Amateur Gardener

Sun (Christchurch), Volume III, Issue 764, 22 July 1916, Page 5

Amateur Gardener

GARDEN CALENDAR. JULY. Average Rainfall, Christchurch, IMi vcars, 2.S9in. Under Glass. Sow sect pea seed in boxes or pots. Sow cabbage and cauliflower seed, and prick out In boxes early, Force rhubarb, sea Icalc, and asparagus. Sow tomato seed. Sweet pea seeds sown earlier should be potted off ond the points pinched out when established. Prune grape vines and peaches, nectarines, and apricots. Renovate vine borders where necessary. Gut chrysanthemums down, and place the pots in a cold frame so-as to obtain good cuttings. Outside. Put seed potatoes in boxes to sprout ready for planting Prune fruit trees, excepting peaches and nectarines. Prune pillar and climbing roses Plant fruit trees, hardy trees, shrubs, and roses when the ground and weather are favourable. Dig and manure all vacant land. Gather stable manure and leaves for hot beds. YELLOW ROSES. Yellow roses are very much in favour now and raisers arc sending out several every year with very flattering descriptions, but there is an old rose, Georges Schwartz, if it can be got to succeed, that has not been eclipsed yet. The slock on which a rose is budded has a very great deal to elb with its well doing, some varieties succeeding well on one slock on which others fail. A writer in "The Garden" says: —"1 have never seen such glorious blooms of that capricious golden 3 - ose, Georges Schwartz, as are now open. Grafted on various stocks to see which will prove Ihe best, this year, at any rate, Rosa Bracteata, the Macartney rose, has proved the ideal slock, white the Indica Major stock, which has often given good results, is nowhere. It is still by far the most sumptuous of all rich golden roses, with a fragrance all its own but being so capricious it is little grown." It is a rose that requires a well sheltered position and although not of very vigorous growth it will make a good size bush if allowed to by restricting the pruning to merely cutting out the old flower spikes and any misplaced branches. Rosa Bracteata, the rose recommended as i a stock, is in itself one of the most beautiful species, the habit is trailing, the foliage being dark shining green and almost evergreen. It blooms continually throughout the summer, the flowers being white—camelia-1 like—with a central bunch of golden .stamens and is about four inches in diameter. It is easily propagated I as it strikes readily from cuttings and is thoroughly hardy and seems to be insect and mildew proof. For covering a bank or rambling over a stump it is of first value, Ihe growth being dense and freely branched. One way in which horticultural societies might do useful work is in instituting experiments as to the] usefulness of various stocks for bud-1 ding roses on. Planting Trees and Shrubs.

Unless where unavoidable circumstances have prevented it, the planting of all trees and shrubs, includ-

BY "AOTEA" ****

ing roses, should be now completed. Where delay has occurred the work should be pushed forward as early as possible. The late autumn and winter, so far, has been most favourable for getting on with garden work, and unless in low-lying or wet positions the soil is in ihe best of condition for cultivation. Garden ground that is only worked shalI low soon gets into a worn out condition and crops are not nearly as good as they should be. This cannot always be remedied by applying farm yard manure as beyond a certain percentage in the soil excess of humus is harmful, the remedy is cieep digging or trenching, and where Ihe lower soil is of sufficiently good quality and friability, a proportion, larger or smaller according to quality, may be thoroughly incorporated with the surface soil. To get the greatest advantage from this work it should be done during late autumn or early winter. There is still time to effect a large amount of good. There is no soil, good, bad, or indifferent, that does not benefit by thorough and deep cultivation, and a systematic plan of working the garden so that the whole may be turned over deeply during a period of three years will keep the soil in a condition of fertility practically for all time, particularly if plenty of vegetable matter is turned into' the lower spit and an occasional dressing of lime forked into the surface. Steeping Potato Sets. The use of formalin as a steep for potatoes as a preventive for fungoid diseases lias been found very useful. It is immaterial whether the tubers to be steeped are cut or whole. The quantity recommended is lib bottle of formalin to 32 gallons of water. The tubers should remain in the solution for two hours,! and should be allowed to dry before I planting. Although two hours' ] steeping is quite sufficient, no harm! will accrue if they remain in an hour or two longer. Fowl Manure. Most amateurs who have a garden, keep some fowls, but do not always value the fowl manure as highly as they should. Fresh fowl manure is rather strong to dig directly into the surface soil, and is much enhanced in value of it is mixed with double its volume of dry earth and kept in a dry place for two or three months before using. A hen produces an-1 nually about 121b, and a duck 181b. Air-dried fowl Manure contains in aj ton, approximate!.^:— N j

The value of a ton of fresh fowl manure is from 20/- to 30/-. To Prevent the Breeding of Flies. The common fly breeds largely in horse manure, and powdered borax is said to be a specific in destroying the eggs and maggots and preventing their breeding. Half a pound of borax sprinkled over about eight bushels of manure is said to be quite sufficient for the purpose. If larger quantities than this are Used it is said to be harmful to vegetation

when used as a manure for the garden. As Hies are known to be carriers of several diseases, anything that reduces their numbers should be used zealously.

Cucumber. A cucumber that is of very easy cultivation is the apple-shaped cucumber. It docs not require so much bottom heat when grown in a frame as the long varieties, and it is quite equal to them in tenderness and flavour, and is more digestible, which is a point to be noted by those who have to refrain from eating cucumbers for digestive reasons. It is rather a small-leaved variety, which is an advantage, and is very free fruiting. Wash for Deciduous Fruit Trees. "Subscriber" writes:—"l want to spray my fruit trees with sulphur, lime, and salt. Could you inform me, through the medium of your paper, how much of each I must use to make 12 gallons of mixture?" As the formula for the lime, salt, and sulphur wash may be of use to readers of The Sun, other than our correspondent, it is given here as a winter wash for deciduous fruit trees.

Proportions:—Quicklime 401b, salt 151b, sulphur 201b, water 60 gallons. Preparation:—First boil 201b lime and 201b sulphur in 20 gallons of water until both lime and sulphur are dissolved. This will require about one hour. When sufficiently boiled, the. mixture will be of an amber colour. An iron vessel must be used to prepare the wash, as it has a very corrosive action on brass or copper. The remainder of the lime should then be slaked in a barrel with hot water, and the salt added, stirring thoroughly. Mix the two lots together with sufficient water to make 60 gallons. It is most effective if used hot, and the pump should be of sufficient power to drive the spray well into the crevices of the bark, and to thoroughly wet all the branches.

For 12 gallons of wash, one-fifth of the above quantities should be used. A kerosene tin would be quile large enough to boil the 41b of quicklime and the 41b of sulphur required, using about three gallons of water, slaking the remaining 41b of lime and adding the 3lb of salt, as advised, for the larger quantity, making the whole up to 12 gallons. Any quantity of the wash can be made by varying the quantities in the proportions as given. The best time to apply the wash is just before the buds begin to swell. The liquid is very corrosive, and means must be taken to protect the hands -r-rubber gloves are the best, but thoroughly greasing the hands will be found protective. The spray pump, tubes, and, nozzle should be thoroughly washed out with clean water after using, or the corrosive action of the liquid will soon destroy them. Before using, the wash should he strained through a fine sieve, or piece of sacking, to take out the grit and prevent the nozzle from choking.

Organic matter ' . . 4<!.4 per cent. Nitrogen . 2.91 „ Phosphoric acul Lime .. .. . 3.10 „ 4.0 „ Magnesia • 1-46 „