GARDEN NOTES

Waikato Times, Volume 94, Issue 14776, 15 October 1921, Page 13 (Supplement)

GARDEN NOTES

(By "Nikau.")

SEASONABLE WORK. Vegetables and Fruit. Make suceessional sowings and plantings of all useful vegetables. The. more tender kinds, such as dwarf beans, runners, cucumbers and pumpkins, will need protection on cold nights if sown before the end of this month. The main planting of lomatocs may be made in a week or so, while early ones now require staking. In the evenings anil on dull mornings every effort should be made to keep slugs and snails in check. In I he orchard, spraying is the order uf the day. As soon as the apple petals fall is Ho.' time to spray with arsenate of lead to kill the young grubs of the codlin moth. Bordeaux mixture or lime-sulphur should be used to control leaf-curl and other fungoid pests. Stake newly-planted trees. Weed strawberries. Flowers. - Continue planting out hardy annuals, biennials and perennials. Slake and train s\\ t peas, and give them manure now and then. Kill green fly on roses with katakilla, etc,. i'lant out chrysanthemums ami cuttings of carnations. Collect anemone seeds. SPECIT.L NOTES. The Hoe. —When rightly used, this is the best of all the garden tools. If hoeing, however, is made In lake the place of deep digging in winter, only poor results will he obtained. In ,i proper system of cultivation, the order of operations should be

something like this: In autumn, after the crops arc taken out, a quickgrowing plant, such as oats or prairie grass, should bo sown, and dug in in winter when a growth of one foot has been reached. At the beginning of spring the soil may be dug again, but where the land is very light this digging should be replaced by hoeing. From then onwards throughout the summer and early autumn, the hoc should he run frequently between the rows of young vegetables. The advantages of this hoeing are four-fold: the ground is kept well aerated, thus giving the nitrifying bacteria a good opportunity to work; moisture is eonserved, as the capillary tubes conveying the water from the sub-oil to the surface are broken and covered by a mulch of fine soil; weeds are kept down, thus obviating the necessity for hand-weeding; lastly, the temperature of the soil is raised by the warm air being able to pass into it freely. Seedling Vogetablcs.—ln the Waikato, where slugs arc so plentiful, it is necessary to sow thickly, in order to allow for probable losses, but this sometimes leads to overcrowding of the seedlings. If we are fortunate enough to have such a fine "strike," we must be careful to thin the plants properly as soon as they are two or three inches high. Onions may be left four to six inches apart, while turnips need from five to seven. Carrots may be sown in broad rows, and the plants left two inches apart each way, •but later kinds can do with twice that. Parsnips and carrots should not be transplanted, for though they will grow, the roots will be forked and otherwise mis-shapen. All kinds of beetroot transplant as readily as cabbages, so every seedling may be used. Red Cabbage.—This vegetable was formerly almost as common as ordinary cabbage, and it is still worth growing. The plants should be encouraged to make plenty of growth before the cabbage moth, aphis and other pests become prevalent. For this purpose there is nothing better than weak doses of nitrate of soda — "weak and weekly," if we may so say. Later on again, at the end of February, more seed should be sown, as there is then less danger from the cabbage moth than in the summer months.

Seed Boxes. —As many people have, 'trouble with then" seed boxes, a hint or two here may prove useful.'' The box should be about ',)l inches deep, and well provided with drainage. Kerosene fins, cut lengthwise, will do quite well if proper seed boxes cannot be obtained, but care should be taken to turn in the edges. Perhaps the most important thing of all is the potting material; the best for this work is a mixture of good loam, sand and well-rotted leaf-mould. The place of the last may be taken by old stable manure, compost, rotted turf, peat or similar substance. The sand and the leaf-mould serve to keep the soil open, so as to prevent each watering from caking the surface. The soil should not be too rich, otherwise the plants (become rank, and so will suffer a severe check when planted in ordinary garden soil.

Thin sowing, light covering and sufficient moisture are the next requirements; until the seedlings appear it is often a good thing to keep the box shaded from the midday sun. The boxes must not be left on the ground, for they are then at the mercy of all the crawling pests of the garden; a stand three or four inches high is quite enough, in the absence of proper staging. As soon as the plants are one inch high, or have grown one or two of the true leaves (as distinct from the seed-leaves), the seedlings should be pricked out, leaving, perhaps, two to three inches between the plants in each direction. In this respect, as in many others, the boxes exposed for sale by seedsmen may be taken as models. The last operation is transplanting; this should be clone on a dull day, especially when there is a good prospect of an early rain. The boxes should be wejj watered -awhile before transplanting begins, as this renders it possible to secure a good ball of earth with each plant. Perhaps Iho commonest mistake witli seed boxes is to leave the seedlings too crowded, and also to keep them lon lung in the boxes. This causes Iho plants to be spindly and weedy, instead of being sturdy. Rotorua Gardens.—Last week the writer had the pleasure of re-visiting the gardens at Rotorua. A few notes are given now, as they may prove of interest to readers. This is azaleatime at Rotorua, for the azaleas are at present the finest features of the gardens. In previous notes the azaleas have been referred to several times, and on one occasion a quotation concerning them was laken from an English periodical. From later correspondence dealing- with the article in question it appears that (he azaleas are probably the largest in the world, whose measurements have been recorded. The present, writer measured one of them roughly last week, and found the diameter to he nearly .11',ft, and the height in the centre about Oft.

Only a few of the azaleas were in full blossom, ns (he season there Is a little later than with us in Hamilton. The giant azaleas . are of the hardy type, such as Fielder's White, but there was also a very fine specimen of Azalea Mollis. Other shrubs that were in bloom were the snowdrop tree (Halcsia), various tall-growing rhododendrons, Ccanothus with its blue flowers, Spiraeas of sorts, especially the double-flowered varieties, and Exochorda, perhaps best known as Hie pearl-bush. There were also several fine specimens of weeping Japanese cherry. but the flowers were a little past their besL The (lower beds were already gay. One border was filled with violas of various colours, especially blue and yellow. Another border that attracted much attention was filled with polyanthus, primroses and cowslips, in which deep yellow shades predominated. The most remarkable 'at the plots were filled with wallflowers, one great mass being pure yellow, and another blood-red. Few anemones were seen, but there were some plants of ranunculus which were (It for exhibition at any show. The rockeries were gay with purple Aubrictia and white Arabis. The more permanent features, such as Ihe larger shrubs and ornamental trees, were very beautiful; perhaps (he finest of the conifers were the cryplomerias, with their reddish, prickly foliage, (hough (he numerous varieties of Lawson's cypress (('.. Lawsoniana) and of Thuja were also well grown. In private gardens some splendid rimus were seen; from perhaps imperfect observations, (he writer concludes that the rimus in question have grown more than one fool, per year for at least six years. In any esse, it is clear dial the rimu is not a slowp owing tree, when if. is suitablv pi red. nne fact, that greatly disappointed the writer was the almost complete absence of our beautiful while clematis, <;. indivisa. If at least the native sectinn of the public gardens were thickly sprinkled with vigorous plants 'if this clematis, how much more beautiful die effect would be! MORE MONEY FOR DAIRYMEN. The "Homo" separator means n definite cream saving—increased bud or-fat cheques. Dome is a high-grade Separator. In me on 500,000 dairy fnrms Throughout the world, and so well made mat it maintain-'- it.-- efficiency year after year. Write for prices and si;:e> to Cooper and Duncan, Ltd., Dorno Guarantors, Chrlstcliurch, Hamilton ag-cnt, R. 8. Reslo". Ward Street, Hamilton. u