THE GARDEN.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 10683, 1 February 1913, Page 12

THE GARDEN.

"WORK FOR THE WEEK. \ KITCHEN GARDEN. to Sow.—Beans, beet, cabbage, fc&rrot, endive/ lettuce, onions (for "X ®!ilad), j parsley, peas, savoy, radish and >■ spinach. ' , -£> What to Plant.—Cabbage, celery, , ~ Brussels sprouts, broccoli, loeks, lettuce ; siid vegetable marrow. •« .7; Another good soaking rain has freshened up everything in the garden. .It is to be hoped that it has killed most ' of. the green fly that had become so _* numerous on most vegetable .plants. These aphides have been particularly > destructive on , many vegetables this season, especially on tomatoes and potatoes. There is no doubt but the potato flrop will be very much below expecta- ' , tiens owing to the ravages of this pest. « Does spraying destroy some of the ' Jia,tnral enemies of green fly? This „ question suggests itself, and readers might give it some attention. Certainly, there has been a much greater num- • her than usual of green fly on the plaints in'and around Christclm rch this summer. What is the cause? '' '■ Second early potatoes should be lifted '. «oon, as there is a groat risk that tho •v tubers mil grow out after the recent ,<■ rains.l This is not the only risk from leaving them in the ground. Bli<iht js -' more active after a spell of rain than in s; dry weather, and onco it starts in a 7 plot it soon affects tho lot. While it is ,* not advisablo to lift potatoes before i they have finished their growth, it is inadvisable to leave them in the ground y'- after they are ripe. With careful handling they can be harvested and • ! stored. Keei> a careful •watch on late crops, and when a plant shows signs of Blight remove ,tbe haulin and burn it/ before tho spores spread to the rest nf +,li b <\roT».

" " W.0.J." asks for hints oil storing -.-potatoes. Unfortunately too little attention. is given to this question, and ,th© result is that many tons of Rood Iqod Are wasted every season. There throe or moro methods of storing' potatoes, in sacks, in bins, and clamps (pitting, some term this). When stored 1 in sacks the tubers shrivel, more or less, according to where the sacks are kept. "If in' a dry, warm position, they '' shrivel more than if they were in a ■ cdiql she'd. Although they shrink they detain their flavour, a rather important item with these tubers. Where it*" 'ls' decided to store m sacks "select ' a cool shed, and ke®p the temperature as low as possible. Let the openings be south rather than t north. Storing potatoes in bins is not a success, as tlioy lose their flavour and ' siey often ferment and become useless for food. True, very small quautit?«s might he put in o bin, but these would/ ebon be usod, in fact, before they had - to deteriorate very much; but large quantities should not be stored in* bins. The best method is storing , yx ,tc clamps." This is as near as possible the natural state the tubers would ' be. ill if left on the plants where they had grown. But there are three mis- ■ ' ia&es often made in clamping potatoes. ' (i) Tho floor is often too deep, find m , weather the lower parts of the potatoes are ill water; the clamp is .foQth too wide and too high. It is well io,remember that when the potato crop the tubers are not quite 1 -iipe, and,if the heap is made too wide ■ - Rnd, too high thoy ferment in the cen- / 'tre/.and this is fatal to their flavour ,Bnd, may. cause them to rot. All this \ risk-, should be avoided by making the - f <Slainp-narrow and not too high. (3) iWant -of ventilation is a very Serious fault, and is the cause of many '.troubles. It is easy to understand that i:fairly large hulk of potatoes thrown , iH'a heap will generate some heat and -cases, 1 and unless there is efficient ventilation to allow these gases to Bothing can happen but loss of flavour to»d condition.- To avoid these three fatal when choosing a position 'fojj' the clamp select one that is well , drained, and if it is a little higher than the' me&n level of the garden or field all ,the better. If on the south side of ft,fence or building, it is better than on ■ north,' because the temperature is ■ joore'i'equable,' if rather lower. The Width and height of the potatoes must, or. should, be determined according to -tho .ventilation given.. If the ventilating'"shafts" are fairly big, then a wide clamp may be formed; but when the ventilating shafts are small the * heap should tie narrow, say, five feet wide at the bottom, and about three ,feet six.inghes high. The most efficient ventilator is made of straw wisps, about six or eight inches in diameter, lied loosely and standing upright on the?bottom and come above the clomp ■with; the "potatoes put" around them. These wisps of straw should stand on the bottom and come above the clamp about eight inches. There should be a. vent to every four feet, as these afford an excellent escape for all gases and foul air. -The potatoes ma'y be covered with •bay,-straw or soil, just what the owner • ;may favour most; but a few inches of straw' anc9 a- little soil are the best, as strong winds may blow away hay and Straw, exposing the. potatoes, but soil w s ill : remain' until removed by hand. V <C E.G." writes: " What causes broccoli to run up to seed before the hearts -are -formed?" Hie.cause is "Starved ' p.-the seedling stage," a condition , : which is the result of over-crowding in the seed-bed. This seed is very cheap, ■several thousand seeds being sold for ; sixpence, and when a lot of seed is 'bought a lot is sown, although only a -few dozen plants are required. The distribution of penny packets has much *9 commend it, as one of these contains enough seeds for any ordinary, garden ' of one variety. Broccoli and every member of the great Brassica family :felioqld never suffer any check from the time the seed is sown, until growth is complete. Cabbage, savoy and kale ■will give fair returns after having a eliafht check, but cauliflowers and broc- , coli never. Readers of this column •.will remember that every spring the ; sowing of' cauliflowers (especially early ■Varieties) is advocated where thev are ,to mature,- just as in thu of car- ■ rots and turnips. This is to avoid any - check. Another method suggested every spring is that should the seedlings come up rather crowded to pull up a number and throw away, rather tha!n leave them 'to spoil the whole batch. The object of broccoli and cauliflower is to develop a head of ■ flower, •' and as >it the first ch«vk the growth receives the plant forms its " flower, these plants should be kept : growing as vigorously as possible from •the time the seeds are sown until Naitrire,has finished its season's work. Cutting some. of the roots in the way '♦' E.G." has tern a.lrisc-i would not heir) the plants,, but tend to make a bad condition worse. Seed-sowing should be taught in our primary schools, as if a boy learns the rijht method when < young it means a lot in after life, and •the community would be all the better off ,in health and wealth if everyone knew the simple facts of raisinc seeds. ,'.--A correspondent writes: —" Can you ■ give ms advice on the treatment of cucumbers in a garden frame? I find eome of the cucumbers die away after -being" about half-grown." r ,(' ; Overcrowding is the cause. There .lire too many shoots and leaves in the

frame, and consequently the stems do not get enough light and air; and the wood (vine) does not get thoroughly ripe and in an unripe or immature condition cannot develop - the cucumbers. Tho same conditions affect marrows in the same way, and to avoid this it is advisable to regulate the growths and thin the leaves should these* get overcrowded. TV hat, is required is a free, natural growth, as opposed to ' overcrowding. Every leaf must be thoroughly exposed to tho light, as overcrowding will have to bo paid for by loss of many fruits. Plants that have beqome overcrowded should have a number of the shoots out out and the others stopped to promote the development of fruit. Remove a few of tho large leaves to admit light and air to circulate freely between the leaves and steins. Shoots that have borne fruits should be cut back, when others will form and bear fruits. By this method a constant sirpply can be maintained all through the summer. FLOWER GARDEN. Dahlias which are making rampant growth should be thinned at once, as plants over-loaded with shoots cannot give good blossoms, and those that do come are mostly buried in the leaves and are of very little use for garden decoration. Many annuals have formed a lot of seed pod 3, and unless these are removed another lot of blossoms is impossible. As grass on lawns is making great growth, put the machine down a little and cut it trather close. Roll the lawn after rain and remove all weeds that can bo seen. The shoots of climbing plants should be, kept tied and regulated, as if the growths are allowed to become tangled it is impossible to thorn without breaking most of them, resulting in a loss of flowers next season. Lilium Candidum, the Christmas lily, should bo transplanted, now, as this varietv flowers early. Transplanted now, it will send up new growth next month, but if transplanted after the/ new spike leaves the bulb the growth will flag and possibly the flowers will shrivel up. Seedlings of wallflower, alyssum, Canterbury Bells, polyanthus, _ etc., should be prickfcd off, as if left in the seed bed they do not make as much fibrous roote as the plants that are pricked off, ' and consequently cannot make such compact plants. Aquilegias, if left crowded in the seed patches, often rot for the want of room. Rust being very bad on hollyhocks, remove all the leaves most affected arid burn them, then spray the plants with a weak solution of Bordeaux mixture. Red spider is another pest that Is very troublesome to hollyhocks. Kerosene emulsion is a good remedy.