GARDEN NOTES

Waikato Times, Volume 92, Issue 14260, 10 January 1920, Page 6

GARDEN NOTES

(By "Nikau.”) I

i “The groves were God’s first temples.” —Bryant. [ Seasonable Work. Vegetables and fruit. —Weed and thin where necessary. Hoe once a week between rows. Make occasional sowings of peas, turnips and salad ■vegetables. Sow seeds of borecole ( (or kale), red cabbage, cauliflower.; Clear away old crops of peas and broad beans. Stake peas, runners and tomatoes. Pinch out side-shoots of toma- I toes, and nip off the tips «of marrows and pumpkins that have made long shoots. Plant nut various kinds of cabbage. Spray with lime-sulphur for brown rot, as this pest seems to ue making its appearance now on stonefruit. Spray with arsenate of lead for codlin moth, grass beetles, leeches, and with Black Loaf 40 for aphis on j peaches, nectarines and broad beans, j Flowers. —Keep the hoe going. Set out bedding plants on dull days, and, shade them on bright days for a week or two. Sow seeds of biennials and perennials, s the soil is in good order, for this work. The seed should be, sown thinly and covered lightly. Shading with scrim will also be help-| fill. Stake carnations, chrysanths- j mums and all tall plants that are likely j to suffer from winds. Search roses j for grubs where ever the leaves are■ gummed together. Save seeds of Argentine pea, scarlet kowhai (or parrot’s beak; clianthus). Make cuttings of soft wooded plants. Budding may now be done; if not successful, it can bo tried again in two or three weeks., Special Motes. Spare ground. —When early potatoes have been dug, and the first crops of peas and beans have been cleared .'■way. there is usually some spare v 'ound loft over until next spring. In IfiAco uays of dear vegetables it will pay to put another crop into Ibis gpcnnd at once. Artificial manure or some natural manure such as ashes, or rotted turf should be vAcll worked into the -mil, and cabbage, marrows, cucumbers or pumpkins may be transplanted. Late peas will also do well in such soil, hut it is better not to sow them in ground from which a crop of peas has just been 'taken, as there may be spores of mildew or other fungus present. p ars ] fiy- —This is perhaps the most useful herb in the garden, but many people find great difficulty in establishing it. Though parsley may be transplanted it is preferable to sow the seed in the bed or along the border, where the plants are to remain. It is the slowest of all ordinary vegetable seeds in germinating, so it should he soaked in warm water for several hours before sowing. If this is done, and the soil kept moist, the seed will come up in less than three weeks, whereas it may take as many month* if treated in the usual way. The seed should bo sow r n thinly, and the plants thinned out to a distance of at least six Inches in each direction. IT they are crowded, they are very likely j to run to seed. Most people prefer t the curled or “double” varieties, and, will accordingly pull out any plant* that have plain leaves. Parsley »»•<* is best sown in spring, but it will su«- i ceed if sown at any season. j

Silver or spinach beet.—As recommended previously in this column, silver beet should he grown in every cottage garden. It stands dry weather well, transplants readily (if shaded), and provides a useful crop of “greens" in winter and early spring. It is an unusual vegetable in one respect: the ribs of the leaves may be cooked alone as a “white” vegetable, and the rest of the leaves may be used as spinach. Red cabbage.—Seed may be sown now to provide a good supply of cabbage for pickles in winter. It is a mistake to make only one sowing, as the plants spoil soon after they mature. In very cold countries cpbbage and lettuce are kept in cellars through the winter, but our climate is so mild that the plants go on growing, so they spoil more readily. It was a usual thing a few years ago to find a row of red cabbage in a small garden, but now it is the exception rather than the rult. Codtin moth.—Where trees have been properly sprayed, the moth is not much in evidence, but unsprayed trees have suffered heavily. It will be noted that, at Ipast in some gardens, certain varieties have escaped lightly, while others are badly affected. This in probably due to the different times of (lowering rather than to a selective action on the part of the moth, but the matte 1 " would well repay investigation. All fallen apples and all those that show the holes and “casts” of the co'iiln grub should be carefully gathered to prevent the damage from spreading. Where the fruits ara closely packed it will be found that the grphs * have gpne from one apple to another: this is another argument for ths p-oner thinning of fruit. Biennials and perennials.—Seeds of thes* may now be sown to provide strong plants for next season. Araooest them we note the following: Pansies, violas, gaillardias, coreopsis (grandiflora), anemones, freesias, ■'Brampton and other stocks, sweet William, Canterbury bells, and other campanulas, dianthus, carnations, aquilcgfaw (columbines), antirrhinums (sAp dragons), pentstemon, wallflower. pyrethrum, delphiniums (giant a.n<J other larkspurs-.

Tr«s»l*a! Trass. I In additis* to Hie palms and bananas previously mentioned, there are several more tropiaal and sub-tropleal trees in Hamilton. Perhaps the most remarkable of those are a date-palm and a sago-palm grown by Mrs Douglas. It, appears that the Sago-palm was re- ■ cently broken off, but the top part was replanted and is now growing well. A large quantity of sap oozed out and might have been made into sago—. readers who have not forgotten their "Swiss Family Robinson” will, of. course, know the, exact process to foly low. Orange, trees succeed perfectly in Hamilton, if they are given a shol- 1 tered position. Probably the best specimen of the "Poor Man” orange m to be seen at the Ruakura Stale Farm but ‘here are other good trees of lid’s kind in various parts of Hamilton. The oranges grow In a groat size but they are too bitter for anything but marmalade. Though the sweet oranges arc usually more delicate there is at least one very large tree here which compares favourably with those, seen in orange-growing countries. There is also at least one mandarin tree which has fruited. Though there are not many lemon trees here there are some which keep their owners supplied throughout the whole year. (It should be mentioned that all citrus trees -arc very susceptible 'to the ravages of scale insects. The best remedy is to spray with one of the following: lime-sulphur I—*lo, or even I 25; washing-soda 1 i lb. to four •nations of warm water; kerosene emulsion, which must be carefully made). Loquats grow luxuriantly m Hamilton, yet unfortunately there are few that bear fruit. It should be noticed they grow readily from suckers whic.i come up from the base of the main stem, but seed is very disappointing unless it is sown soon after the fruit is ripe. Figs and mulberries succeed perfectly in call countries with a hot summer, but they arc by no means common in New Zealand. They arc easily grown from -suckers planted out in autumn or winter; not only care they very ornamental but the fruit appeals even to epicurean tastes. Children’s Gardens. Strawberries are best grown from runners -planted out in March or Apr.l, but they may also be -grown from , seed. Choose a large strawberry, cut it in half, and leave it on the rack or; some other dry place. When the; berry is quite dry, the seeds may bej scraped off. They should be sown ssj soon as possible if you want the plants j tc bear fruit next year. Just cov;r the seeds with soil, water them very, well, and shade with scrim or cloth for a fortnight or more. If you do not do this, you will find them very slow in coming up. Have you ever seen seeds on the outside of any other fruit? When Australia was first discovered it was believed that the cherries of that country had the stones on the outside “Nikau” would be glad if chddren would write about their successes or failures with pine-apples, pea-nuts, orange pips and other seeds mentioned in previous notes.