allowed to seed; therefore the old flowers should be removed regularly two or three times a week.

The subject of “streak” in sweet peas has received the attention of eminent authorities, but a definite and immediate remedy for the trouble has yet to be found. Highly bred and highly cultivated plants often haxe to pay heavily to Nature for the additional size and quality of their blooms, and in this sense sweet peas do no doubt suffer in some measure and under certain circumstances from excessive cultivation.

“Streak” so far appears to be nearly always accompanied by an attack of eelworm, and to combat eelworm it is necessary to sterilise the soil, and this is no easy matter in the open garden. A free use of lime certainly has a distinctly good effect, and has made it possible to grow sweet peas where they were previously not a success, and a correspondent who had “streak” badiy last season, and gave his ground a heavy dressing of fresh gas lime last autumn, says that the disease is so far conspicuous by its absence among his plants; he further adds that his sweet peas are particularly strong and healthy, and this he attributes to the gas lime, as all other cultural items have been the same as in previous years. MULCHING. Mulching is a very old and excellent means of retaining a steady supply of moisture about the roots of trees or plants. Evaporation is prevented by the natural process of covering the soil, and, apart from preserving a uniform degree of heat !*nd moisture, this covering is also constituted so as to supply a substantial amount of nourishment. The common practice of placing a covering of long, strawy manure around the stems of trees or plants is, in reality, copied from one of nature’s most ingenious processes. The changes which occur in the condition of soil due to what is commonly known as “weathering,” consist in the first place of a breaking-down or disintegration of the surface sod particles. And as soon as this fine covering is formed over the seed-bed, it naturally consenes warmth and moisture in the soil below’, and so assists in the preparation of an ideal seed-bed. When it is remembered that the seed on germination first throws out delicate rootlets and root hairs, which explore the soil in every direction for moisture, it is easy to understand how necessary this natural mulch is in the process of germination.

The capillarity of the soil is a feature of soil science which is generally understood by most practical gardeners. More especially during periods of drought does this property of the soil come into prominence, for a fine surface assists in breaking the capillary tubes which bring supplies of moisture from the reservoir a little below the surface. Mulching has this effect even if it consists of no more than a slight stirring of the surface soil by means of the hoe; and indeed the usual purpose to which this work of hoeing is assigned, namely, the destruction of weeds, is comparatively unimportant when compared w’ith the conservation of moisture and warmth that is also effected . Weeds- are certainly a bad feature in any garden, but the unchecked effects of drought are likely to be a worse one.

Therefore, it is plainly seen that, by the simple process of hoeing the surface soil, the gardener may not only tap the moisture resources of the lower soil, and bring them to the surface for the roots of plants, but can at the same time prevent the evaporation. of such moisture by undue heat. One of the best arguments against the neglect of hoeing and mulching is that the sun at its height draws the moisture from the soil, and takes with it the warmth, so that root action is hampered not only by lack of moisture, but also by a low temperature.

If the mulching consists of long manure or other material containing plant food in a sufficiently soluble state, it proves doubly beneficial by reason of its fertilising properties, which become washed down into the soil by rain or by artificial watering. It is usual to give a mulching of manure about four inches thick, and, if thought desirable, a slight covering of soil may be placed over to hide the manure. It is advisable in the case of an excessively dry soil to water it thoroughly before giving the mulch. PLANT VIGOUR. Vigorous growth is always the first essential in successful culture, and the more this is secured from the very outset of the plant's career the better the results will be. This fact necessarily points, in plants raised from seed, to the necessity of sowing good seed in congenial soil, and subsequently eliminating all causes of weakness, such as oxer-crowding, deficient light and air anti moisture, or excess of the last. To take the seed first, we hax’e only to examine the first seed pod available and to examine the seed, if necessary, under a lens, to find that they van* very much in size, some being smaller than others, some shrivelled, and so on. Now it may be taken as an axiom that the plumper the seed the stronger the resulting plant. The seed it must be. remembered is not merely a fertilised germ enclosed in a husk, but also a store of starchy nutriment designed to give that germ a fair start in life, and to nourish it until it has formed its own root and be independent. The primary leaves of such a seed will he larger than those produced from a smaller one, and this means a better start, since it is their function, in conjunction w’ith the roots, to develop the little bud at their base, which forms the future plant. It is at this early stage that a seed ling runs a thousand and one risks, as is obvious from the fact that while a w’ild plant may produce its hundreds or thousands of seed in a season, on the ax’erage only one can survive, or not even one if the plant be a perennial, since otherwise it w’ould have to multiply at the expense of other plants and the general balance would be upsetj We can, therefore, easily see that given a fat, plump seed, endowed with extra vigour, it is far more likely to root firmly, sooner than a leaner one, and thus be better fitted td make a successful struggle with adverse factors of its environment. Normally its chances as w*e have seen are small, it is probably overgrown and smothered by its neighbours, and this brings us to the second need, viz., adequate room and light, and these, of course, it is in the powe rof the cultivator to secure it. The amateur, however, is, as a rule, too tender-hearted in this respect. He sows a packet of choice seed, just as he receives it. This, of course, as we have seen, ensures the sowing of a number which might well be rejected, and in any case generally means a far larger number than is really needed. The seedsman who was conscientious enough to study his customer’s weakness in this respect w’ould get little thanks for sending the needful number only, his motive would be misconstrued, and the customer would go elsewhere to be more generously treated. The seed, however thinly sown, if it germinates as it should do, produces plants which, if not shifted before they elbow each other, are bound to lose a part of their initial vigour by becoming drawn up, and it is a common experience with seedlings under such conditions that they fail to get a sufficiently strong grip of the soil and fall ox’er laterally, especially if they be sown too shallowly. A healthy plant starts with a good firm anchorage, and under proper conditions should, unless, of course, it be a climber i or clinger, be able to stand alone from start

to finish. This, however, it can only do if it be not handicapped by jostling neighbours in close proximity, robbing it of its full share of light and air abox’e the soil, and probably robbing its roots of their share of moisture and nourishment beneath it. How greatly many plants benefit by isolation, which secures them from these handicaps, is seen in accidentally sown seedlings as compared with intentionally sown ones, which hav enot been sufficiently thinned out. We may instance the ordinary mignonette sowings in gardens as compared with the marketed pot specimens, the former being as a rule straggly masses of weaklings, the latter fine individual specimens, or as an example on a large scale, we may point to the trees in untended forests as compared with the grand isolated specimens we see in parks. GARDEN PESTS AND DISEASES. Garden sanitation is largely concerned in the control of insects and that prey upon garden plants, writes “Experience” in the Wellington , Post. . A really well-kept garden is practically immune from mos't pests. True, there are some that no amount of care can guard against;. most of them, if they occur in epidemic form, are the result of carelessness, or mistakes of omission or commission. Slugs and snails cannot exist in a well-kept garden. The conditions that suit them are weedy plots, neglected grass and accumulation of rubbish. Reverse this condition, and keep the hoe going while the soil is in a fit state for it, and they will not be able to breed so as to be a great trouble in spring. I know a cottage garden where both slugs and snails were present in thousands. The place was over-planted—-clean cultivation was impossible. That state was altered and the garden kept clean. At the end of a year it had become a rarity to find either a slug or a snail. Woodlice are very troublesome in some gardens; there are few things in the way of vegetation they will not eat. They are troublesome to deal with because they feed at night. Woodlice harbour in places that are not disturbed, and usually where the surroundings are damp but not very wet. Dry manure, dry litter, heaps of dead sticks, tall box edgings, crevices in fences between the rails and palings, under boards, ivy or similar plants on banks, are places that suit them. Dry manure should be forked together and water added if needed to make it decay. Dry litter and dead sticks should be burned. Tall box edgings should be got rid of, boards that must be stored should be raised from the ground on trestles, crevices on fences that harbour them should be treated with boiling water, xvhich will instantly kill the pests, or, still better, be treated with hot creosote; this xvill kill any that are there at the time, prevent others from sheltering there, and will preserve the wood. In brief, keep the place clean and orderly, and there xvill not be many woodlice. Wireworms, that spoil carrots and potatoes by eating holes in them, and also eat the root\ of plants, are < said by high authorities to be rarely found in soil that has a sufficiency of lime. Digging old cabbage and similar stumps into the ground is thought by some to encourage them. It is most likely the strips attract them from the surrounding soil, but anyhow, it is bad practice to dig them in; they should be burned, or be buried three feet doxvn. The rose aphis is a pest to many rose growers; others hardly know it. Why? I knoxv some rose growers who have never had occasion to spray for aphis. These are they who provide a good root room, manure moderately, and never apply liquid manure and rarely water. Others who water heavily, frequently with water from the family washing, have their roses badly infected. Under the first treatment the roots are kept healthy, and the growth | made is firm. In the second, the soil is made unwholesome, the roots to some extent crippled, and soft growth is made; an unhealthy, or plant in an abnormal condition, is always the first to fall a prey to insect pests. If spraying is necessary, use katakiller or X.L. all fluid. Unnatural conditions are in some cases responsible for attacks by aphis. Pelargoniums and cinerarias are notable instances. Only x-ery rarely, and in exceptional circumstances, are either of these plants attacked when groxving in the open air. This is undeniable evidence of the way these plants appreciate fresh air. Both plants will, however, become infected if the roots are in wet, bad-ly-drained soil, or if the soil is too rich. The pelargoniums will flourish in full sunshine in comparatively poor and dry soil; they do best if left alone, no feeding and no watering.