GARDEN NOTES

Taranaki Daily News, 2 June 1934, Page 24 (Supplement)

GARDEN NOTES

THE WEEK’S WORK.

THE FLOWER GARDEN. Lift the plants and renovate the herbaceous border. Pansies and Violas that have been cut back and are making fresh growth can be lifted, divided and replanted. Seedling Pansies and Violas can be planted. Old plants of Lobelia can be lifted, divided and replanted. Liliums man be planted. Now is a good time to lift old clumps and replant. When ground is in condition, Calendulas and Stocks can be planted. Rose planting season is here now. Get rid of the plants that are not doing well. Choose a variety for constitution, flowering qualites and freedom from disease, rathei - than colour and age. Evergreen and ornamental trees can be planted. Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Ericas or Heaths should be more largely represented in our gardens. Now is the time to plant. Dahlias can be cut down. If not quite finished, cut away half the tops, leaving the final cutting down till a week later. Chrysanthemums that have finished flowering can be cut down. Do not cut Dahlias or Chrysanthemums too close to ground. Leave quite a foot of the old stem. See that labels are distinct and securely attached to Dahlias. Also clearly mark position in border of Liliums, Paeonies, etc.

THE VEGETABLE GARDEN.

As soon as Tomatoes are finished cleat away the old stems and dig over the ground. All diseased tissue such as Tomato tops, Potato haulm, etc., should be burnt, not buried. When Asparagus tops have become sere cut them down and bum them on the bed. After cutting down Asparagus tops, rake off the bed the top inch or so of soil' and replace with some good rich fresh soil and manure. Plant Shallots, Tree and Potato Onions. Hand weed autumn-sown Onions. The ground for spring planting or sowing Onions should be prepared. Lift and store Kumaras and Potatoes. Any vacant plots should be sown down in oats or other soiling crop. Clear away all yellow and decaying leaves of any of the Cabbage family. The space between rows of Cabbage, Cauliflowers, etc., should be forked over.

GARDEN CALENDARS.

EXERCISING JUDGMENT.

A gardener’s calendar, like the weekly notes appearing in this column, demands of the reader the exercise of judgment, for if blindly followed it may prove wrong ■on occasions. It should not be thought that the indicated work should invariably be done only at the time stated, as circumstances may prevent it, and in many instances there are other times at which the work noted may be carried out with equal success. The most that can be said is that the time stated in the notes or calendar is generally suitable for the operations that are mentioned. Many things have to be considered. Position and climate as well as weather, the last very often materially altering between the times of writing and publication. In all gardening operations “select the best of everything and grow everything well” is an excellent motto. Crop the ground systematically as if you expected any day to give an account of your procedure. Change the crops from place to place on the same plot two seasons in succession. Lastly, sow everything in drills at the proper distance apart. When crops are in drills they can be cultivated.

BROAD BEANS.

EASY OF CULTIVATION.

Broad beans are one of the easiest of all vegetables to grow, requiring very little attention after sowing beyond soil cultivation and keeping weeds in check. The present is a good time to sow. The common mistakes made by amateurs are too early planting and planting too close together. To one or other of these mistakes failures can usually be traced. Broad beans sown too early make strong growth by the time heavy and continuous rains may be expected, causing weedy, sappy growth. Any flowers which appear fail to set, even though the tops are pinched out, and the plants become infested with aphis. If set out later in May the growth is slower, sturdy growths producing flowers in early spring are the result and the pods will set in the majority of cases. Too close planting prevents air circulation amongst the plants resulting in long, weedy growth which fail to set the pods. Broad beans do best on a strong heavy soil inclined to stiffness. It should be in good condition, but not too rich in nitrogenous foods. Weil-decayed, stable manure fnay be incorporated with the soil if considered necessary, and where the soil is naturally heavy this will tend to open it and prevent caking in the winter to some extent. On light or sandy soils bonedust only should be used as a fertiliser, but wood ashes or potash manure may be added if the soil is lacking in this fertiliser. Beans need a lot of potash, and its presence in the soil in fairly large quantities makes the stronger and sturdier stems necessary to hold a large crop. If beans are planted on soil which was well manured for a previous crop say tomatoes —no manure need be added. Where the soil is light or sandy beans could be planted a little earlier with advantage. When the plants are six or eight inches high the centres should be pinched out, thus causing several stems to form from lower down. This will tend to check unnecessarily lanky growth, and to form bushy plants each stem of which will bear pods. When this course is followed the plants should be further apart than when grown normally. For general planting rows should be three feet apart, with nine inches or more "between the plants. This is for single rows which is the better way to grow broad beans.. If desired, and to economise space, the seeds may be sown in double rows six inches between with the plants spaced further apart. When sowing seed, sow with the eye downwards. Where the soil is heavy and moisture is liable to accumulate during the winter it is wise to sow on drills six inches high. Black aphis sometimes attacks early crops of broad beans. These should be dealt with as soon as «discovered, by spraying the plants with strong soapy water, kerosene emulsion, or “Black Leaf 40.” Rust Is another trouble to which broad beans are prone. This is more troublesome, but spraying with a solution of Condy’s crystals (pennan-

ganate of potash) at a pink colour in the early stages the disease can be controlled. .

CARE OF FERNS.

CULTIVATION IN WINTER.

Many ferns may be kept going right through the winter. Maidenhairs (Adiantums) require proper ventilation and moisture with slight shade, rather than heat in the summer, and all that is required during winter is to keep them just a little above freezing point. All dead and dying fronds should be regularly cut away. There is no necessity to cut the plants right down. If there is any space at the top of the pot a topdressing of leaf mould or good fern soil should be given the plants. A mixture of half-peat and half-loam with a little sand and superphosphate is a good mixture. Do not allow the plants to get dry, but.it should be realised that less water is required in the winter than in summer. Always use water with the chill taken off it when watering. Fems require feeding just as much as flowering plants, and it is only by generous treatment that a deep green foliage of vigorous growth is obtained. Weak soot water or weak sulphate of ammonia once .a week is the best stimulant and gives a good rich green to the fronds. . ' Ferns may be potted during the autumn as well. as in the spring, the main factor being to use a pot only 'one size larger than the one in which the plant was growing, and to ram the soil very firm round the roots.

ROOT CROPS

HARVESTING AND STORING.

The storing of root vegetables is an important item upon which the winter supply of vegetables is largely, dependent. If not already done, all'potatoes which have completed their growth, should now be lifted. The tubers should be allowed to become reasonably dry before being stored, but must not be exposed to light for any length of time, or they will turn green and become unfit for use. Barrels or strong cases are better than sacks for storage purposes. The tubers may, with advantage, be graded before storing, and the barrels or boxes should be covered with sacks to exclude light. Any cut or broken tubers should be used at once, but if necessary to store them, the broken surfaces may be dusted with lime when they will keep reasonably well. Such vegetables as carrots, parsnips, beetroot, and salsify are usually stored between layers of sand or fine earth m a cool, dark shed. When only a small quantity has to be dealt with boxes may be satisfactorily used. Place a shallow layer of sand or earth on the bottom of the box, then a layer of roots, continuing the procedure until the box is full, finally finishing off with a deep layer of sand. Beetroot and salsify require more careful handling, for if their roots are broken or pierced bleeding will take place, to the great detriment of the flavour and keeping qualities. The tops of these should be twisted off, not cut, and the roots left in the sun to dry for a day or two. In districts with a mjlu climate storing of these roots is not absolutely necessary, for all of them will keep during the greater part of the winter in the ground without deterioration. There is, however, a decided advantage in lifting the crops now, so that the ground may be dug over or trenched should such be considered necessary.

RANUNCULUS

CARE IN CULTIVATION.

Like all other plants Ranunculus repays good cultivation. If the natural soil is of a heavy nature some of this should be removed ahd replaced with sandy loam, to which may be added a light dressing of well-decayed cow manure and lime, forming a bed 6in. above the surrounding soil, level, and fore being planted with the roots. The allowed to remain for some weeks bebed should be in an open, sunny position. Ranunculus are sometimes attacked by a soil fungus which may render the plants useless. It is a good plan where these plants are to be grown to treat

the prepared soil with Chishunt compound at the rate of one gallon of solution per square yard. This will thoroughly purify the soil of all soil fungi. The roots Should be planted with the claws downwards, and have ample room to grow—9in. to 12in. apart not being too much. Plant about ljin. to 2in. deep. The addition of a little coarse sand around the roots at planting time will prove beneficial and assist drainage. The most suitable fertiliser is bone-meal or bonedust used at the rate of two to three ounces per square yard. This should be thoroughly mixed through the soil.

GROWING RHUBARB

TO GET THE BEST RESULTS.

To get the best results from rhubarb the ground where the roots are to be planted must be thoroughly enriched—in fact it cannot be too rich. Fowl manure is excellent for rhubarb, and may be used either as a topdressing for established plantations or - for working ipto the ground before planting. The present is a good time to transplant or establish new rhubarb beds, and the old clumps may now be subdivided. The roots should be' spaced three feet apart each way, which is not too much to allow the plants to fully develop during the summer. As rhubarb takes some little time to establish itself after transplanting, ,it is better not to subdivide the whole of .the old stock at one time. When subdividing the old roots they should be cut through with a sharp spade, leaving three good crowns on each piece. Any tom roots or those which are decayed should be cut away cleanly as well as any which are unreasonably long. Plant with the crowns just at surface level, and wash the soil well in among the roots.

NITROGEN FOR NOTHING.

When peas, beans and other leguminous plants have finished bearing, it is a mistake to pull up and bum them. The tops may be cut off and put on the rubbish heap, but the roots are much better left in the ground. The reason for this is that these plants are exceptional in being able to utilise and store the nitrogen of the atmosphere. Most plants depend upon mineral nitrates and ammonium compounds for their supplies. of. this element, but the legumes derive their supply from the air which is preseet in the soil. This action is rather complex and depends on the activities of a soil microbe. The organism invades the young roots and, they multiply rapidly, causing the characteristic root nodules. It transforms atmospheric nitrogen into a form which the plants can, absorb, and in return receives other foodstuffs made by the plants themselves. On the death of the plant, the nodules slowly decay and return to the soil both their _ nitrogenous compounds and those bacilli which are still alive. Thus a soil which has grown leguminous crops is actually richer in nitrogen than it was before the crops were grown.

THE VALUE OF LIME.

Now that spent crops are being removed from the ground, the soil should be" dug over and trenched to expose it to the weathering effects of rain and frost during winter. In addition, • it should be treated so that the supplies of natural pMnt food contained in the soil are more available to ensure the success of crops next year. One of the most useful aids to fertility is lime, used in one of its many forms. It may be applied almost any time, but preferably, between September and April, so that it can become well mixed with the soil. Lime has a lightening effect on heavy soil, and makes it more friable; it promotes drainage and removes acidity, which prevents the development of the nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Light soils are consolidated by the use of lime, so that the plant roots can take good hold. It also acts as an insecticide; pests such as slugs &re seldom frequent on well-limed ground, while fungoid growths are also prevented. It is a very easy matter to test the soil for the presence of lime. Take a handful of soil that is fairly representative of the garden and mix it well with water in a jam jar. After stirring it up, pour in a little hydrochloric acid : (also known as spirts of salts), and, if there is lime present in some form, generally the carbonate, the mixture will effervesce. The degree of

effervescence gives a rough idea of the amount of. lime present, so that you can judge the amount needed for the ground. Gorse, heather, and bracken are signs of lime-deficient ground. The soil which develops these plants is found particularly in moorland districts, and rapidly becomes green and sour owing to poor drainage and acidity, especially if used in pots instead of proper potting, compost. Such ground often produces poor crops of stone fruits, which require lime to give best results. The three common forms of lime are quicklime, slaked lime, and ground limestone, or agricultural lime, as it is termed. The former is bought in lumps and rapidly combines with water, forming a powder called slaked lime. Slaked lime is rather cheaper. The lime should not be dug in, but scattered over the surface and allowed to work into the soil. The quantity used should be from lib. to 21b. per square yard, the smaller quantity being used on light soil. Do not overdo it, as too much will defeat your object and make the ground infertile. It is best applied when the soil is dry, and for autumn and spring sowing should be spread a fortnight before and may be pricked lightly in with a fork. Lime "is constantly being used up and washed out by rain, so that the soil should be dressed regularly, say, every two years, although light soils lose lime more quickly, and are best given smaller dressings fairly often. Winter topdressings of lawns is also beneficial, and helps to remove moss and improve the quality of the grass.