THE GARDEN

Southland Times, Issue 25538, 5 December 1944, Page 8

THE GARDEN

WORK FOR THE MONTH

By

RIWHI

There is usually much to do before the Christmas season and in many gardens this has been a rather backward season for growth, so that there is a tendency for jobs to pile up. In the flower garden all annuals should be in, but there is still time to sow and to plant if the work is done immediately. The seedlings of the various annuals that are growing in beds and borders need constant attention, weeds must be kept under control, thinning must be rigorously carried out and wherever possible, the hoe should be used to keep the surface loose and friable. Always keep in mind that unthinned plants will give only a brief display, for they have no resources for more, whereas well developed plants with ample lateral growth will continue to bloom for months. Delphiniums and sweetpeas will need more tying as they make rapid growth and especially with delphiniums must the tying be efficient or beautiful spikes will be lost. Stir up the soil among gladioli to encourage their growth and stake dahlias ready to make the first ties. The latter need ample supplies of moisture. If seed of wallflower, cheiranthus afid Canterbury bells has not yet been put in sow immediately, so that seedlings will be ready for transplanting before the end of tfie month. There is also still time for the sowing of such varieties of perennials as aquilegia, polyanthus, gaillardia, anemones and ranunculi. During the present season roses have been rather badly afflicted with mildew. To combat this disease use colloidal sulphur at the rate of a teaspoonful to a gallon of water. The better cared for roses are, the less troubled they will be with disease. Well limed beds are essential to health, as also are generous supplies of potash, which can always be supplied in the form of wood ash. In inland areas some gardeners are worried over blind shoots with no flower buds. The prevalence of this condition is due to a severe late frost. VEGETABLE GARDEN

There is a great deal of routine work still to do in vegetable gardens in the form of thinning, hoeing, weeding and planting. The winter and spring crops of sprouts and broccoli should be ready for their final transplanting and they should be put in just as soon as possible. See that carrots, parsnips and beetroot in the main crop rows are thinned out to full intervals, and keep all early crop rows hoed up till the plants meet across the rows. Stake main crop peas and also runner beans where they are not already against a support of some kind. Succession crops of butter beans, lettuce, spring onions: and peas can be sown, keeping the lettuce on as cool a site as possible for the hot summer months. Leeks and celery, like the brassicas, should be got into their respective trenches during the next two weeks. December is a month when pests of all kinds begin to prosper. It may be necessary to spray carrots with black leaf 40— nicotine sulphate—to combat aphis. Derris or arsenate of lead should be used for young cabbage and cauliflower, and only derris as maturity is approached, to combat white butterfly. Fortunately Southland is not so infested with pests and diseases as many other areas, but where other troubles arise advice will glady be given if samples are forwarded to indicate the cause of the trouble. The vegetable growing' effort is reduced as much by the prevalence of plant diseases as by the omission of planting and sowing. It, therefore, behoves all gardeners to keep crops free from pests and diseases so as to procure maximum harvests of good quality produce.