IN THE GARDEN

Taranaki Daily News, 6 December 1930, Page 3 (Supplement)

IN THE GARDEN

WORK FOR THE WEEK.

THE FLOWER GARDEN. Dahlia planting can be done during the next few weeks. Do not plant or grow any Second-rate sorts. Firstclass sorbs are so numerous and cheap that there is no need to grow any but the best. When planting dahlias drive in the central stake and plant at the foot. Deep digging and plenty of manure is required to grow dahlias properly. Chrysanthemums, especially those for decorative blooms, can be planted, those for large blooms will now be making nice growth and must be sprayed for rust. Some of the early sorts will be showing the first break, but this is no good and. must be removed. When stopping is practised, the plants should be slopped when ‘about nine inches high. This prevents the formation of the first break bud. Anemones and ranunculi that hkve died down should be lifted.. Allow the foliage of narcissi to .mature properly before attempting to lift the bulbs, Roses are now flowering freely and the dead blooms should be kept picked off. Bedding out arrangements should be hastened on. The ground is nice and moist for .planting purposes. Asters sown in open ground should be ‘ thinned out as soon as large enough to handle. Sweet peas should have laterals pinched out to throw theienergies of the plant into the main stem. Remove all Spent blooms as soon as possible. If “bud dropping” occurs, allow a little extra growth to develop to take up some of the plant’s exuberance. Spring-flowering shrubs should be ' pruned as they go . out of flower. Remove seed pods of rhododendrons and azaleas. Do not allow seed to develop •.and take up t the best of the plant’s .! efforts. Should aphis or spider appear, spray with a nicotine solution. Border and perpetual carnations are now running to flower. Staking and tying should be done early to prevent bent flower stems.

THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. ' ' . 1 Frequent cultivation between growing <- crops will play an important part in the quality of the crops. Thorough cultivation not only conserves moisture but liberates plant food and assists bacterial action in the,soil. Early planted tomatoes arc now making rapid growth. Keep all lateral growths removed and the main shoots, securely tied to the stakes. Spraying should be done with both potatoes and tomatoes. / Earth up and stake peas. Make a further sowing to ; .provide a succession- .. ' ' -'.. 1' ■ Runner beans should be staked as soon as the stems begin to twist. . Draw some eoil up to the necks of the plants. '' ‘. ■! i.’ . A further sowing of runner beans can be made, also a sowing of dwarf beans. Haricot beans for winter use should be sown now. This crop is not often grown, but the home-grown haricot bean is quite a distinct article from , the .imported one. Weeding and thinning of crops must be attended to. Loosen up the soil between the rows. Sow. melons, cucumber and similar plants. Plant three or four seeds on each hill and thin out the plants, leaving only the strongest. Make a further sowing of lettuce in well manured soil. Rich soil, a little shade and plenty of . moisture is necessary in growing, good summer lettuce. Outdoor, vines should be tied down. Dust with flower of sulphur to prevent mildew. Stop the laterals at two leaves beyond, the. bunch- Break out any surplus growths not required for next year’s fyuiting. Spray apples for codlin moth. As soon as the majority of petals have -fallen is the time to apply the spray. Spray peaches and nectarines for leaf curl where this’disease has been aggravated by cold winds, THE GOLDEN DROP. A charming plant, truly, is the golden drop, as onosma taurica is usually called. It is well named, .as the clusters of yellow flowers are like bunches of old fashioned ear drops. Nor does the beauty of the flowers constitute their sole charm, for they are almond-scented, a fragrance not too common in hardy flowers. Onosma taurica is peculiarly suited to the rockery. If planted behind a stone its flowers hang over it, and the contrast of the stone with the flowers is very pleasing. It is only a few inches high, in all about six inches, and likes a dry sunny position and a light soil. ■ Its pet abhorrence is wet and cold which clinging to its rough foliage will cause it to decay. Given, however, a moderately dry position or one where the plant hangs against the face of a stone, it seldom suffers and is one of the best and most interesting of rock Plants. It is raised from seeds or cutings. Seeds should be sown in pots or pans with a layer of sand on the top of the soil. Perfect drainage, is necessary 1 and although shading till the seeds germinate is’ an ajdvantage, once the plants are growing they must have full ■ sun. • / . • 1 i j THE CARE OF TOOLS. 1 1 To make work easier, tools ought to i have consideration and attention. If a ; spade has been allowed to go rusty and i there is still a portion of last season’s I dirt adhering to it, it ought to be clean- 1 ed at once, using a scraper or a rough ( file to remove the rough dirt, followed i by a good scouring with emery pape-, i then oiled and hung up until required, i The hoe, fork, trowel, rake and hand s fork are also a pleasure to handle and c use if properly cleaned and oiled. The s wheelbarrow should have a coat of s paint. Flower sticks, seed boxes and f labels should all be looked over and r put in working order; if beyond repair a put them in the washouse fire, for noth- a ing gives a ’ better harbour to slugs, t enails, woodlice and fungoid pests than t a heap of rotting timber. s

COMPOSTS. A good general compost for most greenhouse plants can be made by using three parts loam, one part, old decayed manure or leaf-mould with just enough sand to keep the mixture open. Sand is not a plant food, but provides good drainage, and the more you employ the more you add to the task of watering. It is not always easy to obtain old decayed manure, but fresh horse manure can be partially dried and rubbed through a coarse sieve. They will then answer the same purpose. A supply of bonedust should also be kept ready to hand, for it is very helpful to many greenhouse plants. Superphosphate is

another cheap fertiliser and can be used in the general compost. A Sin potful will be sufficient for two barrows of compost. A tin of either nitrate of soda or sulphate of ammonia should be stocked to be used in a liquid state. RAMPION. Rampion is a much neglected and nearly forgotten salad plant, both roots and leaves of which may be used. The roots are best when about half an inch thick and five inches long. They have a nice nutty flavour when cut in slices and mixed with a salad. They can be used either boiled or raw. The seeds are small and should be only very lightly covered when sown in the open. The roots are ready for use in autumn and can be lifted and stored like carrots. STACKING TURF.

The spring is the best time to build a stack of turf for future needs. The old-fashioned gardener, before he had the aid of chemists and other scientists, depended much more largely upon turf as a plant-growing medium and as a plant food. To-day we are satisfied to consider that any soil, with the addition of various chemical compounds to supply plantfood, and with the addition of a few tabloids to kill undesirable germs, bacteria and other bugs, can be made suitable to grow any plant. Certainly the introduction of the use of artificial manures has aided the gardener to produce larger crops, but it is questionable whether the qualities, of stacked turf as a plant-growing medium have either been equalled or even replaced by an efficient substitute. As a soil for pot plants it is unequalled, and even for using as, a mulch or digging in around the roots of' plants it has no equal. It is nature’s own storehouse of plant food, and the humus formed by the root fibres of the grass has no equal. It may be somewhat slower than many artificial manures, but is much more sustaining and lasting. The grass sods or turf should be cut about 4in thick—the turf of an old pasture is'best, but any grass sod is good. The sods should be stacked grass-side down. The .stack can be built in. any form, but oblong, with a sharply-pitched top, the sods being placed with the edges overlapping, so that the rain is thrown oft’, is as good as any form. The stack jean be started at one end, and only as much as is required need be cut down, the remainder being left intact. It is always as well to pick out any dock, convolvulus or twitch roots. The stack will in time become overgrown with grass, but this can be taken off as the stack is used, and is in n<j> way harmful.' The question of adding manure and lime, etc., 'has its advocates, but the best results are obtained when the turf is stacked as it is taken from, the paddock, and any additions of manure or other substance should be made when the compost is mixed. As a potting medium, stable or any form of animal manure should not be used. Lime is not an ! : advantage, and should not be used with j potting' soil. The sour soil bogey, is |

r not such a serious affair as many be--3 lie.ve, and in’ any case clean, stacked turf, when used for potting, needs no 3 corrective such as lime,'except it be some especial lime-loving plant. The - only addition necessary is sand in small 1 or large proportions, according to the I texture of the soil.? Even this is not 1, always required. Additions of leaf soil may be necessary for plants requiring a ’ light soil, but such things can be added - as the compost is mixed. A stack of tuff put up now would be ready to use ' before autumn. To those who have no 1 paddock to dig at there is no reason > why grass, weeds and surface skimmings should not be stacked to give the 1 same results. As a rule it is quite easy > to get hold of any amount of grass, I sods, etc.; in fact, from a glance one ’ would say that nine out of ten gardens could easily .provide a stack of turf from the odd corners, etc. For cannations, roses, gladioli, liliums —in fact, all bulbs, hard-wooded plants such as rhododendrons, ericas, etc., and many other shrubs—there is nothing to equal turf-which has been stacked just long enough to allow the grass to die. PARSNIPS. Parsnips sown early should now be making good growth. The leaf miner or celery fly is often very troublesome, and can do a lot of damage to the small plants. Thin the plants before they get too large, allowing each- plant plenty of space to develop properly. If there is any sign of a small maggot working in the leaves, a pinch between the thumb and finger will put it out of action. - RHUBARB. There are right and wrong ways of pulling rhubarb. Some people pull it so close that they leave no foliage for the plant to carry out its proper functions, and to enable the roots to give another supply. If the call for rhubarb is great, it' means that more roots must be°planted in order that the supply will meet the demand. ■ It is wrong to cut the stalks; they should be pulled by a side jerk dr two, to bring out the lower base of the leaf, which decays if - left. As flower stems appear, they should be cut put. . ' f SLUGICIDE. j

There have been so many reputed sure cures for slugs, etc., that it is not surprising that when one gives the recipe for another that it is received with incredulity as to it being effective. The following, however, has proved itself to be of real value, although it must be remembered that in dealing with a subject such as slugs that it is almost impossible to get all with an application, that they breed very fast, and one or two left can soon repopulate the garden, and also that the solution must either touch the slug or the slug come in contact -with it. It is made as follows: Boz quicklime, iCoz aluminum sulphate. Dissolve the quicklime in four gallons of boiling water. Dissolve the aluminum sulphate in a gallon of water. Add the two solutions. The soil as well as the plants should be sprayed with the solution. Choose a fine day. It is safe to use on all but the most tender seedlings. Spray lightly, and repeat in about ten days, and give a further spraying a fortnight later. Jf thoroughly done it, will keep the area treated practically free for a whole season. It is effective even during wet weather.

THINNING GRAPES.

In late vineries, the work of thinning now requires attention. A pair of light, narrow and long-pointed scissors is necessary for this operation, which is. tedious at the, best, and during bright weather is-rather trying. The first thing to do is to study the shape of the bunch, which very often has large shoulders at the top; these shoulders should have a strand of raffia passed under the stem and tied to the wires above sufficiently tight to just take the weight of the shoulder. The first thing is to cut. out all the. berries that lie in the interior of the buch, or cross one