IN THE GARDEN

Taranaki Daily News, 26 June 1928, Page 14

IN THE GARDEN

THE WEEK'S WORK. THE FLOWER GARDEN. Do not tread on or work the soil when wet. Everything is more or less at a standstill now, and a few days’ delay will do no harm. The planting of trees and shrubs can be done. If the ground is very wet leave the work for a few days. If trees or shrubs arrive when it is Impossible to plant them, unpack them; leave the roots balled up where that is already done. Dig a shallow trench and put the plants in, just deep enough to cover the roots. They can be stood quite thickly in the trench. Treated thus they will be all right for a few weeks. Rose planting can be done now. Go over the collection and turn out any that are failures, nd order some replacements. Age is not the criterion of a good rose; many old varieties are still in the front rank, in spite of catalogue descriptions. Place your order for roses at once, and if you are making a fresh start do not forget some of the old standard sorts. Many of the new roses need expert attention to keep them up to the mark, whilst the old varieties can more or less take care of themselves. Any suckers coming from budded stocks below the ground should be cut away. Clear away the soil till you can find where the sucker starts from, then cut it away with a sharp knife. Fallen leaves should be gathered up; if left they are a continual nuisance and eyesore. They can be stacked, pitted or dug in in the borders. Sweet peas receive attention to prevent slugs spoiling the young plants. Keep the young plants off the ground by means of small twiggy sticks. Cut back chrysanthemums and pull out any weeds about the roots so as to give the suckers every chance to grow strong. A few edrly cuttings can be put in. Do not force them in any way, but let them root slowly. When planting azaleas, rhododendrons, boronias, and such like plants, provide ample drainage. Mix plenty of sand and leaf-mould with the soil and ram the soil firm round the roots. Old plants of rhododendrons should be cleared of moss and lichen. Any weeds and old leaves should be pulled away from under the branches, and topdressing of leaf soil given. Dahlias can be taken up and stored in a shed or under a hedge. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. Keep the onion bed clean of weeds. Once the soil is workable a few rows can be transplanted. Planting of cabbage, etc., can be done, but unless really essential it would be best left for a few days. Prepare the ground for planting early potatoes. Well worked soil in good heart and perfectly drained is necessary for success at this season of the year. - Ground for early peas should also be prepared. If the position is at all damp, sow the peas on slightly raised ridges. Hand-weed seedling crops, and when possible stir the soil around them to encourage a free growth. Sowings of lettuce, radish, onions, turnips and broad beans can be made. | *Now is the time to replant the nerb garden or, if there is none, to plant one. Herbs to be appreciated should always be on hand. Parsley is easily grown, and makes a very neat edging to the path in the vegetable garden. Sow the seed now. | and thin out the plants to nine inches apart. Clean the asparagus bed, c.i.i ; ; down the old “grass” and raking off all weeds and some of the loose soil. Ap-; ply a layer of seaweed or manure and cover with a little soil. New asparagus beds should be prepared. In place of wide beds containing three or four row-s of plants, single rows are now planted. Deeply worked and well manured soil is necessary. The lifting and planting of ‘Tint trees can be done. If you intend planting any this season get your order in as soon as possible. KITCHEN GARDEN ENTS. POINTS WORTH KNOWING. In growing vegetables it is impera live to rotate the crops, otherwise tin; soil will soon become impoverished. This applies with equal force to farms and broad acres, as well as to home gardens. In fact, it is of even greater importance in small allotments, where ’as many kinds of vegetables are grown as space will permit, and the ground is used over and over again. (1) Plants of the same natural order should not succeed each othet, such as two successive crops of cabbages on the same ground, or cabbage followed by cauliflower, or parsnip after carrot. After growing a crop of cabbage or cauliflower, the ground should be turned over, giving a dressing of lime, and then growing in the plot a root crop, or using it for growing peas, beans, or potatoes. (2) Crops which occupy the same •ection of the garden for several years such as rhubarb, or asparagus, should not be followed by the same class of plant, but should be succeeded by others of short duration, such as lettuce or spinach. (3) Root crops such as beet, par snip, carrot and bulbs, such as onion, should never be succeeded by others of a similar character.

Rotation of crops is the unvarying principle. In the vegetable garden much activity is desirable. Clear away the old stems of vegetables which have passed their bearing period. Give a dressing of lime and remember, in replanting, the principle of crop rotation —no two crops of a similar class to grow on the same ground consecutively. WINTER REMINDERS. The soil should be deeply dug, trenched or ridged up w-hen the weather permits. Ground that is to be planted in the spring may be manured. Voung fruit trees and bushes of all fruit trees may be pruned according to ' Their special requirements.

- Distinguish carefully between the fruit-buds and the leaf-buds. Also remember that fruits are born© on the young wood in the case of black currants, peaches, nectarines, cherries I etc., and on the older wood in the case of red and white currants, sweel cherries, apples, pears, etc. Prune and clean old vines.

Finish the lifting of such roots as carrots and beet. Parsnips are better left in the ground to be pulled as required. A sowing of broad beans may be risked this month.

All kinds of deciduous trees and shrubs may be planted now-, also bulbs and spring-flowering plants.

This is the best time of the year to plant roses with the possible exception of teas, w-hich in cold localities may be held over until August Privet hedges may be clipped. All climbing and wall plants should be carefully nailed or tied up, and old stems which no longer flower well and are bare near the ground may be cut out: but nc other pruning should b« done.

Continue to give as much ventilation as possible in a glasshouse or a flame. Only in foggy or very bitter weather should the structure be kept closed during the best hours of the day.

Leaves as they fall should be swept from paths and lawn and carefully stored for the making of leaf-mould or use in the formation of a hot-bed.

I GARDENING JOBS FOR WET DAYS. | Wet days are generally associated I with the dull, gloomy days of winter so that the amateur gardener looks I round for something to do. “Digging in this weather,” he says, “is foolish; 'but what am I to do?” Below are set out some of the jobs he can tackle, I which will occupy his time with profitable result. | Firstly, tools can be cleaned and re- ’ paired. ' The most important, perhaps, are the barrow, lawnmower, roller and • the various digging implements. Inspect tnesc, and remedy any defects which are noted. If the handles of tools are loose, a little glue, or a wedge will make them firm. Then the syringe plunger will need some vaseline. or it may require a new washer. Look around and you will see plentv of jobs among the tools. When this is done, on taking a walk outside, when the rain is temporarily abated, you may see pools of water lying on the surface of the lawn. Brick the soil with the nronsrs of the fork to effect drainage. While outside, the drain could be cleared and any dead I leaves removed from plants. Another important job is to roll paths, laying new ash or gravel down, if needed. Of ' course, the roller will pick up a lot of the path, so a brush should be kept handy.

PLANT FF.UIT TREES NOW, SOILS THEY REQUIRE. Apples.—Those succeed best in a deeply-worked and well-manured loamy soil, but good results are also obtained in a light soil that has been properly dug and well enriched. In the case of a very heavy soil it is essential that this should be deeply trenched. In addition, it should be given a good dressing of manure and lime, this application being thoroughly dug in. Apricots. —Here a good loamy soil is the best to which has been added a little extra chalk, lime or mortar rubble, as well as some well-decayed manure. Cherries.—A good mellow loam with lime in it is preferred. Proof of this is found in the way cherries flourish in some of the chalky districts Free drainage is of very great importance in the case of this fruit, as fatal to a healthy growth. I Currants.—Both red and white currants succeed best in a deep, welldrained soil, and if this condition can be secured the bushes often do well ion land that is not particularly rich. Anything like waterlogged ground is very harmful. In the case of black I currants a cool, retentive loam iu i rather a moist situation is the best. The fact that black currants like plenty of moisture is evidenced by the luxuriant way in which they grow in low situations and by pools and streams. Gooseberries. —Here a fairly deep and fertile loam of medium consistency is the best. Free drainage is an important feature with gooseberries. Loamy soil containing plenty of humm and a fair amount of lime or mortal rubble with it is needed. The soil must be deeply trenched before planting is

carried out. Pears.—The pear likes a rich loamy soil with a fair amount of sand or grit in it. On the whole the land on which pears will grow well may be a gcod deal lighter than that which is required for apples. • Plums, etc.—Plums are fastidious in their likes and dislikes, and the grower should find out the varieties which succeed best in his district and give the preference to these. A few kinds will grow well almost anywhere. A very rich soil is not so desirable, as this will tend to encourage the production of wood instead of fruit. A strong retentive loam is the best, but lime in some form or another is es sential. Free drainage is of great importance. Quince. —If space permits room should be found for a quince tree, as the fruit is very desirable for preserving. jelly-making, etc. The most suitable soil is a warm, sandy loam where there is a free drainage. Strawberries. —In a general way strawberries will grow in almost any oood soil, but some of the varieties show strong likes and dislikes. When making a bed it is well to find out the requirements of the particular variety which is being planted. A good aver a»e soil is loam which has been deeply 'worked and well enriched with manure