THE HOME GARDEN

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 63, Issue 4463, 13 August 1941, Page 3

THE HOME GARDEN

WORK FOR AUGUST. FLOWER GARDEN. Sow all hardy annuals when the soil is workable. Plant out antirrhinums, nemesia, violas, pansies, Iceland poppies, stocks and carnations. Japanese irises not already planted should receive attention within the next two weeks. Increase chrysanthemums by means of sucker growths. Plant gladioli corms at frequent intervals. Plant out hardy perennials. Material for the herbaceous border, including lupins, should all be planted as soon as possible. Continue the planting of flowering .trees and shrubs. August is generally the last safe month for planting. Rose bushes should also be placed in position at the earliest possible opportunity. VEGETABLE GARDEN. The following vegetable seeds may now be sown: Lettuce and radishes, cabbage, cauliflower, early peas, beetroot, carrots, parsnips, onions and spinach. Plant new asparagus beds. Make a sowing of early potatoes and prepare plots for the main crops. Plant out rhubarb, savoys, onions, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, horseradish and seakale. Finish the spraying of fruit trees. Cut back old trees intended for grafting, and prepare grafts. Hurry along with the planting of all fruit trees.

DELPHINIUMS. PRESENT NEEDS. The reduction of delphinium shoots to three per plant is an important item in the culture of these plants. Sufficient soil should be removed to enable each unwanted shoot to be cut off at its source. Then stake each of the retained shoots separately. The free use of potash is necessary where Delphiniums are concerned. They are great lovers of this food. Sprinkle evenly around each plant now’ two ounces of wood ash, or half an ounce of sulphate of potash, lightly forking it in. Then mulch 15in on all sides of each plant with a 3in layer of equal parts well rotted cow manure, sand and leaf-mould, or composted matter.

TURNIPS. HOW TO GET BEST RESULTS. It is worth while devoting a little extra care to the making of the seed bed for turnips to obtain sweet, juicy roots. The secret of success with the crop is rapid growth, which is possible only in rich soil, with which plenty of manure has been mixed. Turnips also like lime, and whether the soil is light or heavy, this must be supplied to the soil beforehand. The site of the bed should be open, and when the ground has been limed and manured the surface should be broken up fine and raked down level. Shallow drills may then be drawn, for the seed needs only a slight covering of fine soil, allowing from 8 to 12 inches between each drill. The first sowing can be made toward the end of the month on a warm border. Successive sowings, at intervals of two or three weeks, can continue for several months. If a warm shower follows sowing, the seedlings will probably appear in about a week, and thinning to 4 inches apart should be done when the rough or true leaf develops.

ANSWERS TO INQUIRIES. To Remove Moss From Fruit Trees: The Horticultural Division, Departmen of Agriculture, recommends spraying with Bordeaux mixture 5 parts bluestone, 4 parts lime, 50 parts water). This spray also acts as a useful general fungicide and should be applied toward the end of this month. Bonedust or Bonemeal ?: Bonemeal is quicker acting than the dust, and will therefore give quicker results at this season. I prefer the bonedust for use in autumn. Flowering Period for Bearded Iris: Mid-October to mid-November is the flowering time, for the big majority of bearded iris. Some of the pumilas (dwarfs) flower a little in advance of the big parade. There is, however, an autumn-flowering strain being developed, but only a few varieties are at present being tried out in this country. The Japanese iris follow the beardeds, and are in full dress .from fairly early in November till midDecember. I have found that plants grown in semi-shade are sufficiently retarded to flower during Christmas week.

MANURES FROM WASTE. WHAT IS DONE IN ENGLAND. With the growing interest in the compost heap, and in the great use of humus for agriculture generally as well as for small gardens, the following tracts from The Countryman (an English paper) may be useful:— “Each day the whole of the house refuse collected in Kensington is conveyed a large, modern, concrete building. Bottles, tins, iron, wood, etc., are sorted out and sold, and the remaining material is crushed. It is then conveyed to fermenting cells, being sprayed on the way with a culture of fungi and bacteria. Each cell holds 200 tons. Fermentation is complete in about 16 days. . There are 18 cells, each taking a single day’s delivery. The finished material is a dark brown friable mass which in larger dumps undergoes further slow fermentation before it is sold for manure at 15s a ton.” While awaiting the time for some such enlightened municipal scheme, each house that has a garden plot can carry out for themselves a most valuable method of improving their soil. Only coal ashes, tins, etc., will be sent away in the corporation carts, and what will rot or burn is made use of. That which will not rot is turned into ashes in jthe incinerator, while everything that will rot is either dug into the ground or helps to build up the compost heap, and gives new life to the soil. It must be admitted that the heavy rubbish tins emptied from each week are unintelligent and uneconomical.”

TIMELY TOPICS. NOTES, NEWS AND VIEWS. The recent heavy rains have consolidated the soil in most gardens, and growing plants are beginning to show signs of deterioration. As soon as the soil is sufficiently friable to work, it should be cultivated to permit the entry of air. Have the onions on the richest and finest soil possible in the garden, as onions require a fertile, fine or pulverised soil for best results. Witch Hazel, now past its flowering, will benefit by a heavy mulch of composted matter or leafmould. For dry banks where nothing seems to grow, try a few rock roses (cistus). These free-flowering plants are hardy and trouble-free. They are prolific with their flowers over a long period and are now available in white, yellow and several shades of pink.