The Home Garden

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 85, Issue 188, 12 August 1941, Page 10

The Home Garden

WORK FOR THE WEEK Vegetable Culture. In the vegetable plot the growing crops must be kept moving by regular hoeing and stirring of the soil. Crops grown for their leaves, such as lettuce and cabbage, must be grown quickly to be crisp and of good flavour. Give weak liquid manure once a week. Cabbage, cauliflower and lettuce are a useful trio to sow now. Sow the seeds thinly, to assure thick-stemmed, sturdy seedlings. If plants are bought see that they are not lanky and are well supplied with roots. Buy the best plants if you want the best vegetables. Long, lanky and rootless seedlings are worthless and a seedsman who knows his business would never offer them for sale. If the plants have long tapering roots, nip off part of the root and replant for two weeks in some sunny spot. When lifted for planting in their permanent positions, you will notice the fresh young roots that have been made. These plants will not look back and will provide greens much earlier than if planted direct to their permanent positions. Another important point to watch when transplanting at this time of the year is not to plant too deep. Just cover the roots with soil and draw the soil to the plants as they grow. Transplanting Vegetable Crops.—ln planting and transplanting vegetable crops, these is need for more care and skill than beginners are apt to bestow upon such operations. Slovenly and unskilful planting not only hinders the proper development of a crop, but also has a bad appearance in the vegetable garden. In the first place, care should be taken to have the rows quite straight, using a garden line stretched quite taut for the purpose. Always choose showery weather if possible for planting, as then the moist earth will encourage the plants to establish themselves better than if planted when the soil is dry. If planting cannot be done in showery weather, plant late in the day, when the sun is less powerful, and give a good watering afterwards. Never expose the roots of the plants to the sun. Cover the plants with leaves until required for planting. Once the roots of a plant have become dried by the sun. the fine ones shrivel, and a severe check to growth is given.

When planting, make the hole fairly large, and not any deeper than the roots. See that the soil is pressed closely to the roots, and not merely at the top only, thereby leaving a hollow space round the roots below. All plants should, as a general rule, be planted deep enough for their seed leaves to just touch the surface of the soil. It is a mistake to allow the plants to remain in the seed bed until they have long stems, and then have to plant the roots so deep that they reach the sub-soil. Spinach—Spinach is one of the most valuable of leaf crops, because it comes into use so quickly, and it can be grown as a catch crop among the crops which take longer to mature, such as peas and beans. It is also of special value as food, and it produces remarkably large quantities of leaves considering the small space it occupies. To get supplies all the year round, different plants are grown—the ordinary spinach (Spinacea oleracea), which provides for spring and early summer; New Zealand spinach (Tetragona expansa), for midsummer and early autumn; and silver beet (Beta Cicla), for winter. There are several other plants which are used as spinach, but these are the mam ones, which are specially cultivated. There are two varieties of the ordinary spinach, one with round seeds, called the summer spinach, and one with prickly seeds, called the winter; but as both are hardy here the round-seeded one is to be preferred. Spinach likes a deeply cultivated and well-manured soil, and after breaking down the soil with the fork, keeping the fine on top, drills an inch deep are drawn and the seeds sown thinly, covered with superphosphate, covered with the soil taken out of the drills, and firmed. The seedlings are thinned out to three inches apart as soon as they are large enough to handle, and later every second plant is pulled as soon as i.he leaves are large enough to use. By making sowings once a fortnight or three weeks, regular supplies are maintained. The New Zealand spinach is especailly valuable for dry, warm weather, when the ordinary spinach runs so readily to seed. It is a spreading plant, and will grow on shingly or sandy soils in a warm, sunny position. Seed can be sown In October, and the plants thinned out to two feet apart in the rows, ft lacks the slight bitterness of the common spinach, but has a pleasant and agreeable flavour. Silver beet, or perpetual spinach, is a perfectly hardy plant which likes a good, rich soil. The seed is sown in September, and the seedlings thinned out to from nine to twelve inches apart. It is a double-purpose vegetable, for the white part of the leaf can be used as seakale and the green part as spinach.

Orchard Sprays Sprays to Use for Apples and Time to Apply.—At the dormant period of winter oil can be applied at the strength of 1 to 20, for the control of scale insects, Woolly Aphis and Red Mite. At early green tip Bordeaux mixture, 5—4—50, or lime sulphur strength of 1 to 30 can be applied for the control of black spot and powdery mildew. Petal Fall: Lime sulphur 1 to 150, plus colloidal 21bs. to 100, plus lead arsenate IHbs. to 100, plus hydrated lime, 31bs. to 100, for tire control of black spot, powdery mildew, codling moth and bronze beetle, a second application to be made ten to fourteen days later, and continued at eighteen-day intervals throughout the season. In February, two applications of summer oil can be made at ten-day intervals for the control of red mite, scale insects, woolly aphis and leaf hopper. Do not apply oil spray until fourteen days have elapsed preceding or following sulphur sprays. Fears. —Dormant period to bud movement, winter oil at the strength ot 1 to 20 can be applied for the control of San Jose and Mussel scales and red mite. Early green tip, apply Bordeaux mixture at the strength of 5—4—50 for the control of black spot. Open cluster to to pink, apply Bordeaux mixture at the strength of 34 —5 for the control of black spot. Petal fall, apply Bordeaux mixture 3—4—50, plus lead arsenate Islbs. to 100 for the control of black spot and codling moth. A second application can be made in fourteen days’ time and can be continued at eighteen to twenty-one day intervals to mid-January, and later if required. February, two applications at ten-day intervals can be made with summer oil at the strength of 1 to 100 for the control of red mite and scale insects. When preparing Bordeaux sprays, dissolve bluestone required in earthenware vessel and then add the quantity of water required. Mix hydrated lime with a little water and add this to the bluestone and water, while being agitated. The materials required to make lour gallons of Bordeaux mixture (5 —4—50) are bluestone 6jozs., hydrated lime 510z5., water 4 gallons; materials required for 3—4—50 are bluestone 3?ozs., hydrated lime 510z5., and water 4 gallons. Small Fruits Berries and small fruits have always had a big place in home plantings, and they will become more important. Many, such as loganberries, grapes, passion fruit, etc., may be trained over otherwise bare fences, while gooseberries, currants, rhubarb and strawberries may be grown between fruit trees. Chinese Gooseberry (Actinidia Chinensls).—A strong deciduous limber, very hardy, with bronzy-green leaves of large size, and yellow Jowers, followed by crops of luscious fruit. They require to be grown on a strong pergola or trellis work (hat should be fully eight feet high with ample space on top, as the plants will put out strong growths that will reach from.twelve to twenty feet in the one season, although such growths can be shortened back to suit the space available. The plants are put in about four to five feet apart, and where only two are grown it is necessary to obtain them in pairs, male and female; but where growing a number, one male to four or five females is sufficient, planting the male in the centre with two or three females on each side. The plants are gross feeders, therefore, requiring to be grown in wellmanured, well-drained soil in an open sunny position. The Boysenberry.—The Boysenberry is stated to be the largest of all berries, averaging Ilins to 2ins. in length, and lin. in diameter, just twice the size of loganberry. The berries are jet black, more the flavour of a raspberry, and they pick, keep, and ship well. The plant produces exceptionally heavy crops; the big vigorous vines are loaded with the large fruit clusters, which start to ripen just when berries are most in demand. Plant the vines 6 feet apjirt and train to a fence or trellis in the same manner as the loganberry. Loganberry. —Excellent for the table, raw, or stewed, and jam. During the growing season new canes are thrown out from the left to grow as they provide the fruit canes for the next season's crop. About the end of January the canes that have fruited should be cut clean out, leaving the fence clear for the next season. Grape Vinos. Albany Surprise: Well-known outdoor grape; hardy, bearing heavy crops of attractive black berries. Black Hamburg: Good for early glass or outdoor cultivation; the finest flavoured grape. Gros Coleman: Large, late, black, under glass variety. Golden Queen and White Muscat: Amber coloured. Goosclx’iiies. Red; Farmers' Glory, a splendid bearer; a first-rate variety, of excellenl flavour and pendulous habit. Lion's Provider, farily erect habit, bearing freely best quality berries. Green and Yellow: Gregory’s I’erfeclion, very early; round; green when picked before fully ripe, but one <>l Hie best "yellows" when allowed to colour on the bush. Currants. Black: American Black Champion, a very line variety, producing enormous bunches of deliciously-flavoured fruit. Bang Up, execplionnlly l.irge berries and a heavy cropper.. Carter's Black Champion. fruit of the largest size, borne in profusion One of the best. Red: l''ay’s Prolific, bellies large and well flavoured; a prolijc bearer. I’crleelion, one of Hie !><•.• I; line-quality berries ana a great bearer. While: White Imperial, transparent white, bunches long, richly flavoured.