THE GARDEN

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16938, 12 January 1923, Page 11

THE GARDEN

Hfelp and Hints for Amateurs

KITCHEN GARDEN. Seeds to Sow.—Beans, cabbage, endive, lettuce, onions (for salad), parsley, peas, radish, spinach, turnip. AVhat to Plant.—Broccoli, cabbag?, celery, leeks, winter greens. Attend to tlio mulching of beans, peas, etc. The shootß of these plants are very soft, and a spell of heat would soon make them flag, and alv> evaporate the moisture from the soil. Mulching will conserve the moisture and keep the soil cool. Peas and beans are worth a little extra attention Damping them overhead after a hoc day will keep them in growing condition, and this applies not only to loaf and stem, but, to the crop. Beans soon get stringy if the leaves flag for want of water, and peas get hard be fore they ar© full grown. Tlirips will attack peas and red spider beans if they want for moisture, and once these pests get established they are hard to ge got rid 01. As prevention is better tliau cure, spray the plants after a hot day. Onions. • Every encouragement should be- given this important crop. Frequently want of water is the caiue of the dreaded mildew, and while .1 may be impossible to w r ater large areas in field culture, beds in our gardens can and should be watered during -v epell of dry hot weather. Bulbs pay for feeding, but this should be done with great care. Watering with manure water once a week will keep them growing fast, but it may be diili cult to get enough manure water. The following materials make a good stimu lant; —On© pound of nitrate of sod>» one pound of superphosphate, one pound of kanint. and three ounces of fculphate of iron mixed with thirty gallons of water. If the bed is too small for this quantity make fifteen gallons by using half of the materials mentioned. This mixture must not be applied overhead, but put to the root-; Use a watering can with a fairly long spout, and pour the mixture gentlv along the sides of each row. Soot water is excellent for spraying onion*, being both a stimulant and an insecticide. Many a crop has been kept free from mildew by the frequent sprayings with soot water. 'Marrow* are growing very fast since the last heavy rain. Go over the plants once a week and remove all superflous shoots and leaves to admit plenty of light* and air to the ma.n stem ‘ and fruit. These plants revel ir. plenty of moisture, and if you want large fruits for winter use, don’t stint the woter. The same remark applies to all salad plants. To have these tender, crisp and digestable, give plenty of water regularly. HARDY FRUITS. In some districts there are exceptional quantities of fallen apples. Most of these will be moth infested, and they should be gathered up and destroyed. It is well to collect all fa lion fruits promptly to prevent the insects from leaving the fruits, and getting back to the trees again. WJiero there are many moth eaten fruits it is a good plan to put bunds round the stem of each tree. While grease band is tied on fairly tightly the moths sacking will make good -.raps i: l and i' tied on fairly tightly the moth (pr j£TubsJ <M4iuut pasts* and they make

themselves comfortable in the hand. Later on the bond should be examined and the insects destroyed. In small gardens, where there are. but few trees ’.t is best to burn the bands. Collect all windfalls and destroy all that cannot be used. ■ Strawberries.—The young plantlets are growing, fast this summer. Watch them constantly. Keep the bed free from weeds and runners. These will persist in coming, and unless prompt, ly removed take light, air and moisture from the layers that were pegged down several weeks back. Prepare the ground for the young plants as soon ns possible to give it time to settle down before the plants arc put in them fruiting quarters. Deep cultivation some good manure, soot and bonedust thoroughly mixed with the soil will produce good results. Some prefer to apply the soot and bonedu-.t just before setting out tile plants. The quarter is manured and trenched, left several weeks to settle down, and a few days before the plants are set out the soot and bonedust are sown broadcast and forked in some six inches deep. FLOWER GARDEN. Budding Roses.—The season has arrived for budding roses, replacing tho<» that do not thrive well, and others | that do not give satisfaction. Recruits i are added annually to the number <n rose growers, with the result that many gardens have a beautiful display of roses during the season. Roses generally, do- well in all districts, but souk* are influenced more than others ny local conditions. Therefore, when one or more tail to teach vour expectations, replace such with other varieties. If gives greater interest if one propagates the plants themselves, an 1 grower should not raise a few plants. The work is easy, pleasant and interesting. Cuttings of briars arc made and put in during the carlv winter and budded carlv in the summer \ leuhints on budding will be of assistance to new growers. The stork should he healthy and growing freely, with a free flow of sap. Buds should bo take i from healthy plants, selecting that are plump, and from -which the wood will part from the bark casj| v without having to use undue force Have everything ready so that the operation can be done as expeditions!v as possible. In cutting th e bark n.kcare that the hark only is cut. Press the bud down to the base of the slit, -and tie the bud in a s soon a* possible' taking care that the bud is Iml,l quite close to the stem If the stock is growing freely the bud will unite with U in a few- days, but it. will be two weeks before one can tell positively f it, has taken. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS A H—There are quite a. number of good varieties of cabbage suitable for the present sowing, some much larger than others. EufieM Market is one of the very best. ‘-Bolting” is the result of old seed. Yes. American Pillar is grown as a bush plant. Amateur. Probably your marrows are overcrowded with shoots and leaves or planted in a position where they have too much shade. Amateur Gardener—Spray the lower side ui r lie cucumber leaves with a solution of Kntukillar.