GARDEN NOTES.

Thames Star, Volume LX, Issue 16959, 4 December 1926, Page 6

GARDEN NOTES.

SEASONABLE HINTS

(Contributed by “Carnation,”)

Continue planting chrysanthemums •and dahlias as soon as the weather is fit and the soil is workable. We have had very bad week-ends of late and the planting of these beautiful fall plants has necessarily been interfered with. It is not too late to plant either dahlias or chrysanthemums, providing suitable plants are available.

Plant them and stake as soon as they are large enough—say six to nino inches high. Tie firmly, but not to choke the growth, and when growth alvances. further ties will be necessary. With chrysanthemums it will bo necessary to remove all dying leaves and all lateral growths up to where the plant has had the top pinched out Select thrte of the strongest side-shoots and treat them as main stems. These three stems will, with some varieties, carry the blooms, while with other varieties these stems will again have to be stopped and then the flower stems will be selected from resultant growths. However, when flower buds aro seen wo will give instructions about treatment and bud selection. Keep your plants growing strong and try to get thick stems and large leaves and good flowers will result. ■Asters and zinnias are best planted out in the borders now and if weather conditions are right they should go ahead until blooming time without any check. When plants are planted too

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son and stand still instead of coming straight away, diseases .attack the roots and blights molest the leaves, and we loose the seedlings and then we say we can’t grow asters in our soil. Most of the failures with seedlings are due to planting, out of sea son or in a wrong situation. What is too early in one part of the garden is perhaps just right in another part and it is by studying the varieties we learn when to plant certain things in certain spots. If seedlings are dormant and will not commence to grow, stir up the soil round them and give them a watering of nitrate of soda, loz to a gallon of water. This will bzring them away nicely if there is no disease present.

Salpiglottis are very pretty annuals and should be grown more than they aro at present. They are easily grown and produce an abundance of bloom on many heads. Pinch out the main stem as soon as it is about 6-8 inches high. They will then form compact clumps, and produce many more heads of bloom. If these heads are picked when in bloom the plant will send up more heads until the winter stops them blooming. Zinnias do well on highly manured soil and if these too are picked they produce fine bushy plants and many bloom.

Keep lawns and hedges well clipped as this keeps them in better heart, and they are easier kept nice if slipped

often. The growth is more tender and easier cut if done frequently. Loosen up any* ground where possible as this sweetens the soil and kills seedling weeds besides preventing cracking of tlio soil. VEGETABLES. As all vegetables are making rapid growth now we should spend as much timo among them as possible. Where peas are being grown attend to the staking and the earthing up of tho rows, and where possible give liquid manure to assist in forming the pods. Bleans, too, a/re greatly helped byapplication of liquid manure. Draw the earth up alongside the rows to form a trench to hold the liquid manure.

It is a good idea to earth up all vegetables, except carrots, parsnips and beetroot.

Cabbages and cauliflower will grow fast by giving a sprinkling of blood and bone around them before earthing up.

Tomatoes are growing fast now, and if we get our share of sunshine in the near future, fairly good crops will be had. Keep them well tied to the sticks and keep -all side-shotos from forming as these take the nourishment the fruit should be getting. There is considerable stem blight about this year, due to excessive miosture. The

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hail recently has bruised the stems and started the diseased sap which has passed through the stems, killing each plant so affected. Great care must he taken of tomatoes at this season of the year. They must be sprayed fr blight, also for caterpillars, and a good sprays for the dual purpose is Bordeaux mixture, into which has been added arsenate of lead. One spraying will serve both purposes and save a lot of labour. Keep all weeds clear from the plants and gather up any leaves cut off and burn them.