GARDENING NOTES

Taranaki Daily News, 17 October 1935, Page 15

GARDENING NOTES

THE WEEK’S WORK

THE FLOWER GARDEN. Sow mignonette, night-scented stock, nasturtiums,. nemophila and hardy annuals. AU annuals should be thinned out sufficiently to allow each plant plenty of room to develop. Plantings of phlox drummondii, nemesia and other plants can be made. Now is a good time to lift, divide and replant delphiniums, Michaelmas daisies and perennial phlox. Prepare ground for planting chrysanthemums. Planting can be done any time during the next month. Prepare ground for dahlias. Planting should not be done for a few weeks, but ground should be prepared now. Roses are beginning to grow freely and a close watch must be kept for aphis. Spray at the first signs of an insect. Sweet peas will need attention to training and disbudding, or. rather, the laterals must be pinched out. Keep the plants to two or three of the strongest growths from the base. Now is a good time to plant such things as bouganvilleas, lucullias, bignonia venusta, poinsettias. y THE GREENHOUSE. Sow most of the tender annuals, such as balsams, salvias, zinnias, celosias, etc. Balsams and cockscombs, make a fine display in the greenhouse when grown in pots. Make a sowing of coleus for pot culture. Begonias and gloxinias will need attention to potting and watering. Shade will be necessary ori bright days to prevent excessive drying. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN Thin seedling crops immediately the plants are large enough to handle. Cultivating between crops from the time the seed germinates is the key to success. Plantings of cabbage, cauliflower and onions can be done according to requirements. Further sowings of peas can be made. Stake any early sowings that need it. Sow radish, lettuce and other salads according to requirements. Sow onions for salad and pickling purposes. A sowing of celery and tomatoes can be „ made in cold frames. Prepare a bed for kumaras. These re-, quire deep, well cultivated soil. Be sure that the plants are well hardened before putting them out; Prepare ground for tomatoes. In sheltered positions a planting can be made, but a fortnight later will do quite as well. Earth up any crops of potatoes that are ready. Further plantings can be made. The sets should be sprouted before planting and any weak or with threadlike shoots should be discarded. A sowing of marrows can be made, but protect at night and during cold winds. THE FRUIT GARDEN. Peach and nectarine trees are in full bloom. As soon as petals fall spray for brown rot and leaf curl. Finish pruning apples and pears. The buds are beginning to burst. Mulch strawberries before the spurs have fallen over. Graft over any headed-back trees. Be sure and cover all wounds with a sterilising medium. FRAGRANCE UNSURPASSED. Old-fashioned though the wallflower may be it is still one of the most popular of our spring flowers, due, of course, to its delicious fragrance and rich shades of colour. This year’s display is just commencing,. but it is essential if it is desired to raise plants for flowering next year to sow the seed as soon as possible. Late sowing is often followed by disappointment, the plants not flowering until the third year. The seeds can be sown in a box in a cold frame or on a window ledge. Better than either is to sow thinly in a sunny border where the soil has been well dug, the drills Gin or Sin apart. As sobn as the seedlings are up thin them out if they are in the least crowded; later, when they can be handled easily, transplant them into another position, setting them 2in or 3in apart. Make the soil very firm, the aim being to produce sturdy, stocky plants that will stand the winter; not soft, spindly growth that will flop about and be ruined by the first frost. As soon as the leaves touch again give another shift, this time setting them 6in apart, ramming the soil very firmly. Keep down the weeds and give an occasional watering in dry weather. By March or the beginning of April the plants can go into their permanent quarters Lift each carefully with a trowel and preserve the ball of soil around the roots. Thus they will suffer no check and become well established before frost sets in. One thing to remember with the wallflower is that lime and also a welldrained position are necessary. Many people think that this is one of the flowers they have to do without, but it is not so if you sow early, spray the plants occasionally through the summer with arsenate of lead and plant in firm soil, using plenty of lime or, better still, add lime rubble to the soil. It is the moist, warm climate in conjunction with a right light soil to which the collapse of the plants is largely due. USEFUL PRIMULA. Primula obconica can be obtained readily in flower throughout the year, though it is usually desired to have the plants in bloom from April to September. The raising of plants from seeds is the best means of increase. Sometimes an exceptionally good variety is propagated by division in spring. If large plants are desired a few may be grown a second year, but as a rule seedlings raised annually are more vigorous, healthy and free flowering. Sow seeds during the present months. Prepare well-drained pots or pans of sandy soil, sow thin, and cover the seeds lightly with finely sifted soil. Place on a greenhouse shelf, covering with glass and a sheet of paper until germination begins. It is necessary to grow the tiny seedlings in a light place and if such a position away from the sun is not available, shading during the middle of the day will be necessary. Prick off the seedlings when they are easy to handle, into pans, or a dozen to 15° in a five-inch pot. From these potting off singly into small pots will follow, then a final move into five-inch and six-inch pots in which the plants will flower. As a potting compost for this primula use three parts of loam, one part of leaf mould and one part of coarse sand, also a little peat if it is available. Decayed cow manure or spent hotbed manure, soot, wood ashes, bonemeal and old mortar rubble are beneficial if used in small quantities. From September to May the plants can be accommodated in a cold frame, preferably where they will escape the fiercest rays of the mid-day summer sun. In recent years florists have selected carefully the most distinct colour, so that while a packet of the mixed grandiflora strain will suffice for many, others may prefer to purchase seeds of crimson, rose, blue, lilac or White. It is advisable to wear gloves when handling the plants, as they have been known to cause an annoying though ’temporary rash.

BEDDING CALCEOLARIAS. Although the calceolaria is not used so lavishly for bedding out as was at one time the case, it is still a favourite sub-* ject, the yellow form, especially the dark-coloured varieties being more rarely seep. Where these calceolarias have been crowded together in the frame they should now be gone over giving them more room. If they are weak or lanky, it is advisable to pinch out the point of each growing shoot, to induce a bushy habit. The plants can go out as soon as the weather becomes reasonably mild. These shrubby calceolarias, when planted out, sometimes droop and die mysteriously, after seeming to be doing well. This trouble is especially noticeable where the soil is light and poor. The soil should be deeply dug. If of poor quality, it should have a liberal amount of manure dug in. Another cause of failure with calceolarias is very late planting, so that dry weather sets in before they have become established. For this reason early planting is advised. Over-dryness at the roots will set up trouble, as also will burying the stem too deeply when planting out. CONTROL OF TOMATO LEAF. Following is an extract from No. 6 circular issued March 1933, by the Nursery and Market Garden Industries Development Society, Ltd., Research Station, Cheshunt, Herts., England:— Tomato Leaf Mould.—Control by means of the Shirlan A.G. is most successful when the disease is attacked during the early stages, and the first application should not be delayed too long. A second application should be given seven days after the first, and a further treatment later if the disease shows signs of increasing. During the process of spraying it is essential that .the. foliagff should be thoroughly wetted,, for only in this way can the spore masses be saturated. While it is realised that spraying tomatoes is not an easy task, and that the most attractive methods of control are those which depend upon the suitable regulation of temperature and humidity, the above measures will help growers until some simpler devices can be discovered. . ’ Cucumber Mildew.-The above spray has proved a satisfactory control of cucumber mildew. It is used at the same strength as for tomatoes, but to obtain satisfactory control it is important to spray as soon as inildew makes its first appearance, and to give subsequent application at intervals of four to five days during the first month. Later applications should be given at intervals of 10 days. When spraying, it is necessary to apply sufficient material to allow it to drip from the leaves otherwise the spore pastules cannot be thoroughly wettea. This spray may be safely applied during sunshine, but to prevent too rapid drying, it should not be given until late in the afternoon, during very hot weather. It is important that the oldest and most heavily infected foliage of both tomatoes and cucumbers should be removed as often as possible before each spraying. In New Zealand glasshouses tomato growers have already accumulated a good deal of experience regarding the use of Shirlan A.G. for the control of their worst disease of tomatoes, cladosporium fulvum. By the use of Shirlan A.G. growers have frequently been able to finish six and more bunches of perfectly formed and finished fruit, early in the season, whereas in the past “Cladosporium prevented the finishing of more than three good bunches.” Experience jn every glasshouse tomato growing district in New Zealand shows conclusively that the effective control of cladosporium depends on early, regular and thorough spraying with Shirlan A.G. The following instructions regarding the use of Shirlan A.G. for the control of cladosporium are the result of careful observations under widely varying conditions:— (1) Preventive spraying in the early stages is essential for the best results. The plants should be sprayed every week or two from the time they are 18in high, lib of Shirlan A.G. in 40 gallons of water is a sufficient strength. (2) The spray should be directed upwards, so as to wet the undersides of the leaves. (3) Removal of all leaves below the lowest bunch increases the ease ot spraying upwards. (4) In cold weather use the spray at lukewarm temperatures to prevent the possibility of reduction of setting. (5) Once tomato plants are badly infected thorough wetting of all infected parts is essential. Weekly sprays are needed at this stage. (6) Shirlan A.G. at I’l to 21b in 40 gallons is more effective low ® r strengths where infection has been allowed to become severe. (7) When a severe cladosporium attack is threatening, the glasshouse should be as well ventilated as possible, consistent with the forcing which is nece.. sary to produce the early crop.