GARDEN NOTES

Waikato Times, Volume 116, Issue 19457, 22 December 1934, Page 18 (Supplement)

GARDEN NOTES

-SEASONABLE WORK.*

WRITTEN AND COMPILED -TO SUIT WAIKATO CONDITIONS.

(ByNlk-au). ,

VEGETABLES AND FRUIT Plant Tomatoes, Leeks and Celery. Sow Lettuce In its permanent quarters. Stake Peas, Runners, Tomatoes, etc. Pinch out the tips of Cucumbers, Marrows, and Pumpkins to induce fruiting laterals to form. Hoe between the crops, in order to conserve moisture and keep down weeds. Burn old, unused leaves of cabbage - and similar plants, as they will otherwise harbour white butterflies. Take out the little side growths from the laterals of grape vines and stop these in such -a way as to leave only two or three leaves above the topmost bunch. FLOWERS Finish bedding schemes, and see that .the plants are watered sufficiently until they have taken root. Save the seed of Argentine Pea now. Stake Lilies, Gladioli, Dahlias, and Chrysanthemums. Make a sowing of Sweet Peas In an open situation. Tie up climbers and cut away unhealthy wood, so that the new growths will have room to develop.

MANURE MIXING. The average gardener is well advised to depend mostly on a garden fertiliser such as those sold 'by most seed merchants, and to buy only small quantities of special manures such as nitrate of soda, sulphate of ammonia and sulphate of potash.- Nevertheless, as enquiries are received now and i then concerning the mixing of manures, a few hints are given here. Superphosphate may be mixed at all times with farm-yard manure, and is thus one of -the most useful manures we have. It may also be mixed at any time with sulphate of potash, Kainit, and sulphate of ammonia. Lime may bo mixed with bonedust, basic slag and nitrate of soda at any time, but never with farmyard manure or sulphate of ammonia. Sulphate of potash may be used at all times with practically everything but bone-meal, basic slag and one -or two rare manures. Kainit and muriate of potash may be used with almost any manure, hut are best mixed just before using. Indeed, most-mixtures are best when freshly made, for on exposure to the air some of them take up moisture and make a sticky mass, while some lose a valuable constituent. such as ammonia. (This' happens 1 when -ammonium compounds are mixed with lime, basic slag or basic superphosphate.) Superphosphate, when mixed with basic slag or lime, will heat and set In a 'hard mass. It should therefore be -used as soon as mixed. tear* —gy v APHIDES. Aphides or plant-lice are among the most extraordinary of in-sects. They are found upon -almost all parts of plants—roots, stems, young shoots, buds and leaves—and many kinds of plants have aphides peculiar to themselves. As for multiplying, It has been 'calculated that one -individual may, at the end of five generations, be the progenitor of nearly six 'thousand million descendants. It often happens that the succulent extremities and stems of plants will become coated with a mass of these 'little aphides or “fly.” At present readers will probably And plenty of aphides on stocks; roses, broad beans, and the young growths of Argentine pea, plums and peaches. These aphides are usually wingless, and consist of females and their young; winged individuals appear at particular seasons, usually the autumn, an'd these are small males and large fcmale-s. After pairing, -the females lay their eggs upon or near the leaf buds -of the plant upon which they are to live, and, together with the males, soon -afterwards perish. The bodies of aphides have the following characteristics: They aro Short, oval, and -soft, 'and are furn-i-she'd at the hinder extremity with two little tubes, knobs or pores, from which exude almost constantly minute drops of a flu|d as sweet as honey. Their heads are small, their beaks are long and tubular, and their eyes are globular, but have not. eyelets. Their antennae are long, and usually taper towards the extremity, and their legs are also long and very slender, and there are two joints-to their feet. Their upper wings are nearly twice as long as their lower. Development of Aphides. The young hatch out in spring, and Immediately begin to pump up sap jfrom tender leaves and .shoots. They soon reach maturity, and begin giving birth to their young. Brood after brood, even to the -seventh generation, jnay he produced without the intervention of a male. The larvae of various flies and ladyj)iflds are natural enemies of aphides; {few Zealand gardeners are well aware now of one parasite which is destroying the woolly aphis on apple trees. Another natural enemy of -aphides is bur native -silver-eye. This bird eats great quantities of "greenfly” on roses and other plants. Various sprays can be used to check jiphidcs; Katakilla, Black Leaf 40 and jcerosenc emulsion arc all very satisfactory. Kerosene Emulsion. . -For large-scale spraying the cheapest, “solution” perhaps is kerosene Imulsion. This will do splendidly l'or bodges and large shrubs attacked by bealo and oilier insects. One recipe for kerosene emulsion is this: Take kerosene, 2 gallons; collision soap, lib..: boiling water, 1 gallon. Melt the soap in the water, which Ihould lie rain-water. (If the water is hard, add more soap or some wash-ing-soda.) *Pour the solution into the kerosene and thoroughly churn up kith a syringe or spray pump for ten kr lll'tccn minutes: this is done by Racing the mixture in a bucket or Kib, fixing -the pump in and holding Se nozzle in such a way that the iquld is pumped hack into the bucket, bhe emulsion should form a cream Ivh'ich thickens on -cooling, without any ippearance of free kerosene. Another good formula where skimtiJlk is plentiful is: Kerosene, 2 gallons; milk (sweet or sour), 1 gallon, thurn together ton or fifteen minutes is above. Another formula is: One gallon kerosene, one gallon boiling water and tight ounces of soft soap. Dissolve jio soap in boiling water and work as leforo to get, a perfect emulsion. If here is any free oil, it. will harm the loliagc of the plants. The. strength at i-hlch to uso this formula varies between l In 15 for scale insects on lardy plants to I in 50 or 40 for mhides. Like most sprays, kerosene imulsion should be applied on a dull lay nr in the cool of the evening. The strength for Die emulsion, mado jccot’ding to the first formula, will (ary between I in 50 and i in 60. SUNSHINE GARDENING. The sunny weather of the last four veeks has helped gardeners in many

ways, but it has also brought problems. An important matter Is to see that no plant -suffers from 'drought. Country reader-s may say that they cannot water their plants, and that it is all very well for a town scribe to give such advice. As a matter of fact the writer has had plenty of experience of gardening ,in -the country—w-lth Canterbury nor’-wester,s into the bargain—-an-cl knows how hard it is to be able to give the plants no water but that from the bathroom or kitchen sink, or from a distant water-race or dam. As mentioned a week or two ago water may be economised by following it up With mulching and a little shading ('for seedlings and newly-planted vegetables an'd: flowers). Another way to save water -for a few plants that need plenty (marrows and cucumbers, for example) is to sink a flower-pot ‘in the soil beside them. The pot can be filled every day with water from the sink, the wash-tub, bath-room, etc. Many plants do best in comparatively dry weather, if the soil Is worked around them frequently to form a -surface mulch. Lobelia, antirrhinum, nasturtium, linum, verbena, phlox and many other plants revel In the sunny weather we have been having. 'Plants such as these should not be grown near sweet peas, dahlias, gladioli, delphiniums, hydrangeas and other plants that require frequent watering. WEED KILLING. In the last month, if ever, we have had the chance to kill weeds with fork and hoe. Those cut out in the morning -have been killed before evening, and have been ready 'for burning next day. Weeds which .have been allowed ■to mature and form seed should be -burnt instead -of being added to the compost heap. It is a good plan to take them away at -once, for if they are left lying a day or two in the ga"den much of the seed will have ripened and perhaps fallen out. Perennial weeds such as convolvulus -and twitch should be removed, whole, if possible, for it Is at this season that 'they make most growth and 'form strong underground stems for the following year. THE GARDENER’S HOLIDAY. Though not quite as bad as the traditional busman, -the gardener is pretty sure to keep close to his hobby even in holiday time. Quite often he will do a little work in other people's but his chief pleasure will be to see the private and public gardens of the places he visits. Visitors to Auckland should certainly see the rose garden in Parnell Park, the. flower -plots in Albert Park, and the great displays at the Ellerslie racecourse, especially the carpet bed of 5000 plants, featuring the coat of arms of our Royal visitor, the Duke of Gloucester. Visitors -to -the Winter Gardens in the Auckland Domain should go a little further and -see the specimens of freshlycut native flowers exhibited in the Museum. The rock gardens to be seen from the streets abound Mount Eden must also be worth a visit, though the writer has not seen their progress in the last year. The home garden and the houseplants will need some attention. The side-shoots must be removed every week from tomatoes, and the pods from runners and other beans which are to keep on bearing. Sweet peas, too, need to have the pods removed. Another very important matter Is to spray tomatoes with Bordeaux or limesulphur before they are left to their own devices.

Watering the house-plants is not very hard; for a fortnight or so they may he stood in the wash-tubs or in a child’s bath, with three or four inches of water in 'the bottom. If the tubs need more than the three or four inches to keep them from shrinking, it will he necessary to set the pots on bricks, -so that they will pot be too deep in the water. PENTSTEMON3. Though considerably improved of Into years, pcnlslemons are not as popular as they should lie. They have beautiful flowers ranging through while, pink, red, purple and blue, and they are amongst the -hardiest of all border plants, surviving frost, heat and drought equally well. Many named kinds can be bought from our leading nurseryman, hut good results can lie obtained -by sowing a packet of mixed seed. Pentstcmons are easily raised from cuttings or from basal growths which are already rooted slightly. b lowering all .summer and part of other seasons, pentstemons are excellent 'beddingplants. There is no doubt that they would do splendidly in some of the dry beils -in our various public gardens. One of Hie lies! strains is the -gloxinia-flowered,'' with, large flowers; seed can lie bought troiu at least one leading Auckland see'd-tirin.