THE AMATEUR GARDENER

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 187, 12 September 1914, Page 5

THE AMATEUR GARDENER

(By AOTEA.)

The weather of late has been nearly all .that could be desired for the prosecution of garden work. More rain during July and August would have been acceptable, and unless we have a fairly continuous supply of showers, no doubt we shall suffer from the want of moisture during the past winter, but any excessive downppur at the present time would delay work in the garden considerably. ' The soil is now in excellent condition for sowing seeds, and planting out seedlings, and advantage should be taken of ■every opportunity of getting this work •completed. Cabbage and Cauliflower plants should be got out at once, and well watered to settle the soil about the roots.

Onions that were sown in the autumn for transplanting should also be attended to. Keep the hoe and the fork going amongst all growing crops, and wherever the ground has been trampled by seed sowing or transplanting, it should be forked up lightly to the depth ' to which the pressure has extended. •ffomato seed may still be sown under glass, and if well attended to will give got>d strong plants for planting outside wfcen danger from late spring frosts are past.. This is not to be depended upon much before the first of November. Plants that have been raised earlier as advised for planting out in unheated houses should now be ready, and should be got into their places without delay. A very large amount of the trouble ex- • perienced in securing a good crop of healthy fruit under glass is caused by trying to hurry them up too fast. The tomato plant "noes not respond to forcing cultivation at all readily. Excessive moisture and heat suits the fungoid and bacterial pests that wait upon the plant, a great deal better than it does their host, so that hastening slowly most often attains the end sought the most quickly. To keep the foliage and stems firm and healthy, plenty of fresh air must be given during all stages of growth, and under glass it is not advisable to syringe or to wet the foliage at any time. If the soil and paths are damped down during the hottest part of the day there,will be quite sufficient moisture in the house, which may be shut up early~eriough in the afternoon, when the house is fairly dry, to trap sufficient sun heat to last well through' the night. : Air should be given as soon as the sun strikes the house in the morning, increasing it as the day gets warmer. -Draughts should be avoided, the top-ventilators being the chief means :f.or the supply of. air. One of. the principal defects in many glass houses, whether used for growing plants or fruits, is, that the top ventilators are,much.l too small; so that during hot suhhy weather, ifthe temperature is i to be kept at a degree suitable for the 1 plants' grdwth, either the house has to "be shaded a great deal more than Is :'good for the plants, or an excessive amount of air, with aeI'.ompanying draughts, has to be admitted through the side ventilators and the dpors. With the means for giving a free outlet for heated air at the apex of v the house, the temperature can be more readily adjusted at will. . Chrysanthemums should now be ready for potting on singly from the cutting pOtS. ' ; -V,." :- ■.•■-:.'■ ''■■_'. • i j

Three-iiich pots;: are quite\ large -enough at. this stage, and the soil used; should be chiefly good turfy loam with; a little leaf mould or thoroughly rotted "and- sufficient coarse sand to £iye £ !porosity. If the cuttings have been'struct singly iu small pots, they should be potted'on-before they v become in any way pot-bound. Keep the plant* close for-"a day or "twfr, after;potting, and then give,aa much air and light as possible, sheltering from cold fraud strong winds and frost. A frame in an open position will suit them well. "Where chrysanthemums are grown in

the open garden, they may now be divided for replanting. It is best to do this annually, though they will generally succeed well for two years in the same place. If the plants are to be given a border to themselves the site should have been well dug and .1 moderate amount of old manure dug in. In selecting the pieces for replanting, choose those that grow on the outside of the clump, that are short pointed and with roots on the wood of the current growth, rejecting all old woody pieces. Three single growths planted in a triangle about six inches apart will grow into a s good clump. A stake should be placed in the middle to tie the plants to as growth proceeds. The Cyclamen is not grown nearly as much as its merits deserve. The reason, no doubt, is largely because it i requires a little special treatment to do it well, but this is not very difficult 'to give, and if given ungrudgingly it well repays the trouble. Seed may be sown now, and if a warm house is available, or a mild hot-bed, so much the better. The seed should be sown ir. pots or pans, using good loam leafmould and sand. Fill the pot or pan to within half an inch of the top and water to settle the soil, after the water has well drained away the seed may be sown, pressing it into the surface. A very light dusting of soil will be a sufficient covering. A piece of glass placed over the pot will conserve the moisture and help the seed to germinate. As soon as the plants are large enough to handle they should be pricked out round the sides of a four-inch pot. The plants will appear very irregularly, so that the soil should not be disturbed more than necessary when taking the young plants from the seed-pot. As soon as the plants have made two or three leaves they should be potted on into three-inch pots and grown on either in a frame or in a house close to the glass, shading from strong sunshine. As soon as the roots are working well round the sides of the pots they sh6uld be moved on into five or six inch pots, according to the strength of the plants. These will be quite large enough for them to flower in. A continuous supply of moisture should be provided all through the period from seed to flower, should they be allowed to get dry at any time they will probably ripen off, and will not flower until the second year. The plants should be grown where a moist atmosphere can be maintained. If a frame can be given and faced to the south, with the plants well up to the glass and carefully attended to, it is not difficult to have plants'that will give thirty to forty flowers in the following spring. I have had , plants that have given as many as ninety open at one time, but the seed was sown a month earlier than this. There, are some very fine strains of this beautiful plant, but as the plants seed very readily it may be possible to get seed from selected plants, and although the variety may not reproduce itself, if the strain is good the results will be found satisfactory. A point to be noted in growing cyclamen is that the crown of the corm should be kept well above' the sui'face pf the soil, otherwise the wet will be inclined.to lodge amongst the clusters of flower buds and cause them to rot off.

" Primula Sinensis —the Chinese primrose—is another greenhouse plant of great merit that is rarely seen in anything like first-class form. The treatment as advised for the cyclamen will suit this plant admirably too. If it is desired to grow large plants seed may be sown now and grown; on, pinching out the flower spikes, until the plants attain sise, but. the most useful plants are those grown to flower in five or six inch pots for which it is not necessary to sow seed, for another month. The plant is very* liable to rot off at the collar if it is planted the least bit too deep in the soil.