GARDENING NOTES

New Zealand Tablet, 30 August 1917, Page 43

GARDENING NOTES

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;> -r VON SEEDS AND SOWING. • ■ . To amateur gardeners the following few practical instructions for their guidance may be useful : Don’t sow seeds when ; the ground is stiff and cloggy always wait , until the soil is dry and can be raked fine and even. Always be careful to sow seeds thinly, and in rows, following a line laid along where the row is to be planted. This refers more particularly'to the kitchen garden the practise to be adopted in the flower garden is to sow in patches, except in the margins of beds, and borders, when it is advisable to sow in line to form edgings. Each patch should be marked with a short wooden tablet, or label, with the name of the variety sown and the date of sowing. The tablets should not be permitted to appear more than two inches above the surface or they give the plot an unsightly appearance. As stated, seeds should be sown thinly, and if the plants come up too thickly be sure to thin them out before they overcrowd one another. Better to sow too thin than too thick, and many people err in the latter direction. When plants have plenty of room to develop the results are much better. Never go in for the growing of cheap varieties of plants ; the trouble is the ■same, but the results are disappointing. Cheap seeds are an abomination to the professional grower; and he never wastes valuable time on their cultivation. Experience has taught him the worthlessless of spending time and energy on an inferior product. Far better to pay a reasonable price for good seed and have satisfaction than to encourage seedsmen to stock inferior hinds by creating a demand for such. It is well to keep a diary and to mark down the date of sowing, the variety sown, and where purchased. .It is not desirable to sow old seeds, although some seeds are good for the second season. It is not wise however to depend on seeds over the second year. If you do not intend to save seed from your plants always remove the seed pods and they will bloom much longer. Whilst the energy of the plant is directed to the maturing . of seeds further flowering is relaxed. For good results, do not grow the same crop in the same ground the second.' season. The first crop usually benefits from the different composition of the soil, and therefore absorbs the nutriment which the second crop would require. In the absence of this nutriment an inferior production would be the consequence. Always grow an intervening crop of a different nature, and the soil is given a chance to recuperate its spent energy. INDOOR PLANTS. Always keep house plants scrupulously clean and give them all the sunlight and air possible. Always place them out of doors on wet days ; the rain will benefit them exceedingly by washing off the dust from the leaves and giving them a free breathing action. A good plan when watering plants is to place them in a tub of water, sinking the pots up to the brim and when bubbles cease to appear it is a sure sign that the plant is thoroughly watered. when pot plants are dry the air gets access to the soil, and hence it is that when the pots are steeped in water the air getting away form bubbles in its escape. - '