GARDENING NOTES.

Waipawa Mail, Volume LXII, Issue 96, 31 July 1935, Page 4

GARDENING NOTES.

THE WORK OF THE WEEK. VEGETABLES. Plant out autumn-sown onions, also cabbages, cauliflowers, and lettuces. Trench or deeply dig any ground required for carrots, parsnips, etc. Deeply-dug and well-worked soil is necessary to ensure good straight roots. Plant rhubarb in good, rich, wellworked soil. Asparagus beds may be planted. The roots should be spread out evenly all round, the crown of the plant being placed on a slight hill. Sow broad beans, early peas, carrots, turnips, beet, radish, lettuce, and spinach. Seeds require very little covering at this season and the seed beds should be in the warmest and best drained position available. As far as possible, whenever conditions are favorable, get every plot dug over and put in readiness for sowing and planting. PrUne fruit trees. Stone fruits require first attention and this work should be completed without further delay. Some of the early varieties are already coming into bud. After pruning, gather up all prunings and burn them.

Fruit tree planting should be gone on with.

FLOWER GARDEN. Wet weather holds up most work in the garden. Tree and shrub planting may be continued as soon as the soil is fit to work, but it is wiser to postpone the work if the soil is very sodden. Continue to prune roses and flowering shrubs. Hydrangeas may be pruned. Cut out any dead wood, useless weak growths, and shorten hack the remainder to strong eyes. Annuals for summer display may be sown in boxes under glass. In seaside districts where the soil is sandy the hardiest annuals may be sown in the open ground. Seedlings of nemesia, calendulas, Iceland poppies, pansies, and similar plants may be put out. Endeavor to keep down seedling weeds by lightly digging them under. Hoeing is practically useless while the soil is wet. Loosen the soil along the rows of sweet peas. A further sowing may be made to produce plants to flower after the early ones are over. LEAF MOULD. USEFUL IN EVERY GARDEN.

Leaf mould is one of the most useful things to have in the garden. It may be used with advantage for topdressing all hard-wooded shrubs such as rhododendrons; for promoting the growth of seedlings it is unsurpassed; and numerous plants, such as primulas, cinerarias, etc., thrive wonderfully where there is a fair amount of tbisi material in the soil. Leaf soil is formed of the leaves of trees that fall naturally and are kept moist. There is no better leaf soil than that which is formed naturally, the reason being that the moisture to which the leaves are subjected is never excessive. They may, at times, become dry, hut eventually they decay and become available for use in the garden. If leaves are constantly saturated with water they retain their freshness for a long time. We find such leaves under water in creeks and in the bush. To cause a natural decay the leaves should be gathered as they fall and placed in flat heaps—not high, conical-shaped ones—in some convenient place. In any great quantity they engender heat and become spoilt, but if the heap is turned over every four or five weeks, such excessive heat will be arrested and a natural rotting take place. Shake out the leaves loosely and sprinkle water on them if dry. Do not tread down the heap; let it settle gradually. The turning should be continued throughout the summer, and more water used when needed. In the course of 18 months the mass should be flakey and sufficiently decayed for use. Without turning a head may require from two to three years to decay. If fresh leaves are gathered and treated in separate heaps annually, leaf-soil will always be. available. Sticks and foreign matter should be picked out. Lime and ammoniacal liquor will bring about decay in a shorter time, or salt sprinkled over each layer will have the same effect, but the mould may not be as good for plants as that rotted in a natural way.

WHAT TO DO AND HOW TO DO IT.

very long period, producing sprays of bloom suitable for cut flowers. The plants do not take up much space in the garden, being equally suitable for small or large gardens. The polyantha roses may be used either as single specimens or in beds of one variety, or again as a low hedge to divide the flower garden from the vegetable plot. Another very satisfactory method of growing them is in groups with perennial plants such as delphiniums interspersed. The various shades lend themselves to a variety of color schemes. The pruning of polyantha roses does not present any difficulty. They may be cut back freely at almost any time of the year if blooming' has been so constant as to have weakened the plant. Withered flowers should, of course, be removed as they appear. The bushes may be trimmed back in February and a regular pruning given in July when the other roses are being pruned. If the bushes are getting too dense it is advisable to thin out the shoots somewhat right from the base, leaving strong, healthy growths only. MAIDEN-HAIR FERNS. DIFFICULT TO GROW IN A ROOM. Pot plants are always somewhat difficult to grow in a room, the varying temperatures and smoky atmosphere interfering with their well-be-ing. Maiden-hair ferns like a shady, damp position, but it should be remembered that less shade and moisture are required in the winter than in the summer. All plants hate draughts, so the pots should be stood in a sheltered position. All dead fronds should be removed at this season and, if the plants require repotting', the work may he done now. Use good fibrous loam with a little leafmould and sand, making the compost fairly firm and not filling the pot more than within half an inch of the top. This allows room for watering. Where the pot is stood inside a bowl, two small blocks (wood would do) should be placed underneath the pot so that air can get to all parts. Watering should he done sparingly, hut the soil should never be allowed to become too dry, and on no account should the pot be allowed to stand in a saucer with water. After watering, any surplus water which drains into the saucer should be tipped out at once.