THE GARDEN

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 204, 29 July 1937, Page 15

THE GARDEN

Notes are published under this heading, and renders interested in gardening are invited to send in questions relating to matters upon which they wish expert advice; answers will be published with the weekly notes.

THE FLOWER GARDEN. Although the weather is too wet and cold at present to worry about planting seedlings, there are a few that should bo put iu when the ground is dry enough. Some late sown Iceland poppies may still be in the boxes and the sooner these can bo got into' the ground the better it will bo for them. Une gardener has written asking if those small white gl-übs in the ground will do any liprm to them. No description of the grubs was given so we presume that they are grass grubs, and if so they will certainly eat the roots of any plants they can get at. The best remedy is to fork the ground over and allow the birds to clean it up. If the ground is not jilanted this can easily be done, but where there are plants in the soil it is almost impossible to do much good in this way and it would be better to turn the plants under and work the soil as stated above. There are aonic very minute insects which can be found round the bases of some plants which may do some harm, but horticultural noptlialene sprinkled over the soil and worked in will get rid of them. This is also good for destroying or driving slaters away. It can be sprinkled along wooden edgings and they will soon disappear. Polyanthus primroses are beginning to flower and can be helped with u light dressing of blood and bone, nnd also by' keeping tin* soil clean and free from weeds. There has been a great boom in these flowers during the last few 3-ears and one may expect to see more interest taken in them in tho future than has been the cose iii the past. A visitor to England writes [ to say that lie has seen thousands of them growing there and considerable trouble has been taken to get the colours separated and to plant them in this way. He also 6aw a lot being raised in Melbourne and Adelaide for the same purpose. He remarks that the interest that is being taken in them would have gladdened the heart : of Miss Wiliiiott if she had been spared to see them. She was particularly known for th- interest she took in these flowers and for the fine stra'i; that bears her name. Ranunculus and I anemones are coming on now and 1 should have the soil between the rows lightly forked over to allow the air to penetrate. The same applies to daffodils, which are coming lip in fine style; growers say that they nave not seen them looking better for a long time Many of the early varieties are in full bloom now and as long as there is an absence of vain and hail they should do very well. .The main thing at the present, time is to clean away all weeds, and some growers place wheat straw along the rows to keep the earth from splashing up to the flowers. This is a good plan, especially in light soils. When blooms are being grown in beds for show purposes a light cover placed over them will keep them cleaner and frCsher than anything else but when the weather is fine the covers should be lifted, because the sun is required to give them plenty of colour. The shows will not begin until September, but many blooms can be kept for week or more if they are picked and kept in fresh water in a dark, cool room. August 11 has been selected as Ar-

hour Day and every gardener should make a special effort to plant at least one tree in his garden. If everyone did this what a wonderful lot of trees would be planted and what a difference it would make to the countryside. It is not everyone who likes the same tree, hut if we had the choice we would plant a totara. It is slow in growth, certainly, but we think it is emblematical and is a fine sight when growing. , Plant up all kinds of shrubs and hedge trees now, or whenever the land is in a fit condition to work. The sooner this work is done the better it will be for them. SWEET PEAS. A correspondent says: “I got a new lot of sweet pen seeds this season, but unfortunately they did not arrive early enough to be sown in April. In the consignment there were twelve 193/ novelties, which I divided up with three other growers, each having two seeds. They were planted in pots and are now about three inches high. We would like to know how long it will be before we can plant them out. or when would it be advisable to do so? Also, can you tell us anything about the way to train them so that, they will not grow quite so tall ? A friend says that he lias been told that this can be done, nnd we would like to know how to do it. We are going to have a competition amongst ourselves in the summer time, and the loser has to provide the seeds tor the next season.” There is no immediate hurry for you to plant out. Prepare the soil now by trenching and working in plenty of manure, and sec that the ground does not become waterlogged. When the situation has been

prepared give it a good dressing of lime and work this into the ground. When the young plants arc four or fivo iifches high pinch the osntrc out of them to induce them to branch. Only allow three branches to remain on each, and when these are forming they can be planted out iu the situation chosen for them. Allow each plant at least a foot of room and plant firmly, using some twiggy brushwood to support the young plants. The main supports can be put -in later on. The other method to which you refer is to grow the plants in pairs, placing a ring of strong wire-netting or sticks between them. Whichever is used should bo at least six feet tall. As the plants grow the branches are trained horizontally -round the supports and all laterals are nipped out as they form. One has to be very careful not to break the tips as they grow. By the time they have got round to where they started they can be allowed to grow up again and should then he nearly ready to flower. It involves a lot of attention, but one certainly obtains good results and the plants are not nearly as tall as when they nre allowed to grow straight up from the start. When putting the wire-netting in place raise it six inches or more above the ground so that the hoe or cultivating tool can he put undtrneath to stir the soil and keep weeds down. Sweet peas like frequent soil cultivation and when it is given to them they will feed from tho air as much as from the roots.

SEED SOWING. Those who have the advantage of a glasshouse can get on with seed sowing for a supply of bedding plants for tlm spring. The main thing is to have a supply of good loamy soil and coarse sand at hand, and some leaf mould which can be worked through a quarter of an inch sieve. Mix the three together in equal parts and put the coarser pieces on one side for filling into tho bottoms of the boxes to provide drainage. It is not necessary to have deep boxes; those three and a-half to four inches are quite deep enough, and some holes should be made in the bottom to allow water to dram away quickly. When you have the soil ready fill it into the boxes and press it down firmly, and then give them a good watering and leave them to drain for a few days, when the soil will be moist enough to germinate the seeds without any further watering until they come up. Another important thing is to sow the seeds thinly. Most packets of seed contain far too many for one box, and it is better to waste them than to sow them too thickly. As soon as the young plants are large enough to handle they can be pricked out into other boxes, where they will have room to grow and form roots, and they can then be lifted with a good ball of soil for planting. .QUESTIONS.

“Old Saw” says: “I would like to know if there is anything in the old saying, ‘Sow seeds with the waxing of the moon.’ My mother was a North Country woman and she believed that the proper time to sow seeds was shortly after the new moon. I have never heard this theory anywhere else and would like to know if there is anything in it. Also, I have four large nectarines und peaches which get covered each season with a crinkled, yellowish blotch on the leaves, which twist and curl. When should they bo sprayed and what should I use?” We do not know if there is anything in the old saying, but have often heard it stated that seeds germinate better if sown then, if you care to try it you can sow some seeds now and another of the same lot after the 7th of next month. Your nectarines and peaches have a disease called “curly leaf” or “leaf curl.” which is duo to a fungus. Spray the trees at once with Bordeaux or Burgundy mixture. AVe prefer the latter, because amateurs are more successful in making it than they are with the former. The ingredients required, are two pounds of hluestone, crushed for preference, dissolved in six gallons of water in an earthenware or wooden vessel (do not use iron or tin on any account), and one and a-half pounds of .washing soda dissolved in the same quantity of water. Pour the soda into the blucstone and stir well, and make the total up lo twelve and a-lialf gallons with water. Spray within eight hours of mixing. Spray plums also.

says: ‘‘l would like to know why my conns are not as clean and bright as some of my friends . My land is heavy and wet, but has been drained. The soil is not very deep, j but grows good stuff. Wiien do you | advise planting for shows after tile new year?” Possibly your heavy soil has something to do with the cleanliness or otherwise of your conns. Try putting a good two inches of sand below and above the conns when planting them. You will generally find that the clean conns come from a light soil, and by using sand it may help you. Too much manure is another thing that may make them dirty. A gladiolus conn will bloom in from 90 to 120 days after planting. The average time is about 112 days. You can use this as ail idea of when to plant for the show you would like to exhibit at. Some conns could he planted one week and some a week later, and in this way you would be able to find out how long you would -require to bring them to perfection. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. Any soil that is given up to growing plants, whether in the vegetable garden or in the flower-part, should be drained in such a way that the surplus water can get away quickly. There is another tiling that often escapes the notice of the gardener and that is that drained soils are wanner than undrnined and consequently growth begins earlier in the season. Drained soils arc also easier.to work and the -roots of plants can penetrate deeper. In the case of ■ undrained soils, they may seem alright on the surface, but the subsoils are wet' and clammy, mid no plants like to put their roots into it. There are some soils in which drains would be | useless; these are the naturally drained ones, and in them it is a very easy task to grow vegetables. Ground that has been prepared earlier in the season should be ready for planting now and one of the first tilings that should be put in is onions. These require a fairly long season to mature and the earlier they can be got in the earlier the crop can be harvested without too much wet. Other things that can be sown and planted now are peas, broad beans, spinach, and a small row of turnip seed. A good dusting of basic slag along the row on top of the seed is often a good thing to prevent club root. Plant out lettuces, cabbage and cauliflowers. These are all the better in raised beds or planted on ridges in the case of cabbages and cauliflowers. For those who are fortunate enough to have a nice warm sunny place a few sets of seed potatoes can be put in now. They should be well shot and greened and some strawy manure put in the drill with them. Keep some sort of covering handy so that they can be covered over at once if there is any chance of a frost eom-

ing on at night. Keep on drawing the earth up to them as they grow and there will he very little covering required. Those who like radishes call sow a row or two now. A good rich soil is needed for them. Manure all smnll fruits and fork the manure into tile soil ns soon as it is spread. Care must be taken not to use a spade too close to gooseberry bushes, as they do not like having their roots cut. Rhubarb is a gross feeder, and a good coating of animnl manure is one of the best things you can ufee for tliiß plant. If the stools are too large to fork amongst use some of the soil at tho sides of the bed to cover the manure with. When putting out fresh manure take care that It does not come in contact with the -roots of the plants, or they are very liable to rot before they can begin to grow. Every garden should have a few roots of the winter variety, which bears the whole year -round' if the seed heads are kept cut out.