IN THE GARDEN

Taranaki Daily News, 18 October 1930, Page 3 (Supplement)

IN THE GARDEN

WORK FOR THE WEEK.

THE FLOWER GARDEN.

The planting of gladioli should not be delayed. The corms are pushing up growths, which are easily broken off. Roses are making growth and a close watch must be kept for aphis. Dusting with dry sulphur is a good method of keeping down both aphis and mildew. ■ The planting of evergreen shrubs can be continued. In wind swept gardens all newly planted shrubs and trees should be staked Hardy ferns, which are now making 1 new fronds, should have tho old fronds cut away. The fernery should be gone over and cleaned up, giving the plants a topdressing of leafsoil and bonedust.

THE VEGETABLE GARDEN.

Most crops are showing signs of growth and every encouragement should be given. No opportunity should be lost to stir the surface soil. Thin out seedling crops as they get large enough. Weeds grow so fast that if not quickly pulled up they choke the plants. Make a sowing of turnips, beet, lettuce, parsnips, Brussel sprouts, leeks, carrots. Early thinning is essential to produce a strong, sturdy plant. ■ If allowed to-get too large before thin- . ning, a lot of damage is done to the roots of the standing plant. Draw up soil to the stems of potatoes, ' cabbage and peas. This gives a oreater depth of good soil ' where needed, and helps to keep the stems off the ground. Keep asparagus beds free from’ weeds, and any seedling plants that appear should be pulled up. The deterioration of many asparagus beds is due to allowing seedlings to get established. Dwarf and rpnner beans can be sown. The soil is still too cold and wetfor general planting, but sowings can be made in warm positions. Beet should be sown for main crop.. Seed usually germinates well, so sow thinly. Do not use an excess of animal manure. Sow broccoli. These need a long season of growth. Brussel sprouts should 'be .sown, as they need to be sown early to produce firm, hard plants by late autumn. Sow' carrots,, for/ main crop. Carrot seed germinates best under dry conditions, and on wet soils it will be best to wait a week or so before sowing Vegetable marrows can be sown. The protection of a box or piece of glass will be necessary. Tomatoes can be planted in warm, well drained soils. In wet, cold . soils it will be best to delay planting for a week or so.

“SEASONABLE DON’TS” f

Don’t keep violets after they have finished blooming. Lift them and plant out the young pieces. Don’t move plants straight out of doors from a greenhouse; give them at least a week in a cold'frame to harden them. ; , •; Don’t-fail to keep the hoe working in fine weather. Weed seedlings are appearing as if by magic. Don% sow a packet of lettuce at one operations; a pinch will supply enough plants for the average garden at one time. Don’t forget that radish and spinach are crops that need to be used quickly once they are ready. Therefore dow a little at one time, but'sow often. Don’t neglect bulbs that have flowered in pots. Water them as necessary, until they can be planted out.. Let them thoroughly mature and they will flower next spring. Don’t let slugs and snails get Away with the best of the seedlings before declaring war on them. Clear away all rubbish and weeds and use some slugicide.

Don’t forget that superphosphate, nitrate of soda, alum and .saltpetre/are partial slugicides as well as supplying plant food. Don’t forget that these artificial manures must not touch the foliage or roots unless in a very diluated condition.

Don’t omit to spray potatoes as soon as the tops show through the soil, because disease is not visible. Spray to prevent the disease becoming evident. Don’t forget that it is .early sprayings that are most effective in dealing with any fungoid disease. Don’t put off spraying roses or any other plant because you can only see one or two aphis. They wilt be hundreds of thousands in a few days.

GREENHOUSE.

The potting of the majority of the greenhouse plants, palms, ferns, etc., will be about finished. A sowing of Chinese primulas and cinerarias can be made now. Glass, but not necessarily heat, is necessary for these seed, still a gentle heat will hasten germination. Primulas should be sown thinly on the surface in well-drained pots filled with well pulverised leaf-mould, loam and sand. Press the seed gently into the soil and cover lightly. The seedlings come Irregularly and as soon as they are big enough should be pricked off into small pots. Similar treatment will suit the cineraria. A batch of such plants as begonias, gloxinias, achmenes and calcadiums should now be potted up. Fuchsias should be shifted as the pots get filled with roots. If they are allowed to become pot-bound the plants will receive a check. Constant pinching the .shoots back will induce a bushy, compact habit of growth. The syringe must be freely used to keep the plants in good health. Pelargoniums and calceolarias are very apt to be infested with aphis as this period. Frequent light fumigations and plenty of air will keep the plants healthy. A sowing should be made under glass of such tender annuals as balsam, coxcomb, browallia, globe amarantlius and martyma. These gay flowering plants are not only useful for the flower garden, but when grown in pots are suitable for greenhouse or room decoration.

MISTAKES WITH RUNNER BEANS.

Although few vegetables enjoy more popularity than runner beans, or scarlet runners as they are often called, it is surprising how many fail to give them rational treatment, as may be inferred from the poor crops of small pods so often seen. These poor crops may usually be traced to one or more of the following reasons: Poor varieties, sowing on poor or improperly prepared ground, overcrowded rows, inadequate support, and too little attention after pods begin to form. Dealing first with the soil, it should be patent to all that if justice is to be done to a plant capable of growing twelve or more feet in height in a sea- : son, lasting several years without being resown, flowerins' and setting pods the

entire length of the vine; the ordinary digging a single spit deep is hardly a fair thing. Instead of this, provide a root run, say, three feet deep, into which manure of some sort has been freely mixed. The overcrowded row is even less understandable. Sowing beans an inch or so apart is of no use. Varieties are obtainable that are quite capable of growing pods fifteen to eighteen inches long, but only when plenty of room is allowed, and for such allow nothing less than a foot between the plants° Plants growing under these conditions should have good stakes to support the stron<r growth, and poles or sticks ten feet liigh should be allowed. By midsummer the full length will be covered with large beans, ensuring privacy in what might otherwise be an exposed warden. But perhaps the most frequent cause of poor crops is found in the lack of moisture. Runner beans are moisture loving plants, and any serious Jack of moisture is soon apparent in the arowth and setting of the plants. Never allow the pods to remain on the plant to cret too old for use. Those are not only worthless, but their presence prevents further growth.

ANNUALS.

For the amateur of limited means there is no class, oi flowers from which so rich a harvest can be as cheaply obtained as by hardy annuals. Vy c must remember that they are coinpaiat vely short lived, the seed germinating, producing flowers and maturing seed in the space of a few months. Such a quick maturing plant needs plenty of food in a liquid available condition close at hand. This means that plenty of manure in the soil and plentiful supplies of water during the growing season are necessary. Another and the most common mistakes made with annuals is thick seed sowing. Usually the seed is cheap and as only small patches/are required the plan is often of sowing the lot, no matte; what is required. The thick sowing would not harm so much if severe thinnino- were done as soon as the plants are°up. The majority of hardy annuals require plenty of room to properly develop, and should be treated quite on an equal regarding room as their moie important brethren. Among the best kinds are as tens, comet and its types and the single Chinese varieties. Bartonia aurea, candytuft, annual chrysanthemums, clarkia, collinsia, coreopsis, qornflower, cosmea, dianthus, esclrecholtzia erysimum, godetia ; gypsonhila, gardenia, larkspur, linarra, linum, mignonette, nemesia, phlox drummondi, poppies, sweet sultan, Sweet alyssum, ten weeks stocks, sunflower, and Vrrainan stock. Nasturtiums should be sown in rather poor ioil, but in a sunny position. There are several ways ot Growing hardy annuals, but for the amateur with limited space at his disposal, especially if he desires to experiment with a number of kinds, the advantages of sowing the seeds in small clumps, between perennials in the herbaceous border, are many. When this plan is adopted the great point to bear in mind is to sow in bold clumps. An isolated annual, say a cornflower, is a thin® of beauty in itself, but this effect is eyer so much better if it be grown in a mass. When sown in rows, of course, the first row should be fairly dwarf, and here candytuft is excellent. It flowers profusely and 'remains in flower a long time.

TRANSPLANTING SEEDLINGS.

The season of the year has once more arrived when it will be necessary to transplant some thousands of seedlings. Even in a small garden the number of seedlings handled would often surprise one even though he were quite conversant with the arrangements. The work is not hard by any means, but trying —so much so at times that the worker becomes impatient and the seedlings are not properly dealt with, and very unsatisfactory results follow. All seedlings grown in pots, boxes or pans under glass arc liable to become drawn up if not carefully treated during their earliest stages of growth. If they do become drawn the work of pricking them out is more difficult, and it is nearly' impossible to avoid damaging the long delicate stems. Great care must be taken to press down the soil very gently around the roots only, and not against the stem at all. Stocky seedlings, such as asters and marigolds that have a nice, ball of fibrous roots, are easily and satisfactorily transplanted. Care is needed in dealing with seedlings of stocks and other things of a similar character. The best way to manage seedlings straight from the seed bed is to transplant them about 2in apart into other boxes and then later on give them a shift into their flowering quarters. Marigolds, petunias and salpiglossis require more room than the others and should be transplanted quite 3in apart. Then compost, which must be rather light and sandy for the first transplanting of annuals, should be passed through a Jin sieve. For regular seedlings Mn sieve will be enough. Such things as begonias and gloxinias must be pricked off when they are very small, and care and practice is required in the work before one can do the work properly and well. When seedlings have been pricked out first they should be watered with a very line-rosed watering-can and ) then shaded from the hot sun until they have finished drooping. Drooping isonly temporary, and where plenty of earth could be taken out with each, it is hardly likely to occur at all. As soon as the plants begin to grow again give them plenty of air and light; it Ts far better to have strong dwarf plants than big, overgrown, weakly fellows that one so often sees in amateurs’ gardens. The hardier the plants the better will the results be later on. If seed is sown in the borders where, the plants are to remain they must be thinned out as soon as they are large enough to handle, or, being much too thick, they soon choke one another.

HURRYING NATURE.

A method of forcing trees to mature their fruits ahead of the usual natural span is by the means of ‘'inarching.’ Inarching, like most propagating methods, is not new by any means, but the latest application of the method is the inarching of seedling fruits on to established trees of several years of age. with the result that they fruit two years or so later. The seedling is grown to the age of three or four weeks or sufficient time to have made three or four leaves, and to be easily handled. The seedling is taken up with a little soil attached, and this ball wrapped in moss. The outer bark of the nurse tree is scraped so a.s to lay bare the inner or sap wood. This is done about a fo d from the ground or at a level that is convenient for working, etc. The bark of the seedling is scraped, and the two wounds are bound together with soft cloth bands. The ball of soil on the root of the seedling is also bound to die trees so as to retain it in position. i'n two or three weeks the union should Ik j complete, and the ball of soil can be

removed. The grafting or inarching of seedlings is not by any means new, but the union of a seedling a few weeks old on to a matured stick means that instead of a long wait of seven or eight years, or even longer, it is possible to produce fruit and. estimate the value of a fruit seedling or hybrid in two or three years from sowing the se;d 01 course, it will be obvious that care and attention to detail, and protection ;rom inclement weather or sudden changes oi temperature or humidity is essential to success.

GLADIOLI.

Corms of summer, flowering gladioli should be planted now with as little delay as possible. Planted in groups from six to eight along the flower borders. Gladioli make a most gorgeous display during summer. One can get now such exquisite colours, and such enormous spikes of bloom. The best varieties are expensive to buy, but . money spent on gladioli corms is really money well invested, for the corms increase so rapidly. When preparing the ground it should .be very deeply dug. All gladioli like a fairly rich soil from which the water drains away quickly, and a sunny position. When planting the corms work in also a dressing of bonedust. Plant the corms about six inches below the surface of the soil. As soon as the first blade of leaves appears above the ground, place a thin mulch of well-rotted manure ovei- each clump.

LENTEN ROSES.

These beautiful early flowers, known as helleborus orie.ntalis, and other varieties, are commencing to expand. There are numerous varieties and some oi them are prettily marked with various shades of rose and purple. To preserve them in their full ..beauty it is advisable to place handlights or bell glasses over the roots, or they become badly splashed and spotted with mud during wet weather. These plants bloom freely when given congenial positions, such as a partially-shaded situation and rich, loamy soil. While like the Christmas roses, they' succeed best when left undisturbed at the'roots for several years. The flowers have fairly long stalks and are useful for decorative purposes when cut.

FLOWER SEEDS TO SOW.

It is now time to sow various kinds of flower seeds like tuberous begonias, wesnera, marquerite, lobelia, ageratum, petunia, border and. perpetual carnations, cineraria, maritima and eelosia. The very small seeds must be sown carefully, for unless great care is taken they will not germinate. Place the pots in a temperature of 60 deg. and cover them over with glass to check evaporation, also shade from bright sunshine. When the seedlings appear, keep them near the glass to ■ prevent them from coming unduly weak and drawn, and when they are large enough, prick- them out in pans or shallow boxes. These receptacles should be carefully crocked for drainage, and if they are filled with the soil composed of loam, leaf soil and a little silver sand, the seedlings will soon take root and grow.

CAPSICUMS.

Capsicums are ornamental as well as useful. The fruits can be used both in the green and dry state for pickles and salads, and when thoroughly ripe and dry can be ground into pepper. The plants are rather tender and must have a well-drained, warm position. The seed should be sown in a light sandy soil and the pot or pan be stood on a o-reenhouse ehelf or protected from the weather by some means. W’hen the seedlings are large enough they should be potted off, preferably singly,, into small pots' A rich soil is necessary. The plants can be put out in a warm corner of the garden or potted out into larger pots. They make very ornamental decorative subjects for the greenhouse. As the plants are very liable to attacks of red spider it is advisable to spray with nicotine as soon as there are any signs of insect pests.

CUTTING ASPARAGUS.

Some care is essential in cutting the “heads,” or the buds near the crown of the plant may be damaged. Do not cut too low down, merely an inch or so beneath the soil, using a proper asparagus knife. . ;

SOWING ON RIDGES.

A cood method of cultivation, especially when dealing with wet and cold soils, is by sowing on ridges. It certainly entails more work, but the extra work is amply, repaid. Mark out the ground in lines a foot apart and draw the soil up with the hoe. The ridges can be made further apart if it is necessary. Flatten the tops of the ridges with the back of the spade or shovel. Then stretch the line down the centre of each ridge, draw a drill and sow the seed. Carrots, turnips, beet, onions, all do well by this method.

CUTTING CABBAGES.

Cabbages are often wasted by,.careless cutting. There is no need to cut bbl ow the heart of the plant, and if the, stem is not removed there will be plenty of good sprouts before long. Bruesel sprouts can be induced to bring a late crop (most - useful in early spring) if the first sprouts are cut, not dragged, off, so as to leave the eyes below the little heart intact, which will soon start to produce another.. ,

TO GROW GOOD COS LETTUCE.

If lettuces are to be had at their bebt, it is essential that they should be placed bn the table within a short time of belno- gathered; thus this crop is essentiaTly one to be grown in the home warden. Sixpenny worth of . seed sown with care will provide many hundreds of lettuce. If it is intended to transplant the seedlings, the reader is advised to provide a rich seed bed, adding a little well-decayed manure or leafsoil ai?d raking this in just below the surface previous to sowing. Avoid sowing the seed too thickly. It is nonobservance of this detail which accounts for many failures to grow good lettuce. If only a few plants are required at a time, sowing in a short flat drill is preferable to making a large sowing broadcast in the usual way. Cover very slightly .'with soil, and should dry weather follow, give a good watering to hasten germination. The plants are ready to transplant when four or five inches high, earlier than this if the row is at all crowded. Never attempt transplanting when the soil is dry, but always water freely half an hour beforehand. Partially lift each seedling with a trowel or small fork, a precaution which prevents the roots being damaged. Allow nothing less than Ift between each plant, and an additional 3in between the rows. After planting, water, and during a dry period give water in unstinted quantities. If manure was not added to the ground, commence to assist the plants with liauid manure when about half o-rown; or where this is not possible mulch between the rows with half-rot-ten manure, and over this pour plenty of water.

If neither of the above methods Is possible, use the hoe very frequently between the rows to conserve moisture. Neglect to use this tool largely accounts for so many plants “running to seed” before forming “hearts.”