GARDENING NOTES.

Wanganui Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 160711, 26 July 1920, Page 6

GARDENING NOTES.

THE VEGETABLE GARDEN Sow lettuce, radish, turnips, cabbage, cauliflower, broad beans and peas. Plant out cabbage, cauliflower, and lettuce, and put iu a few rows of potatoes. . Dig and manure all vacant ground, and clean up and bury rubbish. Should the vegetable garden be wet and sodden, drainage should be provided. More plants die through their roots getting into water-logged soil than through lack of moisture. Parsnips, artichokes, and beetroot which has been left in the ground during the winter should be lifted now. If left they will begin to grow and gradually deteriorate, and the positions they occupy should be manured and dug in preparation for next season’s crops. Supplies of potato seed should he oh* tained as soon as possible, and the tubers stood upon their ends, with the bud end up, in boxes to green and sprout. RHUBARB. Rhubarb roots for forcing should be lifted and exposed to the action of the weather; frost, snow, and cold rains won’t do any harm. When required they can be packed into boxes and some fine light soil worked in among them, and these boxes can be placed under the greenhouse bench with another box inverted over them to keep out the light, or they can be placed in an outhouse or shed or covered over with hot manure, or in a warm, dry cellar. Roots, which have been forced, are hardly worth planting again, as thev take' too long to recover. Another method of forcing rhubarb is to treat it in a similar manner to seakale and do it when it is growing. The crowns arc covered over with I artels or boxes, and these are packed all round and overhead with hot fermenting manure and leaves. By grading the mixture as recommended for seakale a. succession can be maintained until the leaves on the open are ready to pull. ARTIFICIAL MANURE FOR ‘ ONIONS. Tlie following is an excellent mixture the quantities given being sufficient for one rood or perch of ground: Nitrate of soda. 11b; guano, quarter of a pound; kainit, quarter of a pound; sulphate of iron, quarter of a pound. Sow broadcast in showery weather, and well hoe into the ground afterwards so soon as the soil is dry enough, the sooner the better. It should be applied after planting. “DON’TS” FOR PLANTERS. Don’t leave the staking of trees that need it until planting is completed. Drive the stakes before the roots are covered with soil, and so avoid damaging them. Don’t plant too deeply. a rule the soil marks on the stem indicate the previous depth, and this is a safe guide. Don’t fail to plant firmly. Roots cannot make headway in loose soil. Don’t overlook the importance of having some fine soil handy to shake down among the small roots. If the soil is wet have this fine soil as dry as possible. Don’t omit to put lasting labels on all fruit trees, roses, etc.

Don’l plant during hard frosts or very wet weather. Plants which arrived at such times can be, laid in soil without harm. Oort fail to trim, with a sharp knife, ;ilI damaged and broken roots previous to planting. Don't cramp the roots; make the hole too large rather than too small. Don’t leave a plant lying about with the roots exposed to the air. Don’t allow stable manure to come in direct contact with the roots. EARLY TOMATOES. A batch of early tomato plants should be raised in every garden along thecoastline. Don’t worry about seedlings otowii under hothouse conditions. Buy a'packet of seed, and raise stock at home. Make a small frame over a patch out of doors, and have a bag cover ready for protecting the youngsters overnight. Then yon grow good, hardv stuff that will stand any amount of shifting. Weak, spindly tomato plants arc of no use to anyone. & si

By “THRIFTY,”

THE FLOWER GARDEN. Put in chrysanthemum cuttings. Continue the planting of roses. Prune and lie up climbers. Hoe bulb and anemone beds. Herbaceous plants can still be planted. Shrubs should be pruned, manured, and ihe soil underneath stirred with a fork. Plant new hedges and clean out weeds and rubbiph from the base of present ones. Clip box edgings and repair gaps. Plant .'iliunis, gladioli, and other summer and autumn flowering bulbs. Continue to trench and dig new beds and borders, working in liberal quantities cf stable manure, prune trees and shrubs, and plant out trees, shrubs and roses. As the narcissi bulbs are coming through the ground in the shrubbery borders, and where they have not been disturbed, they should be forked and cleaned up in preparation for the spring If the soil is poor a dressing of bone meal, basic slag, or basic phosphate can be worked in during the forking operations, it will not influence the flowers for this season very much, but it will assist the growth of the foliage and thereby have an influence on next season’s flowers. As all the leaves are off the deciduous trees now the flower garden can get a thorough clean up in preparation for the display of spring flowers. Lawns, too, can receive attention, for the grass has commenced to grow, and a light, top-dressing with, good soil with which n. little bone dust, basic slag, or basic phosphate has been mixed, about two 6in. potfuls to a barrowload cf the soil. Scratch well with the iron rake before applying the top-dress-ing to bring out moss and break up the smooth surface which is formed by the constant mowing and rolling during the summer, spread the topdressing evenly over the surface, making it a little deeper where there are hollows, and rake it into the grass, hut don’t roll until later when the grass is ready for cutting. Should it not be desirable or possible to give a dressing with soil, and artificial manures alone are to be applied, there is no burry for another month, when the grass will be under way properly Bare patches can be turfed over and hollows filled up with good foil on which grass seed will be sown later on. ROSE GROWING FOR BEGINNER. If you are going to start rose growing be prepared to do the work yourself, do not allot the tasks to anyone else. The first point is to choose only those varieties of a healthy vigorous habit. There are plenty of roses which are freegrowing and floriferous, and which will succeed on ordinary soil. Do not commence with a large quantity of trees. Obtain only as many as you can conveniently spare time to look after, and the space you have at your disposal. Do not overcrowd the beds. See that they are not shaded by trees, etc., they need full sun and the best position in the •garden. Prepare the bed by trenching and if inclined to be wet drain it. When planting, make the hole big enough so that the roots can be spread out; it is surprising how many people plant the roots in a tangled mass. Plant firmly, but this does not mean that a newlyplanted tree is to be rammed into the soil so that it can hardly be removed, and the ground is like the road. If the soil is wet, plant lightly, just firming the soil enough to hold the roots and plant firm. If dry, the soil can and needs to bs rammed or trodden much more firmly. Prune newly-planted young trees very hard; in fact, it is a good plan to cut back all varieties to two or ifliree eyes; any variation in pruning can be practised the following season when they are established. Spray at the first sign'of disease or pest getting bold. Give plenty of liquid manure in the growing season, they are gross feeders, and need abundance of manure. Water during dry weather, and keep suckers religiously cut away. Study and learn the likes, dislikes, and any little peculiarities of your plants, and they will appreciate and repay you for the attention. THE ORCHARD Continue the planting of fruit trees. Pruning and spraying should be kept at till finished. Prune gooseberries, currants, raspberries, and loganberries at once. Yines are quite dormant, and can bo pruned now. Thoroughly clean afterwards. PRUNING DON’TS. Don’t, when removing dead branches or spurs, fail to cut right back into live wood, otherwise the decay will continue. Don’t overlook the importance of sharp tools. Not only is the work facilitated, but it is better done, and all cuts are made cleanly. Don’t forget that a clean cut heals quickly, but a rough, jagged cut results in decay. Don’t forget that different varieties, especially apples, need different treatment. Observation of the habit of growth and mode of bearing will teach you a lot. Don’t, where apples and pears are overcrowded with fruiting spurs, be timid in thinning them. Don’t forget that in pruning young fruit trees or bushes, the main object for the first two or three years is to secure a good foundation rather than encouragement to bear fruit.