GARDENING NOTES.

Wanganui Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 15973, 15 November 1919, Page 6

GARDENING NOTES.

H * By “THRIFTY.” ..

THE KITCHEN HARDEN. The rains during the week have freshened up all garden crops, and there is great growth. The heavy raid has had a disposition to harden the ground. York it up, especially around the plants. Be careful and not disturb the roots. Keep the weeds down and the ground loose by constant cultivation. Plant out tomatoes, kumaras, melons, etc. Continue to sow peas, beans, both runner and dwarf, for succession. Plant but celery in nursery beds. Potatoes may still be planted. Sjjjray and earth up the earlier ones. Sow carrots, turnips, radish, and lettuces for successional supplies. TOMATOES. Now is the best time to plant tomatoes, tbe soil is getting warm and the days longer. There are some few positions where unusual conditions make warmer than is common. Such places can be planted early, but in general | early planting of tomatoes, like early j sowing of French beans, ends in failure. When preparing the ground for tomatoes, it is unwise to add fresh manure. Ground that has been-mannred for the previous crop should be in excellent condition for tomatoes. A firm soil is to be desired, as looseness encourages soft growth, which will make tbe plants a prey to any disease that may happen along. As to the mode of growing, there is no better way than training each plant to a separate stake, confining it to one growth only, and the plant should not be stopped until it has formed from four to live trusses of flowers. The plants should be thoroughly hardened off by " complete exposure before planting out. The distance should not be less than 3ft between the rows and 2ft between the plants in the row. The hole for planting should be sufficiently large to spread the roots out, and the plant should be put at that depth that the lower leaves are level with the soil. Before putting the plant out, it is a good plan, as the tomato requires an abundant supply of potash, to work into the soil a small pinch of sulphate of potash—not more than can be taken up between the thumb and finger, and the same amount of superphosphate. Mix them thoroughly with tbe soil. This will encourage fine, healthy growth from the start. Failing sulphate of potash, wood ashes that have been kept dry will do equally well, but this can be used a little moire freely than tbe sulphate. If the plants are to be allowed' to spread out on the ground, the points of the plants should be pinched out at the third joint, so as to encourage the early formation of three shoots, which should be trained out equally around tbe plant. But, unless a large quantity of plants are to be grown, it is a very wasteful method, as they require more, attention to keep the lateral growth in check, and there is always a loss through fruits being damaged by the caterpillar. The quality and flavour are never so good as from the upright-trained plants. Under this system the plants should not be closer than three feet. MARROWS, CUCUMBERS, BTC. Marrows, cucumbers, and other gourds may now bo sown where they are to grow; in cottage gardens a heap of garden refuse is a good place to grow then}.; all that is required is a few shovelfuls of soil thrown on to sow the the seed in. Decaying vegetable matter provide moisture, which for these plants is of greater consequence than the richness of soil; they do quite as well on a heap of weeds as on a heap of manure. When they, are sown or planted on the fiat it is a good plan to make a fair- , sized hole and fill it with vegetable mat- • ter or manure. When they are to be grown on a large scale it is worth while to dig a small hole where each clump is to be and fill it with fat stable manure. Blood and bone is a good fertiliser. Marrows, gourds, pumpkins, etc., all give good returns when these conditions are given. All these plants should he grown quite near a water supply, so that during a hot, dry spell they can have liberal supplies of water. CELERY. Prepare trenches for celery as soon as possible. Make the trenches fairly deep, then fill them up within six inches of the surface with well decayed manure and soil. Much celery is spoilt through planting it too deep. Keep the base of the plants near the surface. They will grow faster, the beads will be more crisp and tender, while the flavour will he much superior to that of plants grown in very deep trenches. ' BROCCOLI. * Broccoli seed should he sown now, as previously advised. Seed of varieties come in at the different seasons should be sown at the same time as they will form a natural succession; perhaps i of all tbe sections the late varieties are the most valuable, as they come in during spring and early summer, when vegetables are scarce. Certainly they occupy the ground for a considerable time, but they give a valuable, return. The continual showers we have been experiencing lately have made it rather awkward for thinning out the seedling vegetables. On light soils where the rain drains away quickly it is not of so much moment, as delay is not for long, but where the soil is sticky it tramples the soil overmuch. This should be remedied bv going along the rows and lightening it up again with the fork which is • a much better tool for this purpose than the hoe, ONIONS. In thinning onions, the amount of thining will be according to whether large onions arc wanted or those of medium size only. In the former case the plants should be thinned to at least six inches apart, but three inches is quite enough for ordinary use. Seeds of pumpkins, marrows and hardy encumbers may be sown now on rich, well-worked ground.

putting six seeds in a clump and thinning out to three plants, choosing those that are farthest apart. The clumps should not be closer than five feet for marrows and pumpkins, or six feet for ridge cucumbers. Plants raised under glass should not be put opt until the end of the month, unless, some efficient protection can be given on cold nights. GROWING SALAD PLANTS. To keep up a supply of salads make fortnightly sowings of mustard and cress and radishes, while a small bed of lettuce should be planted ont about every three weeks. To grow lettuce successfully during the hot summer months, theground should be well enriched with manure, and the plants kept well-sup-plied with moisture. Eock, water, and , pie melons may still be sown—in fact, little has been gained by early sowing of those unless the plants have been well protected from the fierce winds. Pew plants suffer more quickly than melons from cold winds and variable temperature; in fact, if sown early they should have some protection until the plants are well established. THE FLOWER GARDEN. Plant dahlias and chrysanthemums. Disbudding and tying border carnations will be necessary. Continue the planting of bedding plants Plant am ana nth us, salvias, oelostias, cosmos, sunflowers, salpiglossis, petunias, and phlox crummonsu. Keep sweet peas trained to their supports. Trim box edges. Keep roses sprayed for aphis and mildew. . Stop rooted cuttings of perpetual flowering carnations, as they require it. Start to feed sweet peas as soon as they show bloom. Use the hoe frequently to keep the surface of the soil, loose. Stake and tie up delphiniums, gaillaxdias, coreopsis, etc. Chrysanthemums, dahlias, phlox, and many other herbaceous plants that have not been lifted and replanted send up far too many shoots. These should be reduced in number as soon as possible! They arc easily broken off now, but if left a little longer they get tough and have to be cut with a • knife. Don’t hesitate to thin the shoots severely. Remember, if you want gopd flowers and large heads of'blossoms, the stems must be sufficiently far from each other to allow the light and air to circulate freely between them. Throe strong- stems from a root of dahlia will give a larger number and better quality of flowers ( than thirteen stems from the same plant. Phlox remain effective in the border three times as long if the stems are strong and the heatts large. This result should warrant prompt and drastic thinning, but this work should be done at once, so that each shoot can grow strong from the ground line. Hardy azaleas and early rhododendrons are fast dying off, Eemovb all old flower heads as soon as possible to prevent seeds forming. If the plants have grown out of balance, cut the overgrown and straggly shoots back, and if possible give each plant a liberal mulch of thoroughly decayed manure, with some leaf mould or rotted turf These plants tend to root upwards. This is why it is so, necessary to give them a mulch in the spring. How differently we treat these beautiful shrubs growing in our pleasure grounds to what they enjoy in their native habitat. There all the leaves 'that fall rot on the ground and become leaf mould for the roots to live on, but when growing in cur gardens we rake off every fallen leaf because they look untidy, and so rob the plants of what should be their natural source of food. The deciduous azaleas give the best results when planted in masses or beds quite close to each other, with lilum aura turn set amongst the azaleas to give a bright glow of colour in late summer. Grown this way, the azaleas are better, and there is less risk of injuring their roots by digging. PESTS AND THEIR CURE. “Dianthus,” the capable writer of gardening notes in the, Auckland Star, has the following in his last contribution; “Distressed Amateur” sends along a better collection of specimens of blights and pests than are found in most gardens, and asks the following questions: —(I) Have lost three crops of carrots; they came np, but quickly disappeared. (2) Blight attacks tree tomato, marrow, parsnips, potatoes. The potatoes have been sprayed twice with lime sulphur, four times with Bordeaux. The other things have been sprayed with strong suds, from “washing day,” containing soda, borax, and kerosene. (3) What is the best treatment for leaf curl on poaches? (4) What is the blight on acacia Baileyana and treatment? (5) What is the cause of healthy antirrhinums coming into blossom suddenly and failing? What treatment or preventive can be used? (6) Cineraria leaf enclosed. What is the cause of the trouble, and treatment?. (I) Small slugs are the cause; sow again and dust with lime or soot. (2 )Tree tomato; spray with lime sulphur, 1 part to 50 parts water, three times at intervals of a week. Use the same mixture on the marrows and parsnips, but

spray throughout the season, at intervals of , three weeks. The potato is attacked with aphis; use black leaf _ 40, or if there is only a small area, pinch off the curled tips and burn; then spray with lime sulphur, 1 part to 50 parts water, taking care to get the spray underneath the leaves. Give three sprayings, at intervals of a week or ten days. (3) Leaf curl on peaches can only be controlled by spraying in late winter before the leaves show. Spray now with lime sulphur, 1-50, to prevent the disease spreading. (4) The blight is cottony cushion scale, and although it appears to bo bad in your case, it is usually not serious. Use lime sulphur as advised above. (5) Tbe cause of antirrhinums, asters, etc., suddenly failing is due to a disease which is bacterial. Change ,of soil is the best method of control. (6) The trouble is the ‘ ‘cineraria fly.” Pick off all infested leaves and bum. Spraying with tar water, made by boiling an ounce of gas tar in a gallon of water till dissolved. It must bo kept well stirred during the process. This makes the plantg distasteful to the fly, which lays its eggs on the surface of tire leaf. THE ORCHARD Tie up the now growths of loganterries and raspberries. Spray with arsenate of lead for oodlin moth as the petals fall off the apples and pears. Thinning of. fruit must be commenced as soon as possible, ' winiiiwiMiW)