Gardening Notes

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 145, 20 June 1936, Page 13

Gardening Notes

(BT ALKANET).

WORK FOR THE WEEK

THE FLOWER GARDEN. Prepare new Rose beds and plant Roses. Prune climbing Rosys, tying in the young growths for next season’s flowering. * Plant deciduous trees and shrubs. Stir the soil between Anemones and Ranunculi. Pull out weeds by hand. Hedges of Macrocarpo and Lawsoniana can be cut. Prepare ground and plant hedges. Stake early flowering Sweet Peas. A sowing of Sweet Peas can be made. Plant out Calendulas, Cornflowers, Violas, Pansies, Gaillardias, Coreopsis. Seedlings must be pricked out when ready. Herbaceous borders can be renovated and manured. Cut down any Dahlias left and lift the tubers. Store in a dry position. THE GREENHOUSE. Attend carefully to watering. Use no more than necessary. Do everything possible to prevent the growth of moss or lichen on soil or pots. Perpetual Carnation cuttings can be taken off. A sowing of Tomato seed can be made, also a few Cucumbers. 'This is the dull season so do not attempt to force growth unless there is plenty of artificial heating. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. Sow Broad Beans. Stake Peas where necessary and make another sowing. Lettuce sown earlier can be transplanted. Another pinch of both Cabbage and Cos sorts should be sown. When sowing Cabbage Lettuce during winter choose some of the small heading sorts, such as Mignonette. A sowing of Shorthorn Carrots can be made, also Turnip-rooted Beet. Prepare the bed for Onions by trenching or deep digging. This should be done now so that the soil can consolidate before planting time. Weed autumn-sown Onions. Prepare ground for Potato planting. Sprout the sets in readiness for planting. Look any Onions, etc., in store. Remove any specimens showing signs of growth or decay. Lift and replant the Herb bed. Every garden should have a collertion of Herbs. Make a sowing of Parsley. THE FRUIT GARDEN. Pruning should be done as soon as possible. After pruning apply a winter spray. Clean up and burn all primings, dead wood or leaves. Tree planting can be done now. Prepare the site well, drainage be rg the chief consideration. Plant bush fruits such as currants, Gooseberries and Raspberries. Make new plantations of Rhubarb.

SEED DISTRIBUTION

NATURAL METHODS OF PRESERVATION The seed vessels c-f the Himalayan balsam (Impatieng roylei) eject the seeds when ripe in a singular manner. The fruits is about an inch long, four angled, and when ripe the upper haif of the fruit splits in four, don awards, the valves curling inwards and throwing the hard, round Leeds in all directions. To take hold of one of these ripe fruit with the linger and thumb is to experience a shock as when handling some small, wriggling insect. The weed known as shepherd s purse also distributes its seed by the opening of the seed vessel when ripe. Gorse and broom are examples of this ; anyone standing near a clump of either on a sunny day in autumn can easily hear the sharp cracking of the pods as they burst. The seeds of thistle. Cape weed, or of dandelion travel considerable distances. The seed of willow and poplflis are blown about in much the same manner as those of the thistle, but there is less cottony substance surrounding their seed, though on the tree in the mass, the white, buffy, cottonlike seed cases are conspicious. The ash, sycamore and maples have seeds that are provided with wings by means of which they are carried a distance, floating on the wind, turning round and round us they go, finally coming to earth with the seed downward. The seed of a single birch, alder, or beech in full bearing must be reckoned in tens of thousands. On a sunny day, in a •wood of pines, one may hear an almost continual crackling which resembles far-off rifle fire; it is caused by the opening of the cones, under the influence of the sun’* rays. Pine cones expand and contract according to the weather being dry or moist. Even after the seeds arc shelled the cones will remain with their scales open in dry weather. Should rain fall, however, they close again quite tightly, opening again when dry, and this goes on according to the weather, until decay sets JVHY NOT SOME EARLY ROSES? Trees potted up now will flower early and you can have roses blooming in pots’ many weeks before the outdoor plants are even in bud. In an ordinary greenhouse they will com mence to bloom in August. Ordinary bushes can be used for the purpose. There is no need for specially prepared plants and you can choose almost any varieties you iike. The dainty Polyantha roses, with their clusters of brilliant blooms, also do splendidly in pots, especially the lovely orange scarlet Gloria Mundi, the deep pink Ella Poulsen and the white Catherine Zcimet. Do not use unduly large pots; roes do not like them. The six-inch or at most eight-inch size will do for the strongest of the bushes; the live or six-inch size for the Polyanthus. For soil use a mixture of loam, three parts, and well-rotted manure, one part, with a sprinkling of sand. Add a good hand*»»J of J>onc meal to each peck of courpost. Before potting cut back the strong growing roots to a length of about live inches and pot firmly. hen potting roses first put a little soil into the pot and make this firm with a rammer. Then set the plants in position, trickle soil between and over the roots until the latter are covered, and rain again. The potted roses should remain outdoors until the end of June, being plunged to the pot rim in ashes. Then, before they are taken into the green house pruning must be done, the shoots of the weaker-growing bushes being cut back to two eyes, those of the stronger bushes to four eyes. Polyanthas need very little pruning. All you nee J is to cut out shcots which are too weak to bloom and prune unripened shoots.

SOIL PASTEURISATION BY ELECTRICITY

Experiments carried out by the New Yofck State Agricultural Experimental Station in the pasteurisation of greenhouse soil with electric heat has given satisfactory control of damping uff caused mainly by Pythium ultimum (trew) and to a lesser extent by Rhizotonia solani and Botrytissp. Most weed seeds except clover and an occasional purslane seed, as well as nematodes and insects, arc kilted likewise. The chief advantage of the electric pasteuriser is that soil may be heated to a relatively low temperature (between 43 and 5U degrees Centigrade) and then allowed to cook for .12 hours or more without additional heat. This saves expense and does not injure the soil as steam ing does. SWEET PEAS WILL NEED PROTECTION The young sweet peas from the autumn sowing outdoors arc quite hardy enough to withstand the cold and frosts. But unless they are shielded against the biting winds, losses will be many. The best protection is branches pressed into the soil alongside the row to form a breakwind. Excessive dampness in winter is another fruitful source of trouble, and it will be more than ever necessary to keep the soil well stirred so that surplus moisture can drain away. A good plan in a damp garden is to hoc up a little sou around the stem of each seedling, so that the rain will run off the sides of the little mound instead of soaking straight down to the roots, or better still, before sowing or planting to draw the soil mto a ridge, and plant or sow on that. THIN SEEDLINGS Seedlings of annuals, both self sown and those that were sown by hand, and are now fair good plants should he thinned and the surplus plants cither planted or thrown out. Do not ruin the one you actually require by leaving unwanted plants to crowd them or rob them of plant food. THE TOMATO HOUSE SOWING AND PLANTING The tomato is easily grown, but if weight of crop and quality of fruit are desired, it is essential to attend to cultural details in the early stages of the plant’s existence. A greenhouse fully exposed to the sunlight is necessary. There are two ways to make a start in growing tomatoes. One is to raise the plants from seeds and the other to purchase plants later on ready for planting out. If the latter method is adopted it is a wise policy to buy short-jointed, healthy specimens and reliable varieties. It is false economy to purchase examples merely because they are cheap. Seeds may be sown new for the early crop under glass. Select clean pots or pans, which should be filled one-fourth of their depth with drainage material. Nearly fill the receptacles with light soil and sand and give a thorough watering a few hours before sewing the seed. Sow thinly and cover with soil to a depth of a quarter of an inch. For germination a temperature of 60 to 63 degrees is best. Each pan should be covered with a pane of glass to conserve moisture. If water is needed before the seeds germinate use a fine rosed can and tepid water. Germination of Seeds Tomato seeds germinate rather quickly, so they must be closely watched and the glass removed directly the seedlings are through the soil. When this stage is reached stand the pots or pans on a shelf near the roof

glass and gradually inure to full sunlight. When the young plants have made one or two rougu leaves they may be pricked off into boxes. Use tepid water when watering and if the sun is bright shade for a lew days. Maintain a temperature of 6U degrees if possible. At this period growth will be fairly rapid and root action vigorous. Avoid over watering, but care must be taken to prevent the other extreme. If seeds are sown now, sturdy young plants will be available for planting iu the glasshouse in July. From this sowing ripe fruits may reasonably be expected under glass by the end of November. The uniting quarters must be in full sunshine, wnere the atmosphere should be comparatively dry Plants are Otten successful in boxes »c-r tins, but planting out entails the least amount of labour and usually produces the best crops. It is often tu e most convenient for amateurs who may be compelled to leave their greenhouse unattended the greater part of the day. Under the planting out method the roots are much less likely to suffer from dryness. If the soil is poor add a small proportion of old manure. Rule for Manuring Tomatoes do not need a very rich soil to start with, otherwise the growth, will be rank and trusses of flowers, especially the first ones, will fail to set. Feeding will be of more advantage later on when some fruit has set and slowed down the growth. Make the soil firm before planting; this will aid in producing the shortjointed growth which will be the most fruitful. Stakes or stout string should be provided to keep the plants up straight as they grow. Strings are fixed to the roof at one end and the other end tied to a peg in the soil. No tying is required in this method, the plant being just turned around the string as it grows.