GARDEN NOTES

Waikato Times, Volume 94, Issue 14764, 1 October 1921, Page 13 (Supplement)

GARDEN NOTES

"There's blooming for all minutes of the hours." ■—A. Webster. SEASONABLE WORKVegetables and Fruit. —lf the soil is not too wet, continue the sowing and planting of all vegetables (except tender ones such as dwarf beans, runners and pumpkins). Prepare the beds for marrows, pumpkins and cucumbers by digging deeply and adding plenty of stable manure or compost. Mould up early potatoes and protect them from frost. A few cucumber seeds may now be started in boxes, but the main crop should be sown in the open at the end of next month. Plant-cabbages, cauliflower, onions, herbs, the last of the asparagus and a few very early tomatoes (but only where protection from frost can be easily given). Continue spraying fruit trees for fungal and insect pests, provided the flowers are not open; in a week or two, however, it will be necessary to spray apples and pears for codlin moth just when the petals fall. Stake newlyplanted trees. Graft apple and pear trees. Keep strawberry beds well weeded. Flowers. —Continue sowing and planting while the ground is in good order. Prune flowering shrubs that have just flowered, though azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons will need little or no pruning. Sow asters, Beauty stocks, etc., zinnia and dahlias 'lhc two last in boxes or in a sheltered position). Slake and train sweet peas; ma.ke another sowing of these in a coo] place. Plant Argentine and everlasting peas, protecting them from slugs. Put in pipings of carnations. Plant out chrysanthemum suckers. SPECIAL NOTES. Seed Month. —In most parts of New Zealand September is the great seed month, when every gardener that really is a gardener turns to seed-sowing and planting. As a result of the recent rains, the prospects for successful gardening are usually bright; Ihe chief problem after this will he to conserve the moislure thai, is now in the soil. There is no better way than to cultivate the surface frequently, so as to produce a Pine mulch of soil, while another way is lo apply a mulch of compost, lawn clippings or the like. Another problem will be lo cheek the ravages of all kinds of pesls such as slugs, wondlice, green lly, anil fungal blights. 'Caking the work in lime is of supreme importance when we have ir. deal with pe,M;-. ah al] of them mulI Liply rapidly.

Greenfly on Roses. —An all sheltered rose bushes the greenfly nuisance is very much in evidence, but in the open the recent downpours have done much t.o remove It. This supplies us with a useful hint: that even plain cold water under high pressure has great effect on greenfly. The leading rose-growers of this province recommend the use of hot water at a temperature not exceeding 125 deg. Fahr. A simple spray may he made from any kind of soap, especially soft soap, and hot water. Many of the trade preparations such as 'Niquas' and 'Katakilla' arc very effective. If there is any risk of the spray falling on the white paint of the house, it will be well to test whether any harm will be done. To be really complete, the test should be made at least a dav before the main spraying is done. Lime sulphur and other compounds blacken paint, forming sulphide of lead to replace the carbonate or while lead which is the basis of so many paints- . Spinach.—Where this vegetable is appreciated by the household, successional sowings should be made. At this season the best variety to sow is the round-leaved round-seeded one; this has thick, fleshy leaves which are more like cabbage than ordinary spinach. For planting from November onwards until April, the best to sow is the New Zealand spinach (really an ice-plant). After that, the pricklyseeded or winter spinach is the bestKohl Rabl. —This is really a turnipstemmed cabbage, the stem of which has become greatly enlarged. The top part bears leaves scattered over its surface, with a central tuft to crown It. The flavour of the root resembles that of a turnip as well as that of a cabbage. The cultivation may be the same as for cabbage, the plants being transplantable, and also requiring a rich soil. It is usual, however, to sow them in drills like turnips, leaving the plants eight inches apart in the rows, while the latter are fifteen inches apart. It is well to make several small sowings for a succession, but the plants will not grow properly if put in after November, as they will then be crcatlv damaged by aphis and cabbage fly There are green as well as purple varieties of Kohl raid, the smaller ones being suitable for gardens and the larger for feeding to stock. Asparagus.—The asparagus bed is now making good growth. The rains of last week have ensured the presence of plenty of moisture in the .soil, so artificial watering of the asparagus oed need not b c resorted to for some time yet. Beds that were heavily dressed with manure or compost are showing the benefit of the dressing, and they will also retain their moisture well. Newly planted beds should not be cut in their first, or even in their second season after planting, ns the plant needs all its energy to build up strong roots for future years. In cutting asparagus we should be careful not to bruise "the shoots; any sharp knife may be used if a proper asparagus sawknife is not available. In all cases it s necessarv to keep the knife close in against the shoot to be cut, lest damage should result to the younger shoots that are almost ready to push through the soilMint.—With the sowing of peas should go the planting of mint to make the Christmas dinner complete. A study of the mint bed will reveal the fact that shoots are now being sent up from the underground stems. If the bed is too large, owing to the sprcadus habit of the plant, it may be dug up and only partially replanted. To confine their growth more completely the plants may be set in benzine tins which have been sunk deeply in the soil and have been well provided with irainage, so as to allow moisture from the soil to enter the tins in dry weatherAnemones. —Gardeners who planted i good stock of anemones in the uitumn are now being rewarded for their enterprise. Anemones are almost universal favourites on account of their beauty and their florifcrous character. They arc easily raised from seed, and if planted in January or February, thev will flower the following spring. The seed should be collected is soon as the head begins to burst, otherwise the wind will blow it all iwav in a few hours. Unless the seed is specially wanted it is better to cut some of the flowers for house decoration and to remove the heads of the Dthers as soon as the blooms fade. If this is done, the plants will bloom for two months more. Anemones profit by manuring with wood ashes or bonedust, etc.. as ttaey require a rich loam for their full development. A. fulgens, and the many-coloured, ringed varieties, known as A. coronaria, arc excellent varieties for bedding purposes, but the finest of all for cutting is the frilled variety known as St. Bright anemone. This comes true from seed, so a large stock may he easily raised. Clematis jackrnannl— Though the clematis will flower without being annually pruned, it will give the best results onlv when it has been severely pruned. Any time in September is suitable for this work. Fairly heavy pruning would be cutting back the whole plant to within three or four feet of the soil, leaving no wood less than three-eighths of an inch in diameter Vtcr such pruning, the plant will send iip shoots six to ten feet long. There is a danger, however, that other varieties of clematis may be confused with the jackmanni group; this would be a serious mistake, as many of them require onlv the slightest pruning. The hardy C montana requires the same pruning as the jackmanni varieties, though it differs from them in other respects. CHILDREN'S GARDENS. On many occasions a plea for children's gardens has been made in this column. To judge by the way children love to dabble in the dirt, gardening comes natural to them; if further proof is needed, we have but to consider their love of flowers, even though the latter have been thrown away as useless. If we accept it a s a truth that children have a natural love of gardening, it is the duty of us grown-ups to foster that love. There arc very fewgardens so small that there is no room in them for a children's plot, whether this plot, is to be for flowers or for vegetables will probably be settled by the children making it, a glorious jumble, where isvoon peas vie with carnations or radishes with asters. If one word of advice to the elders may be given, let the gardens he really the children's gardens, in which they may plant anything short of convolvulus or twitch. Where there is room to spare, a child's plot may be as large as ten feet by six or eight, and in it may be planted both flowers and vegetables, separated for preference. Tall plants are plainly out of the question but the following are very suitable: Among flowers, take French marigolds, pholx, anemones, asters, violets, pansles, bulbs, and among vegeahles, dwarf beans, peas, radishes, lettuce, carrots, ivd beet. If a careful search is now made under the I'ruil trees, several little seedlings of peaches or nectarines may he round. U Ihese are In.iked after properly Ihey will fruit in three or four years, and possibly some excellcnl new variety may be discovered. Mow pleasant'it would be to have the finest of all peaches named after one's self!