THE HOME GARDEN

Waipa Post, Volume 49, Issue 3555, 8 December 1934, Page 4

THE HOME GARDEN

(By M.H,W.)

._ ~ s t WORK FOR THE WEEK. 'i' THE FLOWER GARDEN. Contiriue ; the planting out of Hahlias. Plant out chrysanthemums' in rich Boil. ...;,. Help your hydrangeas by frequent waterings and weekly applications of liquid manure. Remove the faded blooms of rose bushes to: prevent the formation of seed... . .:'.::'' Sweet peas are now working fast; they can be encouraged to produce big blooms over a long period by frequent waterings, regular appication of liquttt ;manure,; ahift removal r.v" faded flowers. Green fly is prevalent in many districts; ; combat it by spraying with nicotine sulphate diluted in soapy , water.' Continue the planting out of all bedding plants. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. Thin out seedling crops of parsnips, carrots and beet. Tomatoes can still be planted out in all districts. ,- Plant out marrows, pumpkins, cucumbers, melons and kumeras. Make sowings of lettuce and radishes at intervals of two or three weeks to ensure a succession of greens. All pip fruits require spraying at intervals of three weeks to check codlin moth. Use arsenate of lead, 1A lb paste or £ lb powder to 50 gallons of water. TIMELY TOPICS. NOTES, NEWS AND VIEWS. Paeonies have now produced their best blooms; do not make the mistake of cutting back the foliage.' Paeonies require all available leaf growth, which should be allowed to die off naturally. Lawn mowings spread lightly over seed beds will often prevent birds pulling up the young seedlings. When using weed killers, make certain that sufficient is applied to reach the roots of the weeds; sprinkling is of little use. .-•*. HERBACEOUS BORDERS. The herbaceous border is an important garden feature, and should be given a prominent position. The colour of the flowers and the time of flowering must be considered when planting the border. Arrange the plants so .that the colours blend rathi er than clash with one another. Harmony rather than contrast should be the rule in colour arrangement. When a definite'plan of decided upon, time, and trouble are saved .if the plants, of. which the flowers are approximately the same colour, but a little later .than each in appearance, are planted or grouped near together so as to keep the various parts of the border, in. continuous flower. The growth, of the individual plants must be considered when planting a border. Select the tallest growing plants for the back of the bed and the lower growing ones for • the outside positions. Grouping must also be considered, for it is often found that a plant that is ineffective when grown as a . single'specimen is a very desirable subject'for a border when grown in or "masses". The ideal position for the herbaceous border'is'one that is" open to "the sun for the'greater part of the day and protected' from cold and strong winds. The soil is important, and on its preparation depends the success or failure of the border. For general purposes a loamy, well drained soil will give the most satisfactory results. If you soil is heavy or clayey, it must be thoroughly drained, trenched to a depth of at least, 2ft, and plenty of strawy stable manure and leaf mould added and worked in. Where good stable mlanufe" is- hot • procurable green refuse or the tops of leafy plants, will make a good • substitute. Lime used in fair quantities will help 'to break up the clay, and if roughly exposed after digging the air will also help in the breaking up of the soil. A good, forking will then make the ground.in the right condition for planting. : Light, sandy soil will pot require as much drainage as heavy soil, but it should be. trenched well and-plenty, of good manure should be worked in. Any soil that is lacking in lime must be supplied with it. Whatever the nature .of the. soil deep digging should be done. Most borders are planted with the idea of permanency to. a.certain extent. .The plants may remain undisturbed as a .general rule for two years.- At the end of that time.l if i the

majority, if not the whole of the plants, and re-dig and manure the ground thoroughly. Unless this is done, the stronger growing plants encroach on the weaker and less vigorous ones, and may ultimately kill them outright. Lift the plants and divide, and replant only the younger parts. GROWING TOMATOES. POINTS TO REMEMBER. Removing the foliage: This is a real trap for many amateur growers of tomatoes-. Some go to the extent of removing nearly all the la'rge leaves in quite the early stages of the plant's growth. The result is that the fruits ripen prematurely, and the weight of the crop is not a tithe ' of what it should have been. You will do no harm by removing the tips of the largest leaves, after a good crop is set, or at the end of the season, to encourage ripening. But defoliation early in the 'season is suicide to the plants. Watering errors: The tomato is a moisture loving plant. But it dislikes too much moisture, resulting in sodden soil, just as much as too little. When the soil is beginning to dry out, showing that water is required, give sufficient to soak the soil right through—up to as much as two gallons per large plant during hot weather. In ordinary circumstances, to give water once every two days is sufficient. Do not give water late in the evening.

Feeding too early: This causes the flowers to drop or the fruits to crack. The correct time to start feeding is as soon as the flrst truss of fruit has set. Soot water is one of the best things for tomatoes. It induces good stocky growth, dark green foliage and fruit's of splendid size and colour. Superphosphate of lime, a handful to three gallons of water, given alternately with soot water, has beneficial effects. Or the superphosphate can be applied by sprinkling loz around each plant, stirring it into the soil and watering afterwards. If this feeding is done once a week when the plants are carrying heavy crops, the development of the fruit will be greatly assisted. You can break all records in tomato growing by supplementing this feeding by a weekly dressing of one of the well known artificial manures. Neglecting to remove side shoots: If this important matter is not attended to, the plant concentrates • on making a lot of foliage and not fruit. Ex. amine your plants at least three times a week, looking for little growths in the axils of the leaves. Nip these out before they have a chance to get too big. THE SLUG OFFENSIVE. HOW TO FIGHT IT. Warm!, moist weather, such as we have been experiencing in many parts of New Zealand during the past week, is invariably regarded by the slug and snail famjily as a signal for their great offensive against all young growth. These pests constitute the greatest problem which faces the gardener at this time of the year. Slugs are probably about the most destructive of. garden pests and seem able to attack almost all kinds of plants. Most gardeners, amateur and professional, have at one time or 'another lost, promising .beds of seedlings,, due to attacks by slugs. Nor is the damage confined to the open; they often cause havoc aniong plants in frame and greenhou&e. Often a choice plant just coming into bloom is. ruined in a night. The very, large black slugs, sdmetimes three or more inches long, which are often seen about dusk in country, gardens, are almost entirely confined to the country districts. Besides these,, there are smaller black ..and grey-slugs, some of them very small indeed:,, and there is the similar snail. . All of these are equally destructive, but the very small blacks slugs often go unnoticed, and the damage they do is often . to other pests. .It is during moist and shoWei'y weather that, slugs come out and attack seedlings, but the search for slugs should be carried on all the time. During dry hot weather they retreat, into shady places. Under loose litter, such as half-decayed leaves, and under the matted steins of creeping plants, large numbers may be found. During summer many slugs retreat into the clumps of herbaceous perennials and there feed upon the rootstocks and roots, with consequent weakening of the plants.. Almost

every polyanthus or clump of Michaelmas Daisy will be found, upon inspection, to contain its quota of slugs. Persistent' search in these places will .enable large numbers of slugs to be caught. Various methods' of trapping slugs may be employed. The peel of half a grapefruit or orange, inverted upon the soil will, attract a large nulmber of slugs, as will a cabbage leaf placed on the soil.

T-he rock garden is a favourite place for slugs. Under the stones they find a cool, damjp place, and large numbers can often be found on a hot day Hn summer by lifting a stone among the rock plants. Many losses of plants in the rock v garden can be traced to the depredations of slugs, which find shelter under the stones and in the clumps of plants. If slug- damage is suspected in the greenhouse or frame, the place to look for the creatures is under the pots and beneath the staging. It is here that conditions are dark and moist. 'To protect plants, either choice adult plants or seedlings, various devices can be employed. A "ring" of some distasteful substance is generally used. Soot, lime, sulphate of copper or fine ashes are all employed. Of these, soot is as good as any, for besides protecting the plant it has a considerable mararrial value. All of these need to be renewed after rain; after a wetting they become caked and then no longer act as a barrier against slugs. A good method of protecting choice blooms is to soak cotton wool in bordeaux mixture, then tie a ring of this round the stem of the plant. No slug can pass this barrier. All amateur gardeners must realise that to eradicate slugs req.uiires persistent effort, and all devices must be employed. Constant hoeing helps to expose slugs to the birds. Removal of dead litter deprives them of their hiding places; and trapping helps to reduce their numbers. VALUE OF FERTILISERS. WOY YOU MUST MANURE. .Scientific experiments show that plants obtain about ten chemical elements from' the soil. Of these, only three need to be added to the ground; the soil contains an. adequate supply of the others. The three which mlust be added are nitrogent, potash, and phosphate. Calcium in the form of lime should also be applied to the soil. A plant only takes up very small quantities of lime from the soil, but it is necessary to keep the soil in good condition. Lime also helps to set free the dormant potash which many soils, especially heavy ground, contain. Nitrogenous fertilisers stimulate the growth of leafy crops in a remarkable* way, and are therefore specially important for crops like cabbage, which are grown for their leaves. Too much nitrogen causes rank supply growth which is easily attacked by disease.

Phosphates tend to harden up the growth and assist flowering, and so are necessary to balance up the nitrogen and to prevent rank growth. Potash tends to improve the quality and helps to protect the plant against disease. Potash is especially valuable for fruit trees of all kinds. HARDY SHRUBS. THEIR SUMMER TREATMENT. It is a comtmon failing among those who grow hardy shrubs to neglect the bushes during the suim(mer months. There could be no greater error especially in a dry season such as is being experienced. Any attention that can be given them duinng the height of summer has a much greater effect on the welfare of the bushes than is generally supposed, and those who have the time would be well advised to undertake the few simple measures necessary to maintain their general health and vitality.. • Pruning as a term applied to shrubs not only consists in the cutting back of strong sheets but also the removal of all old and weak wood, the shortening of all flowering growth back to vigorous new wood, the thinning out of crowded branches and the stopping and pinching of all actively growing young shoots. With so many differing in their habit of growth and time of flowering, it will be understood that no hard-and-fast methods can be laid down. Pruning treatment varies even with the individual species in a genus. Among Buddleias, for example, the treatment to be meted out to one will not suit another. .The well-known B. variabilis, which will be in flower in another feW weeks, wants hard pruning some time in February to en- | couirage the formation of strong

shoots that will carry the handsome sprays to bloom in the later summer. To treat its cousins, B. globosa and the lovely B. alternifolia which have now finished their display for the year, in the' same way would be fatal. With these two species any pruning that is required to keep the shruks shapely and within bounds should be done within the next week or two. None of them calls for a drastic use of the knife, and 1 it will be sufficient to shorten and thin out pome of the growths where these are too crowded..

The mock oranges (philadelphus) and. the diervillas are others that require similar handling this month when their blossom pageant is over. Both these invaluable flowering shrubs.are considerably improved by an annual thinning ovf their growths and the removal of the old flowering branches, which should be cut well back to a point where strong new shoots are evident. Much the same applies to the lilacs, and many more gardeners would ensu're a more regular blossom display on their bushes were they to remove all the old flower clusters and cut out all weak and useless wood, which only hindeis the development and proper maturing of the shoots that will bear the bloom next year. With that charming shrub, the double-flowered Kerria japonica, and its equally beautiful single form, it paiys to cut most of the old flowering stems right down to the ground, to encourage the development of new and strong suckerlike shoots from the base. The handsome white stemmed bramble, Rubus Giraldianus, demands similar treatment if its beauty is to be enjoyed in the winter landscape. The successful flowering of Wistarias lies through proper pruning about this time, when the plants az*e producing many young shoots. Any of those that are 'required to form permanent branches can be tied on to wall, fence, or pergola. The remainder should be cut back to within about four or five leaves of the junction between the old and the new wood to encourage the development of short flowering spurs.

The stopping and pinching of the shoots of many shrubs might be practised more often than it is with considerable advantage. Many of the brooms and the genistas, for instance, will benefit from such treatment, and it will prevent them from becoming leggy and straggly, a common fault With many cytisus species after a few years.