THE AMATEUR GARDENER

Sun (Christchurch), Volume V, Issue 1587, 15 March 1919, Page 3

THE AMATEUR GARDENER

GARDEN CALENDAR. MARCH. Average rainfall, 2.29 in. Under Glass. ff,l diffodils, hyacinths, and tulips. Cine--fjas should now be ready to put into their .-'.,.'- pots. Repot cut-back pelargoniums. Ejuse '•'"■<' earliest chrysanthemums and Ljjdcr greenhouse plants. Put in cuttings giotxM pelargoniums (geraniums) and JJjtr bedding plants. Outside. So» onions, carrots, turnips, spinach, and uftner to stand over the winter. Uarth up -fcry unci leeks and harvest onions. Apples Jjd pears should be gathered and stored -j fit. Plant daffodils and other spring flowjfjng bulbs. Destroy all seeding weeds, and j,,p Hi" ground surface open and loose ,ntli (he hoe. Sow sweet peas and hardy jpjiuaN- Plant out Canterbury bells, wallflower, and ottor biennial plants where gate offers in the flower borders. GARDEN REFUSE. • At this season of the year garden ithi.se is apt to accumulate very Kpulb. Such material forms a harjjnur for slugs and other insect pests, u well as fungi spores, which will in due course attack many plants. j| should be removed, not only for the (ks!ruction of these pests, but a iso to expose the soil to the influence of the sun and air. Whether it should be placed in a compost heap, mixed with a little lime to decay preparatory to being dug into the ground, or whether it should be burnt, is a question for individual derision, but, in any case, the •Aligner and woody portion which does not decay readily should be burnt, and the ashes kept dry, as jher contain a certain amount of potash in a very available form which soon leaches out if exposed to rain. These ashes are available for dressing over the ground in spring where seeds are to be sown. Digging Potatoes. When digging potatoes they should not be stored in large heaps. Freshly dug potatoes are apt to sweat considerably and if means are not taken to dissipate this moisture, the quality of the tubers is liable to be affected, making the flesh soapy and tough when cooked. If the tubers can be spread out in a shallow layer, noi more than a foot thick, in a cool shed where light can be excluded before heaping together or bagging, they can then be well looked over, and any diseased ones taken out. Tubers required for seed should he selected from the best roots when digging anil allowed to dry and green slightly on the ground before gathering up, when the best plan is to put them eye-end up in shallow boxes that have the ends an inch higher than the sides; or a block of wood in each corner that is an inch higher than the sides, will do as well, so thai when the boxes are stored one above the other there will be an air space between. The seed tubers need not be stored in a place where light is quite excluded, but Ihe position should be cool and airy. Seed-saving. \ correspondent asks for "a treatise on seed-saving." but I do not think that seed-saving generally is economically advisable for the amateur gardener to undertake. Excellent strains of vegetable seeds are now obtainable' in small quantities at a reasonable price. Where only small quantities are required, it is cheaper to buy, and much better than what is ordinarily saved by the amateur who does not realise the essential points in raising good reliable seeci true to type. The raising of seed for commercial purposes is now carried on on distinctly scientific lines, and all the principal seed growers spare no expense to keep their stocks true by continuous "roguing," that is, pulling out all plants that vary from the type before they come into flower, care being taken to see that no other plants of the same family that are liable to cross with the variety grown are in flower at the same time in the near ricinity, while selection should always be kept in view with the object of developing special strains. With the enormous demands for seeds it has now become quite a special business in conjunc-

(By "AOTEA.")

lion with plant-breeding, that is by hybridising and cross-fertilisation between species and varieties. There is great competition in the business of raising of the finest stocks. It requires an extensive knowledge of the conditions of soil and climate which will produce them in the greatest perfection. For instance, beet is chiefly raised in California, and France; cabbage, Connecticut, U.S.A., Germany and France; carrot, California and France; cauliflower, Holland and Denmark, the Danish being considered the finest, and is the most expensive. Celery, California and France; radish, principally in France; spinach, Holland and France; turnip, principally in France. This is no haphazard selection of localities, but where the several kinds can be grown to the greatest perfection. There are times when having a special strain, or something peculiarly good that may not be readily obtained again, that it is very desirable to save the seed. For instance some years ago I got some seed of a fine strain of cosmea, far and away the best I have ever seen before, or since. The plants flowered early, and were of very large size, of fine colours, and good form. They were very much admired—so much so that I gave away all the seed I saved, thinking T coidd get the same strain again from the same source. But unfortunately 1 couldn't. I got seed under the same name as to variety for two years, but each time it was only the ordinary variety, so I wrote to the seedsman for an explanation, and was told that the seed was obtained from a Californian florist who had gone out of business, and it was no longer procurable. I am hoping to come across the strain again some day, and, if so, I shall endeavour to retain it. Sweet Peas. Except on heavy, cold soils, sweet peas to bloom early next season may now be sown on well-prepared ground. This should have been double dug and a fair amount of manure worked into the lower spit. Where the manure is scarce or poor, basic slag may be used in addition, as it is an excellent fertiliser for sweet peas. Sow the seeds in a shallow drill about an inch and a-half deep, and sow thinly, placing the seeds about an inch apart. This is much thicker than it will be advisable to let them grow, but there will probably be some losses during the winter, and where they are too thick in the spring the surplus plants can be transplanted to another position. Where birds are troublesome it may be necessary to give some protection when the seedlings arc coming through, as it is at this stage the birds do them the most damage. On soils where it is not advisable to sow in the autumn, seeds may be sown in pots or boxes and kept over the winter in a cold frame or the greenhouse to plant out about the end of August or early in September. I have on several occasions drawn attention to virgilia eapensis as an ornamental flowering tree. Al the present time a tree in the garden which has attained Ihe height of rather more than 20ft, with a wide spread of branches, is very conspicuous by reason of the large number of spikes of pinkish, pea-shaped flowers it is bearing. The tree is of a most continuous flowering habit, but is at its best now and at a season when there are very few other trees or shrubs in flower. It has a most pleasing and penetrating fragrance. It requires a warm position, bul should succeed on the hills and at Sumner. It is evergreen and of fairly quick growth. ANSWER TO CORRESPONDENT. "8.8."—N0, it would not be satisfactory to transplant the asparagus from an old bed. Nothing older than twO-year-old seedlings should be Used to plant a new bed, and thev should haYr two years' unrestricted growth, so as to have strongestablished crowns before they are cut for use. So, il" possible. It is best to retain the old bed until tbe new one comes into use. The crowns may then be dug up in succession from about the middle of .Inly and forced in a similar manner to rhubarb under the stage of a warm greenhouse or other suit able place, which will give a supply of tender heads before the outside beds commence to grow.