GARDEN NOTES

Taranaki Daily News, 24 May 1932, Page 15

GARDEN NOTES

WORK FOR THE WEEK. s _—— < THE FLOWER GARDEN. ‘ I ' ’ i Order any new roses as scon as ‘ possible to be sure of getting the best ( plants. , , . , Remember that every standard variety was once a novelty. Therefore, while not discarding any tried and tine friend, become acquainted this season with some of the novelties. Place garden walks in good condition. Any repairs to surface or drainage should be done as soon as possible. Hedges should be trimmed, except macrocarpas and other conifers. Glean weeds and rubbish away from the base. _ Renovate and topdress lawns. Prepare new lawns and sow seed as soon as possible. . . Hand weed anemones and ranunculi. A light forking between the rows can be given. Weak or old, decrepit, or out-of-date roses should be taken out and replaced by better sorts. . Herbaceous plants that have finished flowering can be cut down. See that all herbaceous plants and perennials, such as paeonies, that die right down, are plainly labelled and the positions clearly marked. . Sweet peas must be watched. Tie up the growths; do not allow them to lie on the soil and get slug-eaten, Stir the soil between the plants. Cuttings of many hardy shrubs and trees planted now will root quite readily. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. Look over vegetables in store. Remove those showing signs of decay. Harvest pumpkins and melons. Store away from rats. Hand weed any seedling crops. Plant cabbage and cauliflower according to requirements. Work the ground on every favourable opportunity. Dig over to keep down weeds. Sow cover crops to provide liumus. As soon as asparagus tops begin to turn yellow cut them off and burn them on the bed. Rake off the asparagus bed the top inch of soil and with it any fallen or germ-

inating seeds. Replace with, manure or good clean soil. Asparagus should have a good dressing of manure or seaweed, or, failing that, bonedust and super in about equal parts mixed with four or five parts ■of good weed-free soil. Strawberries can be planted. Keep the crowns at ground level and spread the roots out fan-like. Thin out and keep seedling crops hand weeded. If standing crops are weedy, dig over between the rows, burying the weeds. Collect and bury all old cabbage and cauliflower leaves. Burn all the old stumps. Broad beans can be sown. Although these do not do too well in some places they are a good crop on heavy soils ■in cold districts. Commence the pruning of fruit trees as soon as possible. If planting bush fruits, such as gooseberries and currants, do so as soon as possible. Early planting is essential to- success. DRAINAGE. Good drainage does not' mean necessarily the buying of pipes and cement, i and so on, although in rare cases it may |be worth while to do this. It means simply the devising of some means by

which the supply of moisture may sink well down from the surface when it I rains, and by which the surplus may -be drawn off from the subsoil into ditch or pond, where, possibly, it will come in very useful in the hot weather, especiI ally in the country. For ordinary purposes a trench two feet wide and two feet deep should be opened down the middle of a damp garden, where fruit trees or roses are to be grown—it will run, of course, from the upper to the lower end —and the bottom I foot of the trench. Ailed with old tins, broken crockery, brick rubble, and the I like. If bush cuttings, ancient pea sticks, etc., are available, they may be put into the hole over the rubble, with any other rough waste; then some coarse soil, and finer soil to top the lot. Smaller side drains may be linked up with this main drain at intervals of about 20 feet on each side. If there is no ditch or other means of getting rid of the water at the lower end of the garden, and a pond is out of the question, a rockery might be placed there, raised over the soggy soil where the moisture ; settles. But generally a small pond, or | well, will repay its cost of making | where fruit or vegetables are to be I grown.

This primitive sort of drainage, or an open ditch, is preferable where fruit trees are being planted, as less likely to block than pipes, which may have to be relaid owing to disturbance by roots a few years hence. In new gardens the drain may solve the difficulty for a time at least of what to do with that part of our rubbish which is otherwise not easily disposed of.

MUSTARD GREENS. Most people only know mustard in the seeding form when it is associated with cress in the well-known salad. In America the plant is commonly grown for the sake of its larger foliage, which, when cooked in the right manner, is one of the most delicious greens. It is rather strange that mustard is not cultivated for the purpose in New Zealand, seeing that excellent green stuff can be produced, in a remarkably short time. Mustard seed will germinate at any season of the year, providing there is no frost, as the plant is very hardy. When sowing for greens the sowing should be only half as thick as that which is made w'hen the seedlings arc to be used. The mustard is in its best condition for cooking just when the flower buds are beginning to be formed. After blossoming the foliage is tough and strong in flavour. .Tn preparing the greens for table care in cooking is needed to get them to perfection. Get them fresh from the garden and wash thoroughly. Have a pan filled with boiling water into which salt has been mixed in the proportion of a teaspoonful to one gallon. Throw the greens in and keep boiling violently | from six to ten minutes. Keep away the lid of the pan, so as to ensure a (good colour, and drain the greens well [before serving. Mustard greens have a delightful piquant flavour that is wanting in any of the cabbages. PRUNE "CANE” FRUITS. "Cane” fruits is the term applied to i such as raspberries and loganberries. '•These fruits give the best results when i the “canes” produced during the current (season are selected for fruiting, and .although it may seem impossible to get 'as large a crop by cutting out all the I old canes that fruited last year and allowing only the new canes to remain, yet it is so,"ami in addition it is much easier to keep the crop clean and in order,

HOW TO DISTRIBUTE SOOT.

The value of soot for many garden purposes is well known, but it is a rather nasty job distributing it evenly. The following is a good method: Place some soot in a. 51b oatmeal bag, tie bag on end of a, short stick and. shake it over the plants. This will allow a fine, dust-like sprinkling of soot to percolate through the bag. Another method is to get an ordinary tin canister. Punch holes in lid; the holes must be punched from inside to outside; partly fill with soot and place on lid. If tin is held with lid slightly upwards so that the bulk of soot rests at the bottom of the tin, and given a, forward throw, it will be found, that’ the soot can be evenly distributed. This canister duster is also good for flowers of sulphur. PRUNING. Contrary to general opinion, pruning encourages growth, and lack of pruning discourages growth. Young trees may be heavily pruned and so may straggly old ones. Trees that make much growth should be pruned as little as possible. As a matter of fact, a tree can be cut and hacked about at any time of the year, and it will replace the lost wood and heal its wounds all through the growing season. All young fruit trees should be pruned for the first three or four years, not so much with the view of producing fruit as to the forming of a shapely, strong tree, capable of carrying a number of sub-branches. The branches should be cut back just above two suitably placed buds, so that from these buds new branches may grow. Too many are afraid to cut back young trees, thinking that it will delay fruiting, but without pruning young trees never make satisfactory growth or shape. CHRYSANTHEMUMS. The first part of the season was very favourable to chrysanthemums, and there was every cause to expect a fine show of blooms. Alas for the poor gardener, the weather did. not hold fine quite long enough, and the last storm simply played havoc. Not only did the wind and rain damage the blooms, but the rust has been so bad that many of the varieties failed completely. At this time, when such things are fresh in the mind, is the time to take stock and to select those sorts that stood up to the weather conditions. The following sorts are worth noting as varieties that were more or less clear of disease: A. Staples, Doreen, Lady Somers, Marjorie Gould, Mrs. R. C. Pulling, Mrs. E. Alston, Mad. Maggie Stirling, The Sun, William Turner, Yellow Louisa Rockett, Miss Edith Alston, The Jason, Sir William McPherson, J. J. Dickenson, Harry Clements, and E. N. Ward. This by no means includes all the varieties that stood up to the weather of the past few weeks, but they were meritorious enough to be considered as worthy of inclusion in a collection where exhibiting is not the only aim.

PLANTING GOOSEBERRIES.

It is most essential with gooseberries that they should be planted early. They make early growth, and it is essential that the plants should have a good root hold. Gooseberries are very gross feeders, and benefit by applications of fish manure, blood and bone, pig and cow manure. The ground should be deeply dug or trenched, and the bushes can be planted about four feet apart, and, if in rows, six feet between the rows. In small gardens, however, the buslies are usually planted in rows wide enough apart to allow vegetables to be cultivated between. This method is very satisfactory provided the bushes are well treated with manure. Digging close to the bushes with a spade should be avoided as they make a lot of surface roots. Mulching during the summer should be provided as it keeps the roots cool and moist. i

TO KEEP A CUT LEMON.

If when using lemons for any purpose only half is required, put the remaining half on a plate and cover it with a glass tumbler. By this means air is excluded and the lemon will not become dry or mouldy.

ANNUALS.

Annuals that have gone out of bloom should, be cleared away and the beds and borders cleared of weeds and dug ready for replanting or to lie over the winter. A note should be made of those which have given satisfaction.

CUTTING OF ANTIRRHINUMS.

Antirrhinums and pentstemons are often raised from seed, but the method of propagation by cuttings lias much to recommend it, chief of which is the fact that by this method one is sure that the plants produced will be true to type as regards colour and habit. 'The box should be filled with sandy soil, which should be made firm. The cuttings should be young side growths, not too° sappy, but what is usually termed “half ripe.” Make them three or four inches long, removing the lower two pairs of leaves, and cutting the base close below a joint. Use a very sharp knife, a blunt one is the cause of the failure of hundreds of cuttings. Put the box in a shady but sheltered position, and keep moist, but protect from heavy rains.

IMPROVING HARDY PLANTS.

The chief cause of the deterioration in the quality of the blooms of hardy herbaceous perennials is that they are allowed to grow year after year without division. The result is the clumps n-et crowded, and the soil about them impoverished. Michaelmas daisies, phloxes, chrysanthemum maximum, tShesta daisies, and other similar plants all need to be lifted and divided every two years. The best time to do this work is during autumn, or as soon as the majority are out of flower. In most cases there will be plenty .to throw away so be careful to choose the outside pieces. _ Well manure the soil before replanting.