GARDEN NOTES

Taranaki Daily News, 13 July 1933, Page 13

GARDEN NOTES

THE WEEK’S WORK. THE FLOWER GARDEN. Prepare new rose beds. Deep working of the soil is more important than manure. Discard old worn-out varieties of roses. Varieties that do not open properly and poor growers should also be discarded. Choose varieties that grow well and are practically immune from black spot. Prune the roses, spray the plants, manure and dig over- the beds. Spade or fork over between the rows of anemones and ranunculi. Order roses and other trees and shrubs. There are plenty of beautiful flowering trees and shrubs suitable for all gardens. Lift dahlia tubers. See that labels are securely attached to each stool. Chrysanthemum stools can be lifted and laid in a sheltered position to produce cuttings. Prune cupresses and other hedges of conifers by the middle of August before the sap begins to rise. The ground is too cold and wet to do much planting or sowing, especially of weak or tender subjects. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. Collect and bum all yellow leaves of broccoli, brussels sprouts, etc. Spade or fork over ground between rows of cabbages and other crops. Root crops, such as’ carrots, beet, parsnips, can be lifted and the ground dug or trenched. Trench sufficient ground for next season’s root crops. Prepare ground for onions. Transplanting of autumn-sown plants . can be commenced as soon as the soil is dry enough. Keep seedling onions weeded and loosen the soil between the rows with the hoe. Prepare ground for potatoes. The sets should be placed in boxes to sprout Dwarf peas can be sovm. A well-drain-ed position is necessary. Make new plantations of rhubarb. Existing beds should have a -heavy dressing of manure. Plant gooseberries, currants, loganberries and raspberries. Prune fruit trees. Collect primings and then spray trees with a strong cleansing winter spray. GROWING VEGETABLES. GETTING THE GROUND READY. To prepare the ground for various crops several methods are adopted. For deep rooting plants it is necessary to dig the ground at least two spits deep. This is done by the method known as doubledigging or bastard trenching. The following is the way in which it should be carried out. Across one end of the plot take out a trench one spit deep and two feet wide, removing the excavated soil to the other end of the plot. Then loosen the exposed subsoil in the bottom of the first trench with a fork to the depth of 12 inches and mix manure or decayed garden refuse with it. The top spit from the second trench is then dug out and placed in the first one. The subsoil is again loosened and manured, and soil from the third trench is placed upon it, This process is continued until the end of the plot is reached, and the last trench is filled with the soil taken from the first. Double-digging is the best method to adopt when the subsoil is very poor or not fertile. After the ground has been treated , in this way for years, the subsoil having been improved in tex-' ture and made more fertile, it is advisable to bring it to the surface and improve it further by exposure to the atmosphere. To accomplish thi~, trenching must be done. Dig a trench three feet wide and 12in. deep across the end of the plot, and remove the soil to the other end. The bottom of the trench is then loosened and manure incorporated. The top spit is taken from the second trench and thrown into the first, and the bottom spit from the second trench is placed on this. If the operation is repeated to the end of the plot the subsoil will have been brought to the top and the top spit placed beneath. Heavy clay soils need ridging to improve their texture. To do this systematically the plot is first divided into 3ft. strips. Each strip is then dug separately, and soil is thrown into the centre of each trench. By this method a series of ridges is formed all over the plot. This exposes a large surface of soil to the action of wind, rain and frost, and surplus water is drained away. Tn spring the ridges are levelled with a fork and the soil breaks down into a fine tilth. Ordinary or one spit digging is the simplest form of soil preparation. As the soil is only cultivated to the depth of one spit, however, it should be carried out only for shall rooting crops or on ground which has been trenched previously or double-dug. PRUNING TOOLS. The best and cleanest cuts are made with a knife, and though it may be considered slow and old-fashioned it is still the ideal pruning instrument. Secateurs, however, are freely used nowadays, are looked upon as part of fruitgrowing, and are certainly much quicker than a knife. The secateurs should be. sharp, should cut easily, and without the need of any excessive pressure. The best kind of secateurs are those with two cutting blades. The chances of bruising are then lessened. If using a pair with only one cutting blade, see that the claw is pressed against the piece of twig that is to be cut away, the blade being next to the tree. Do not try to cut off a larger piece than can be easily got between the jaws. To get a large piece of wood and to have to use both hands and to have to twist and turn the secateurs is only courting trouble. If the cut cannot be made comfortably with one hand without twisting, the saw should be used. Speaking of saws, the ordinary pruning saws are very good, as they are sharpened to cut with a downward pull, and, being curved, this means that a branch can easily be cut above one’s head. The ordinary small keyhole saw is, however, as good as a pruning saw, especially for small branches. The blade is narrow and can easily be got into the crutch between two branches. After sawing off a branch smooth the cut surface with a knife, and if at all large dress with a coat of paint or tar. This latter advice, the application of- an antiseptic, becomes more essential every year, and where time premits it would be of value if every cut surface was so treated. BURN ALL RUBBISH. IT REDUCES PESTS. . t In many gardens a great quantity of various kinds of rubbish has accumulated. If left for any length of time this becomes distinctly dangerous, as it provides a breeding place for innumerable insect pests. Wise gardeners will rid their gardens of all rubbish without further delay. The soft refuse will be placed in a trench and covered over lightly with soil. This refuse will rot down in a few months and afford valuable manure for use in the following spring. A bonfire is as easy as making a fire in an ordinary stove. A few dry sticks should first be laid on the ground, and on these dry paper faggots. Some of the driest part of the rubbish can be spread lightly over the faggots, then a

lighted match applied. . The bonfire will soon be blazing, and more rubbish can be added gradually, until it is all consumed- Kitchen refuse may also be thrown on the burning heap. The fine ash is a valuable fertiliser, as it contains potash and can be used for making compost, and for all kinds .of plants. One part ash added to ten parts sifted prepared soil will make a suitable compost for most seeds and plants. Applied to the soil four ounces to each square yard it will help to increase soil fertility. It is especially useful for potatoes, beans, peas, and fruit trees. "T" POTATO SICKNESS. That the troublesome and widespread disease known as potato sickness has been under . investigation for years, emphasises the apparently complex char- ' acter of the malady. The complexity has been due to the common association in potatoes affected of three factors, any one of which has been thought capable of causing the disease. These factors are an eelworm (Heterodera Schactii) and two fungi—the stem canker, and the black dot—and it has remained for Messrs. Millard, Burr 'and Johnson, of Leeds University, who have recently published their conclusions in the “Gardener’s Chronicle,” to prove by experimental research that the eelworm is the chief culprit, while the fungi are i merely auxiliaries in the attack on the plant. Sometimes the stem canker alone is found in association with the eelworm, but not invariably; sometimes again it is joined by the black dot fungus, and the effect of the association of either with the insect is to cause the host plant to succumb more quickly. Probably the fact the black dot fungus is a serious nuisance to growers of tomatoes, in which it causes root-rot, has been responsible for the idea that it plays an equally active part in potato sickness, but the investigators referred to attach slight importance to its share in the disease, and by a process of elimination that, the eelworm alone is the cause of potato sickness. The fact that eelworm cysts are found in numbers on the roots of healthy potato plants has led to the conclusion that the Insect cannot be the cause of the sickness; but the investigators consider that the tolerance of some potatoes to infestation by the eelworm is linked up with some natural condition favourable to the host plant, such as its inherent vigour, the available food supply. on which it may draw, and its capacity for root development, which is so much more pronounced in some varieties of potatoes than in others. BORDERS FROM SEED. TO SOW FOR SUMMER. The raising of hardy flowering border plants is a fascinating occupation. By sowing seeds of hardy perennials now many will flower next summer, and all of them will be in full beauty by the following season. Plants which can be raised now are: Geums, campanulas, carnations, delphiniums, erigerion speciosus (summer starwort), lupinus polyphyllus, pink hollyhock, and others. Seeds may be sown-in pots, pans, or boxes, according to the quantity of plants to be raised. It is essential that the receptacles should be well drained, as the water must be able to run away freely, otherwise the seed will soon become so sour that the seedlings will damp off. The soil must also be of a light consistency. Equal parts loam, leaf mould, and sand should be sifted through a fine sieve, then put it into the receptacles and make it firm with the base of the flowerpot. Water the soil by immersing the pots, pans, or boxes up to their rims in a pail of water until it is thoroughly moist. Set the pots on one side until surplus water has drained away, and sow the seeds very thinly. Thin sowing is important, because overcrowded seedlings are weakened, and easily fall a prey to pests and fungoid diseased. Most seeds may be covered with soil to the depth of 1-8 inch, but those which are very fine need only a sprinkling of fine sand. Cover the receptacles with glass or paper, and set them in the greenhouse or frame. When the seedlings show through the soil remove the glass or paper and expose them fully to the light. As soon as they have formed their second pair of rough foliage leaves, prick them out into deep boxes, and when established gradually harden them off in readiness for planting in early spring.