THE FARM GARDEN.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XIII, Issue 5, 20 November 1916, Page 409

THE FARM GARDEN.

W. H. TAYLOR,

Manager, Arataki Horticultural Station.

VEGETABLE-CULTURE. When these notes appear it will be time to cease cutting asparagus. Heads should still be coming up freely, and it is necessary ’ that a large number be left to mature, for on them next season's crop . depends. A dressing of nitrate of soda (i oz. to 2 oz. per square yard) would be beneficial, also a good mulch of stable or farmyard manure. When the growths become tall the heavy heads are liable to be blown over by strong winds, and if the stems are broken harm is done. The plan I have found best is to cut off the tops of the heads when they are

about 3 ft. - high. This’ does not affect the strength of their growth ; it merely encourages the development of side branches, which - is quite as good for the roots as greater height. If the bed is doing well —that is, making good growth —the branches of the various heads will interlock, and the mutual support secured will prevent any being overblown.

‘ Peas and French beans may be sown for succession. It is not too late to sow marrows, pumpkins, cucumbers, and melons, though they should have been put in . before. Similarly, red-beet, parsnips, and carrots may be sown, though the results may ‘ not be quite so good as if sown a month ago. Onions may be sown for salading now that the ordinary crops are becoming too large for that purpose. Onions for pickling may also be sown. Select a plot of free but not overrich soil, tread it down firmly, sow thickly, and do not thin the plants. Silverskin is the best pickling variety. An early kind of cauliflower planted now would come in to use between Autumn Giant, put out early, and those sown (as advised for September) for putting out near the end of the year. Broccoli and Brussels sprouts should not be left to crowd each other in the seed-beds ; either thin the plants, or, ..better, prick out in nurse-beds the numbers required. Place them 4 in. or 5 in. apart here they will make fine sturdy plants. Plant red cabbage. .

x Tomatoes . will be making growth by ' now. The mode of training will no doubt have been decided, but whatever the plan may be a certain number of branches will be necessary, either one, two, or three ; and whatever the number decided on, these must be kept free from side shoots. All lateral growths should be cut off as soon as possible after they appear. It is bad policy to try to force growth by watering or any other means; the plants naturally make far too much growth. Short-jointed hardy plants are what is wanted. This condition is best secured by planting in ■ good but not rich soil, by refraining from giving manure of any kind at time of planting or before, and by giving a light dressing of superphosphate and bonemeal after the first fruits have set, or earlier in places where rainfall is usually light. Apply twice ..as much superphosphate as bonemeal. Apply the manure to about a yard wide about the plants, half on each side giving- 3 oz. of the mixture per square yard, and scratching it in with a rake or hoe. If the plants appear as though they want waking up, add 1 oz. per yard of sulphate of ammonia , but withhold this if the plants are making fair growth, as in such circumstances forcing agents of this sort are liable to induce a state of growth that renders the plants liable to disease. Numbers of the market-growers, those who grow many thousands of plants, let the

plants lie on the ground. The plan answers well in dry seasons, but if the season proves wet disease is usually prevalent. ■ Though my experience has been that disease is seldom troublesome : .when tomatoes are grown on the lines above laid down, yet it is a wise precaution to spray two or three times with 4-4-40 Bordeaux mixture. It should be kept in mind : that the . only remedy for disease is prevention; it cannot be cured if it gets a firm hold before - spraying. - . . ' . - •Broad beans that are becoming tall. may be topped with advantage. ■ The satisfactory progress of all crops depends largely on proper cultivation of the. soil; keep it loose on the surface by frequent stirring. - . SMALL FRUITS. ' • ■ ■ Raspberry plantations should be kept free of . useless suckers by hoeing or with a grubber. Unless wanted for new plantations all , suckers should be cut out while quite small. Weeds should be ■ suppressed as much as possible, particularly any such as couch. Couch-grass is ■ very . destructive to raspberries. I have seen a fine plantation rendered fruitless by it; .if it. appears, grub it out as soon as seen. .

Gooseberries. When bushes are too crowded a thinning of strong, shoots should be undertaken.. It is ■ bad to pinch or . cut shoots ' back, as they grow again duplicated and make matters worse. Frequently there are a number of strong shoots , thrown up from the lower parts of the bushes, especially when branches have been cut. < .These, shoots should be got rid of by tearing them off at the base. Regard should, however, be had for' the possible advisability of keeping some to replace old worn branches which it may be determined to cut out later. ■ When this is decided on the old branches should be. cut out immediately after the. fruit is gathered, which is much to -be preferred to leaving them till winter, as their early removal will -afford the new growth a better opportunity to develop. - . . . •

Red • Currants. The ~ treatment should be entirely different to that given to black currants, red currants . bearing fruit • only on wood -that is more than one year • bld. It unfortunately, happens that the varieties that bear best are. the most difficult to make into good bushes. The good varieties , are all of the La Versailles type the young, wood is gross,, heavy, and brittle. The shoots .are - easily blown, off by wind, and .at the best are liable to become twisted and grow out of shape. .In large plantations one hardly ever sees good bushes ; . they are ill-shaped and scraggy as a . rule, which- means that they are -not producing more than a tithe of the fruit they should bear. A hollow . centre is imperative to a proper state of fruitfulness, and evenly spaced branches are

inseparable from a full crop. In a small cultivation this end may easily ■be attained by employing hoops to which to tie the branches, but with a large number of bushes this is not practicable. Much may be done by summer pruning, both in preventing the loss of shoots from wind, and in the- increase of fruit.. Heavy leading - shoots are most liable to injury; these may be topped when they have made I ft. of growth. When they break again the resulting shoots may be reduced to one on each leader: this will prevent their getting too tall, and at the same time assist in the ripening of the portion that will be left at the winter pruning. The fruit is borne on spurs; to induce their formation, when side shoots' have grown about i ft. cut them back to 6 in. 1 Next winter these side shoots should be further shortened to 2 in. : it is on the portion of wood then left that the fruit, will be borne. If the summer shortening is not done it usually takes two years to bring them to a fruiting state, against one year if the shortening is carried out. .The shortening at this time must not be more severe than as described, for growth will ensue for every shortened shoot, and if it were, more severe it would be the buds wanted for fruit that would develop the new shoots. The ' purpose and effect of the present shortening is to admit light, and incidentally, by arresting the progress of the shoots, to strengthen the buds at the base. Black currants may be allowed to make their growth their own way. White currants are treated the same as red. [Loganberries will be dealt with in next month’s notes.]

THE FLOWER-GARDEN.

Rose Enemies. pests are more numerous than is commonly thought. They are most troublesome where anxiety to excel leads to indiscriminate feeding and frequent watering of the plant. This often brings about a soft condition of growth and,, not infrequently, bad root-action. The safest plan, and the one that leads to the most satisfactory results, is, firstly, thorough preparation of the soil by deep trenching ; secondly, well manuring the soil; thirdly, thorough cultivation of the soil by keeping it well stirred as to the surface; and, lastly, not watering too often, and when it is done giving a good soaking, so as to moisten the soil right through, not merely at the surface. Hosing the tops in the evening after a hot day will do good by refreshing the foliage, and also by washing off insect pests. Green-fly or ' rose-aphis is easily destroyed by means of any of the many contact insecticides sold, such as Vistolene, Clift’s Fluid, Nikoteen, fir - tree oil, &c. I have used all these pre-

parations: it is only necessary to follow the directions given on the bottles, taking care not to exceed the strength advised. Mildew is very destructive if neglected, and is not easily suppressed ; treatment is referred to later on. Grubs and caterpillars attack the leaves, which curl up, and the pests cannot then be reached by a spray, the only way to get them is to crush the grub by squeezing with a finger and thumb. This is really less troublesome than spraying would be, as no preparation is required, and it can be done whenever the insects are detected. In regard to fungoid diseases, it must be distinctly understood that in the majority of cases preventive measures are the only rational procedure to adopt. When infection takes place the parasites spread in the living . tissues of the plant, consequently they cannot be reached by a spray, and no effectual remedy can be applied that will not seriously injure the plant. Infection always takes place by means of spores falling on to a leaf; the spore, on germination, passes into the interior of the leaf, and commences to form spawn or mycelium, which grows at the expense of the materials accumulated by the plant for its own use. It is a mistake to suppose that plants become suddenly affected; the impression arises from the fact that it takes from one to two weeks after infection for the effects to become visible. Infection takes place from outside; one affected bush if neglected may cause an epidemic. - • In the case of rust and black-spot the winter spores, or those spores that start the disease the following season, are produced on -the leaves. These infected leaves mostly fall to the ground in due course, and many are blown into nooks and crannies, where they remain till the following spring, when the winter spores produce other spores, which are dispersed by wind and renew the disease. As far as possible all infected leaves should be collected and burned, also those that remain on the bushes at pruning-time. Whatever care may be taken some are bound to escape, and as there are' sure to be gardens where no care is taken, these will infect others. The cleanest bushes are to be found in places where cleanliness prevails, and that are at a distance from others. From the foregoing it will be seen that preventive measures are the only effective means of dealing with black-spot and rust. Whatever may be done after the disease has appeared may be of use in preventing it spreading, but will not save the affected plants from injury. It may be stated that some parasitic diseases live in the tissues of plants, and in those cases disease may be perpetuated without further infection from without. ' This, however, is not the case with rose-mildew, rust, and black-spot, the, three

most destructive and frequent diseases roses are subject to. The remedy for mildew is potassium sulphide . (liver of sulphur), 1 oz. to 10 gallons of water, to be applied on the first sign of mildew, remembering that prevention is both easy and certain, while once the disease has a firm hold a cure is- impossible. This strength of wash ■is for the first spray, when the foliage is young; at later periods the strength may be doubled. The same treatment is effective against rose-rust, which does not form winter spores on the wood but only on the. leaves. Powdered sulphur dusted on through a piece of fine muslin and the treatment repeated as long as any mildew is visible can also be recommended. All bushes that have been attacked by any kind ■of fungus should be thoroughly drenched with a solution of sulphate of copper oz. to 2 gallons water. This must be done at midwinter when the bushes are quite dormant. Black-spot affects the leaves only. Badly affected leaves ■ should be . removed and burned; spraying does not appear to arrest the disease when once the bush is affected. . Bushes that have been previously affected -.should be sprayed with sulphide of potassium as described above, commencing with the opening of the leaves and continuing at frequent intervals to prevent infection. There are many other pests that affect the rose, but the most common have been dealt with above. , It may be added ■ that Bordeaux mixture is more effective than sulphide of potassium, but there is more danger of burning the foliage, and the spray has an unsightly appearance on the ; plants. On these accounts it is usually barred from use. ■

FORTHCOMING AGRICULTURAL SHOWS.

Otago A. and P. Society : At Dunedin, 29th and 30th November. Stratford A. and P. Association : At Stratford, 29th and 30th November. ■ Auckland A. and P. Association : At Auckland, Ist and 2nd December. Southland A. and P." Association : At Invercargill, 12th and 13th December. Tuapeka Agricultural Society : At Lawrence, 13th December. Helensville A. and P. Association : At Helensville, 29th January. Woodville A. and P. Association : At Woodville, 31st January. Feilding Industrial A.- and P. Association: At Feilding, 6th. and 7th February. Opotiki A. and P. Association : At Opotiki, Bth Februar y. Pahiatua-Akitio A. and P. Association: At Pahiatua, 9th February. Dannevirke A. and P. Association : At Dannevirke, 14th,,15th, and 16th February Hukerenui Agricultural Association : At Tcwai, 15th February. Northern Suburban A. and H. Assn. : At" Takapuna, 1.6 th"and ■l7 th February. Northern Wairoa A. and P. Association :At Mititai, ,17th February. ' ~- Masterton A. and P. Association At Masterton, 20th and 21st February. Taranaki Agricultural Society : 28th February and Ist March. ' ' North Kaipara A. and P. Association : At Paparoa, 7-tn March. Ashburton A. and P. Association : At Ashburton, 14th and ,15th March. Oxford A. and P. Association : At Oxford, 12th April. ' '

(A. & P. Association secretaries are invited to supply particulars of their show dates.)