THE GARDEN

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18785, 14 June 1929, Page 16

THE GARDEN

NOTES FOR THE AMATEUR

By

D. COMBRIDGE

The continuation of the fine weather still makes much gardening- work possible that usually has to be put off until later, owing to heavy rains. The planting of roses, fruit trees, shrubs and roots should be put in hand while the soil is warm and friable. Seed sowing is at a standstill until possibly the end of July, according to weather conditions. Where readers have a small conservatory seed of stock ten week mixed, carnation, dianthus. antirrhinum and one or two similar things may be sown, but only moderate success may be expected since the conditions are not good, and it is an experienced man s work to get things to grow out of season.

Seed potatoes may be procured and be laid out in seed trays to green and sprout. This work cannot be started too soon after June has come. All that is necessary is a light, airy shed with little or no sunshine playing on the tubers. The early varieties are: Sharp’s Express, Epicure, Robin Adair, Early Rose, Jersey Bennes and Snowdrop Kidney. For heavy land avoid a pink potato; they will turn out too waxy.

No opportunity should be lost to turn over any vacant ground and allow what is to come of bad weather to have its full effect. Parsnips should be lifted and have the frost on them, as also should rhubarb crowns that have been in for some years. Readers who have no roots should procure them now. It is a good time to plant, and there are some good roots offering. This also suggests such useful adjuncts to the vegetable garden as thyme, sage and lavender. Do not miss putting these things in now. A plant of each is not expensive, and will prove most useful. Chives, another useful herb, obtainable by roots in winter, comes in for attention now; its use is well known in the culinary department. Eschalots should be planted in June on the shortest day and dug on the longest, but invariably we find them left until quite late in the year. In consequence, some of their usefulness is lost.

Pruning and Spraying. Prior to particularising upon this annual duty that is the garden lover’s lot it might be helpful to give some word of encouragement to those who feel that the first is beyond their comprehension, and the second beyond their patience. With so much in print and so much being said about pruning it may well be remarked it is confusion worse confounded to write more. The most confused things are with a little care made plain, and pruning becomes a delight when the pruner makes of his tree an object lesson to himself and his friends. To make a tree do what you require in the way of fruit-bearing is an art that none need fear to acquire; it is easier where only a few trees are kept, as is the case with most of our readers. Where a tree has been established for many years, and is several feet high, as so many pear trees are, the usual plan is to allow it to do its best every year, but where trees are young or in the making there is a real joy in watching them do what you wish them to. The interest may begin by marking and watching the progress of one part of the tree. The marking is essential, since it is so easy to forget which part of the tree is under observation, and just for what purpose it was intended to watch it. Take, for an example, a tree that has borne very well but which appears to be going back: Its fruits are smaller, less flavoured, and its leaves are not so healthy-looking, nor its growth so vigorous. Usually this is attributable to over-cropping. That is to say, the fruiting habits of the tree have been formed too ?arly in its life history, and they are in the ascendancy, the consequence being that the sap that should go to growth and foliage development is being put into the fruits. The interest will lie in this case in watching the effect of reducing the fruit-bearing properties of the tree and seeing the growth again obtain the ascendancy. The fact that a tree has been planted a n'umber of years usually ensures good root development. and it is safe to assume that the root system is bound to send up an ample supply of sap to resuscitate a tree and give it the necessary balance of growth over fruiting. Clean Fruit. In regard to spraying, this calls for no more care or regularity than is bestowed upon the sowing, weeding and thinning of vegetable seeds, and is followed by more encouraging results in this at least, that the resultant crop is easier to handle, cleaner. and less trouble to prepare for meals. There are two or three times in the season when spraying must be done to ensure clean fruit, and when carefully done it is most effective. It would appear from various reports among those interested in trees that the season just past has been very bad for the ravages of Red Spider, and it i.s evident by the results that our local inspectors are examining home gardens and recommending spraying to be done as a control. It is found that Red Oil does control this pest, as

well as many of the scale insects. A winter spraying of oil or caustic soda mixture, of which the recipe will be given later, should be applied after pruning is complete. Pruning: As outlined above this becomes intensely interesting as the results of the work are marked and noted. It is usual to describe its treatment as from a young well grown nursery tree, since in these there is no confusion in alluding to terms descriptive of various parts of the tree, but by far the larger number of our readers have older trees that are more puzzling. Especially is this so with Japanese plums, peaches, nectarines and pears. There appears to be such a mass of twigs and branch lets that it is a wonder how to make any headway without adding to the confusion next season. In the case of a pear that has gone up too high, it is safe and advisable to top it; the lower branches will receive the added supply of sap and will mature many a dormant fruit bud, thus bringing the fruit nearer the ground. The abundant supply of new shoots that will arise from the cut branches can be dealt with next winter pruning, thinning them down to a profitable number.

Annual pruning of large trees that have not been properly framed when young is not necessary, but correct thinning of fruit spurs and fruit bearing laterals is necessary and wise. In the case of peaches and nectarines, fifteen to twenty years is the profitable life of these trees, but in home gardens a tree may be often rejuvenated by cutting its main branches hard back and allowing it to break away freshlj'-. Japanese plums respond freely to this process as the old branches are full of dormant buds that quickly make up for what is cut out. Apples, cherries and English plums do not answer so readily to this treatment. The cherry has a tendency to bleed after being cut back and the other two make what are known as water sprouts, shoots that give leaves and branches and no fruit spurs. Difference in Buds. The most necessary thing to observe on any tree before pruning is to note where its fruit is carried, and what is the difference between fruit buds and growth buds. The rule is that fruit buds are fat and plump; growth buds are thin and narrow and they lie close to the bark. The next thing to notice is the difference between new and old wood. New wood indicates growth made during the season just past; old wood may be of any 'age, but it can be gauged by its position on the tree. The length and condition of the new wood has a marked influence upon what pruning is to be done. For example, if it is short and thin growth has not been good and it must be encouraged. The other thing is to note the relation of one branch in respect to its near neighbours. This leads to the understanding of those terms leader, lateral, fruiting shoot, fruit spur, etc. Lastly, the behaviour of the fruit bearing portion of the tree after fruit has been carried is most instructive. It does not need a very close examination to reveal thp fact that there are scars where the fruit stems have been growing and beyond them is found either fresh fat buds for next year’s fruit as in apple and pear, cherry and English plum spurs, or new growth containing buds in interesting formation extending beyond the portion that has borne fruit, as in peach, nectarine and Jap plum. In the case of older trees the experience is to find fruit being produced near the top of the tree, its weight deflecting the upward growth of the leadei and making the branch all out of shape. The correct thing to do is to remove the fruit-bearing portion of this branch for a good way down its length and shorten back last season’s growth by three-quarters of its length. It is seldom wise to cut back into last year’s wood. but if it must be done owing to so little growth being made during the, past season, then cut back to the place where it started from. This may be identified by a slight swelling and the appearance of leaf scar marks very closely placed together. The stone fruits, as peach, nectarine and Jap plum, carry their fruit upon lateral growths of one year old and these are produced from the main branches. Where they are overshaded or overcrowded they quickly die out, and it is the renewal of these that is so necessary. In the older trees these also creep up to the top of the branches and thhy are encouraged to be produc : ed luwer down by hard top pruning and by completely removing every alternate lateral down the branch. English plums and pears are renovated by what is spoken of as spur pruning. The spurs arc cut back to half their growth and the trees are topped if getting too tall. Apples very easily over-bear, and these must have very drastic treatment along the main arms by removing the fruit buds and laterals growing near the top, and by shortening back the last year’s growth as hard as possible.