GARDENING NOTES

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 64, Issue 4561, 17 April 1942, Page 3

GARDENING NOTES

WORK FOR THE WEEK VEGETABLES Soil aeration is one of the chief factors in the good cultivation of vegetables. Too often the importance of this fact is not sufficiently understood, with the result that in many gardens where a first-rate crop should be produced only second-rate crops are grown. By aerating the soil frequently, the physical texture is improved, the micro-organisms which are necessary to a healthy soil are increased, and the soil generally is made more fertile. It is difficult to keep land in a fertile state which is liable to water-log, and therefore if the vegetable garden is not well drained, drainage should be provided with artificial drains to carry away the surplus water. Soil that is heavily charged with water is practically sealed against air, and where this condition exists vegetable plants cannot flourish.

When the soil has ■ been deeply trenched it not only supplies a deeper root run for the plants, but is also the means of bringing about better aeration, and consequently the plant foo dis made available. Stirring the surface frequently is also the means to this end. No matter what amount of manure is used, warmth, air, and moisture are necessary before the manure can be assimilated by the roots. Stiff clay soil of a retentive character does not admit air freely, and may be much improved by being dug up roughly in the autumn, exposing the lumps to the action of the atmosphere. The result of this action is seen in thel spring, when the soil is readily broken into small particles. The want of aeration may be observed in land that has been neglected, as the soil becomes hard and close and crops fail to .flourish in it until it is brought back to fertility by frequent, working. Quite often ground is condemned as poor when all that is required is aeration. If good vegetable crops are desired, do not wait until spring to prepare the land,- do it in the autumn. Dig deeply and leave the surface as rough as possible to weather, and it will be found that a sweet, fertile soil will be the result. .

Lift beetroot, carrots, and potatoes, and store as previously advised. Prepare positions for sowing peas and broad beans. These Should be sown by the end of the present month, but the land must be prepared now to allow it time to settle before the sowing is done. Plant cabbage and cauliflower to stand through the winter. Store ripe marrows and pumpkins. No time should be lost in earthing up celery as soon as it is ready. Continue to sow beetroot and shorthorn carrots. Do not cut the tops off asparagus until it has turned yellow. Sow lettuce, turnips, and onions. Chives are useful for spring use. Lift and divide the clumps now. Thin out all crops as soon as the young plants are fit to handle; each plant must have room to develop both root and top. Stir the soil frequently. It will destroy the weeds and keep the soil up to its work. FLOWERS The planting of all spring bulbs should be completed as soon as possible. Those that were not lifted are now beginning to make top growth. This indicates that if similar bulbs are kept out of the ground much longer they can hardly be expected to give their best. Remember that with all bulbs they must be given time to make root growth before they can produce first-rate flowers. Lateplanted bulbs will bloom, but the flowers will be of a poor quality, and remain in bloom for only a short time. Next season’s flowers will also be of

a poor quality. Aubretias are showy perennials, and make a bright display in spring. Planted in clumps in the rock garden, they are very effective. Grown in clumps in open borders, they supply colours which are not usual in other spring flowering subjects. Used to form a permanent border, they are very effective. They are often used to edge up rose gardens- When out of bloom they form a neat evergreen edge. Aubretias do best in full sun. They seldom flower if given a shady position. Good drainage is essential. If bone-dust or lime is added to the soil it will be to their liking. The time is passing for the sowing of sweet peas to give an early spring effect. The following are reliable varieties: Avalanche (white), Beatall (cerise), Charity (crimson), Flaming June (scarlet), Gleneagles (bright blue ),Gola Crest (salmon orange), Mrs A. Earles (pink), Picture (cream, pink), R. F. Felton (lavender), Chieftain (mauve), Grenadier (geranium red), and Sunkist (crea.m ground picotee). Continue to plant out anemones, ranunculi, and carnations. The soil is in an excellent condition to carry out this work at present. Montbretias are splendid autumn flowering bulbous plants, and do best when transplanted after flowering. Do not allow these plants to remain in the same position for more than two years.

Plant the bulbs four inches apart in a sunny position. Fire King, His Majesty, Star of the East, and Prometheus are all first-rate sorts. Polyanthus and primrose may be lifted, divided, and re-planted. They require a soil rich in humus. Dicentra spectabilis (known as bleeding heart) is a very showy perennial, and should be represented where bright coloured flowering subjects are valued. Give this plant a well-worked soil in a sheltered, sunny position. It "floes best planted in autumn. FRUIT Those intending to plant fruit trees should prepare the soil to receive them. Too often this important work is delayed until planting time, with the result that the young trees make but little progress during the first year. Fol* success in fruit-growing the young plants must be maintained in health during their early life. The trees should be encouraged to build up a good, healthy branch growth, Fruit trees which become stunted When young seldojn develop satisfactorily. Deep planting should be avoided. Never plant a tre deeper than it stood in the nursery row. Burying the roots deep in the soil where they' cannot get air and warmth is the cause of many fruitless trees. Indications are that this will be an early planting season, and gardeners should take advantage of this and plant any trees required as soon as the leaves fall. If planted early the roots will get a grip of the soil before winter sets in.

Fruit trees do not remain dormant very long. Although they lose their leaves they do not go completely out of business. New roots develop, and the leaf buds swell considerably after the. leaves fall. Cox’s Orange, Shorland Queen, and Jonathan are three reliable dessert apples which come in for present use. Mobbs Royal and Peasgood Nonsuch are two good cooking apples. Gather and destroy all fallen fruit.

By cropping the vegetable garden to its full capacity, taking two crops a year off most of it, would soon exhaust the available plant food and reduce the amount of humus beyond the safe limit. Humus is readily replaced by applications of stable manure, but as this valuable material is scarce, other sources have to jbe used, and these are compost heaps formed by the partially decayed vegetable matter, suth as pea and bean stalks, cabbage leaves, lawn mowings, and leaves of any kind, also spent hops, peat, and plants specially grown for the purpose, usually known as green dressings. Humus or organic matter is important not only because it is a valuable source of plant food when it decays, but it has an important mechanical effect, assistjng in the retaining of moisture. By darkening the colour of the soil it assists the absorption of sun-heat, and it opens up heavy and stiff soils, rendering them much easier to cultivate.

Green dressings can be sown on all soil not required for further planting or sowing, these consisting of annual lupins, mustard, rye, oats, or wheat. The lupin is the best for most soils, (or, inaddition to providing organic matter, it has the power of obtaining nitrogen from the air through the nodules on its roots, and this, too, is returned to the soil.

Mustard is considered to be a good crop for land infested with wire worm and possibly also grass grub, and the other three plants have the advantage of growing quickly. When they reach the flowering stage they are cut, and after lying for a little while to wither are dug in. Wherever possible all digging should be done before winter sets in, the surface being left as rough as possible to expose it to the action of frost and other disintegrating agencies. The present is a good time to prepare ground for planting fruit trees and bushes by trenching or bastardtrenching it, and, if necessary, providing drainage. The soil is dry and easy to work at present, and as autumn planting is to be preferred it is important to have the ground prepared a little ahead of the time it is required, to allow it to settle down a bit. New gardens and new vegetable plots should be trenched now, and if these are covered with grass, which is likely to harbour wire worm or grass grub, it is better to chip off the top two inches of turf and burn it in heaps, scattering the ashes and burnt soil over the surface. Both these pests are very troublesome on newlycultivated ground or on plots where weeds have been allowed to grow, these encouraging the beetles to lay their eggs. In the case of wire worm, it spends more than one year in the grub stage, eating off the roots of young seedlings and eating its way into potatoes, carrots, and other root crops. The grass grub also eats its way into potatoes, and eats the roots of cabbage and other brassicas. The wire worm can be trapped with pieces of carrot, potato, and oilcake buried two inches under the surface near plants that the worm may attack, a piece of stick marking the place, so (.hat they may be examined from time to time, and gas lime or “ hort nap ” dug in will render conditions unpleasannt for the wire worm.

Continue to plant cabbage, broccoli, curly kale, silver beet, and lettuce, and to sow winter spinach, onions,

lettuce, peas and broad beans to stand through the winter, selecting a welldrained and sheltered border. Cabbage and cauliflower can be sown in a cold frame or a well-drained warm border to provide plants to put out in the spring. Earth up celery when the soil is dry, harvest onions which have ripened, and bend over the tops of others to hasten ripening; earth up leeks, cabbage, broccoli, savoys, and curly kale; thin seedlings of turnips, beetroot, and carrots, and keep the scuffle hoe going amongst all growing crops. Give runner beans and vegetable marrows liquid manure made from animal manure, but, failing this, dissolve an ounce of sulphate of ammonia in two gallons of water.