GARDEN NOTES.

Waikato Times, Volume 107, Issue 17916, 11 January 1930, Page 18 (Supplement)

GARDEN NOTES.

SEASONABLE WORK. (By “Nikau”). Vegetables and Fruit. —Owing to the spread of leaf-rust and ‘potato-blight’ on tomatoes, it is necessary to spray the plants with Bordeaux (lib to 10 gals of water), or with lime-sulphur (1 to 100). To this a'ddi arsenate of lead (loz to 2gals ■) to kill caterpillars; this arsenate mixture will also kill codlin-moth grubs on apples and leaf-leech on pears, plums and cherries. Bud fruit trees, as the bark lifts easily at present. Sow peas dwarf beans, turnips and lettuce for a succession. Plant celery, leeks, cabbage and broccoli. Take out most of the side-shoots on grape vines so that the strength will go into the fruit or main rods.

Flowors. —Bud roses, following the method given in last week’s notes. Layer carnations. Sow seeds of biennials and perennials in the open garden. Stake tall plants and tie up climbers. Keep pods removed from sweet peas and seed-heads from coreopsis, gaillarclia, scabious, dahlia, rose, •carnation and other plants which, should flower over a long season. Pinch out tips of spindly plants of phlox, cosmos, zinnia, African marigold. Cut down flower-stalks of delphiniums, to induce a new; set to grow.

NOTES. Celery. —ln 'describing toe cultivation of celery it is well to mention the difficulties first. There is always the danger or rust in a damp climate such as ours, and then there is almost certain trouble with green aphis. To counter the first we should spray toe plants with Bordeaux (11b to 12 or 14 gals.) every six weeks; and to counter the aphis, with Black Leal

40. There are two other difficulties: The plants need a good deal of stable manure, and tuen, wiien tueir growui is ueany complete, they need l bianch,iig. Vnese two requirements are .net by digging trenenes at iea-st one foot deep and two feet wide, and by manuring them heavily. If stable manure is not available, use rotted compost or wood-ashes, soot or artiuciai fertilisers ih fair quantity. The trench should be only partly filled In, so that the plants can be set in a hollow. Eater they may be moulded up from time to time, thus gaining a good length of blanched leaf-stalk. The plants should be set about ten inches apart, in ordinary 6oil resting on the manure; the latter will be available when the roots reach It. If manure Is hard to procure, it Is advisable to set t.wo rows in the twofoot trench. After planting the next thing is to see that the plants have plenty of moisture. For‘the ’first few days It Is generally necessary to shade the plants with scrim or with a board, and to water tbem well every day. After that it will be sufficient to give tbem one soaking every week. Celery is a water-loving plant and requires moisture more than manure; if it becomes short of moisture after being transplanted it will run to seed. Leeks. —Like celery, leeks appreciate manure and moisture, but they suffer from no pests. In an ordinarily rich soil they need no trench, though the latter is convenient when the time for moulding-up arrives. Apart from manuring and watering,, spacing is perhaps the most important part of the culture of leeks; eight inches between neighbouring plants is no more than a fair spacing. A •good way is to make a trench as described above for celery, and to set the plants in two rows in a hollow. A still better way is. to set only one row of plants to the trench, which in this casd need be only one foot wide, instead of two. This makes the moulding-up easier. When the supply of manure runs out, >the plants may he set in rows like onions, but •spaced at least six inches from one another in the rows. When they are half grown, ,liquid manure should be given tiiem once a fortnight. Before planting, the tops of the leaves are usually cut off and the longest roots shortened a little; the latter operation is absolutely necessary if the plants are put in holes made with a dibber. If the planting has to be done in dry weather, it is advisable to flood the trench after the plants are put in. Layering Carnations. —This is another operation for January, as the. plants have by then reached the proper stage. Layering is a natural means of propagation with many plants such as rambler roses, violets, strawberries and many kinds of weeds. The plants mentioned are in the habit of sending out roots from every joint which is in contact with the soil, especially if the latter is moist. The •same process is often seen at work in. the case of kumaras and marrows. We are thus supplied with a hint: Keep the joints of plants in contact with moist soil and probably they will send out roots. The chances are considerably increased if the part in contact with the soil is cut partly through in a slanting direction and pegged down so that a tongue projects into the soil. The sap is checked at the open cut, and the excess induces the plant to put out roots at this part. To get the best results it is necessary to loosen the soil all round the carnation -plant and to place a layer of sapd on the surface. After that the layering may proceed; to complete the work it is usual to put soil over each part in contact with the soil, and to water it every day or two for a while. In about six weeks the layers have usually put out roots, -but it is advisable not to sever and plant then, for a while longer.

The layering of wistarias, daphnes, camellias, azaleas, rhododendrons ana other ornamental shrubs may be carried out in a somewhat similar way, but the work is done in May or June, and the layers take a whole year to form roots. In Some cases the time required is two years; this accounts for the apparently high prices chargee for rhododendrons such as Pink Pear? or f.or shrubs such as Magnolia stellata.

Carnation Cuttings. —Many varieties of carnations may be grown from cuttings, thus rendering the work of layering unnecessary. Besides, cuttings may be carried considerable distances and then planted, provided they arc kept just moist all the time. The best cuttings are about six inches long and rather sturdy; they should noi be cut off, but should rather be pullet: off with a ‘heel’ of wood attached Some people split the bottom end oi the cutting and insert a large grain o, sand to keep the parts separate Others find special merit in a gran of wheat, as they consider that tlu germination lends strength to tlu cutting. The lowest leaves shouk. be removed', as they would rot in tlu soil and would be likely to spoil tin others. Then, to reduce loss o. moisture by evaporation,.it is usual L cut off the tips of the ‘grass’ of tin cutting. The cuttings should Li planted in a Lrench three inches dee; and lined with sand. If planted k summer they should be set in a shad; place; even then they will pronabl,' ne&d watering every day for threi. weeks. With care eight out of ten should grow.

Argentine Pea (Lathyrus pubescons). —it is time to cut back the ok bushes or flumps, but a few seedpods should be gathered first.' A dozen seeds may be sown in pots o, in a box now, so that a few plants will be available for planting ir. autumn. Clumps six feet high mu; be cut back to three feet, and others proportionately, but very weak oi small ones should be left almost untouched. In their case special cultivation is necessary. The soil rouna them shouLdi be loosened and then liquid manure should be applied ever; few weeks. Occasional soakings should be given them in dry weather. Young plants are hard to establish, so it is usual to grow them in pots; in this way they -can be put out with every root intact. It is well to remember that these peas, like almost all other leguminous plants are a favourite food of slugs and snails; the plants will, therefore, need protection until they are over two feel high. Popples for Brightness. —For making a bright and gay show on a large scale and in a short time there is hardly any plant better than the various annual poppies. The old-fachion-ed kinds are still useful, but they are outshone by the new strains of Shirley poppies which Messrs Yates have produced and now sell under the .name ,of ‘Yates’ Queen poppies. Though the annual poppies should be in full flower now, there is still time to scatter seed in a sunny border to make a show in the autumn. _ 'Die seed should be lightly covered’ and’ then well watered in (but not out!) Readers who have found difficulty in making poppies last in water should try burning the ends of •trie stems immediately the flowers arei gathered

When treated In this way Iceland and other poppies will last six or eight days; this applies, of course, to blooms which were gathered just after they had opened.