Practical Gardening

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 225, 22 September 1928, Page 6 (Supplement)

Practical Gardening

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Correspondents will greatly oblige by observing the following? rales In sending •questions for publication in these columns j— ™ "™^ I—letters should be In not later than Tuesday, to be answered the sane week-— addressed to Garden Editor, "Star" Office, Auckland. v 2—Write on one side of the paper, and make all communlcatlona aa concise as possible. ■ , 3—Blowers, et«% sent for naming must be sent, separately, and. If possible, packed in a tin or wooden box —cardboard boxes arc very liable to foe broken in transit and the contents damaged. 4—The fun name and address of the sender must always be senV but a nom de plume or Initial may be given for publication.

I ROSE SEDGES.

AMATEUR (Avondale) writes: My tomatoes in the glasshouse are just setting fruit. Woald you please tell me. a good mixture to feed them with, the quantity to use, and how often to apply?— Blood and bone two parts, superphosphate eight parts, sulphate of potash one part, nitrate of soda one part. This Is a very suitable mixture to apply, and the Mat way would be to scatter about one ounce around each plant: this could be applied once.a week, but If the fruit does not set too well or the plant is making too much leaf, reduce the manure. If, on the other hand, the fruit Jis setting well, it could be Increased to two ounces each plant. HOW TO SOW SMAIX SEEDS. Small seeds require careful handling, for, besides the risk, of many being lost if the packet is opened where a draught can blow them away, they are apt to be 'sown*too thickly, or. in patches, and the seedlings killed through overcrowding. Procure small boxes about three inches ' deep, and having made plenty of holes in the bottom, cover these holes with broken j crocks. Fill the box with finely-sifted , sandy soil, and make it firm and smooth j with a flat piece of wood. Mix the seeds i 'With several times its bulk of dry sand, i

and place on a piece" of folded paper. By tapping the paper lightly with a stick the seed can be scattered evenly on the surface. After sowing, cover with a mere dusting of very fine soil, again firm it with a piece of board, gently spray with water, cover with glass, lay paper on the glass to shade and prevent undue evaporation. When germination takes place the paper must be removed, but not till the seed leaves have begun to develop, and not even then in the case of Ferns, Begonias, Gloxinias and such-like shadeloving plants. SEEDLINGS. - Nowadays hundreds of seeding plants of all descriptions are bought in spring. Undoubtedly it cannot be expected that all those that are bought will live and come to maturity, but, many die that should not, Were proper care exercised. In many cases the nurserymen or seedsr nien are blamed, but in the case of the majority it is the buyer who is the chief culprit, for treating the. young plants like old ones instead of seedlings. If [ 'the plants, when received, are in a dry condition, the best method of dealing with them is to, untie the plants and lay the roots in shallow water for an hour or so. If there is any decayed foliage, pick it off. Now dibble, or plant, the seedlings in a shady position in some nice sandy soil. Protect the young plants from cold winds or heavy storms. In a ' few days it, will be found that the young plants have started making new small white roots and are_ then ready for putting into their permanent posi- I tions. In the case of one or two plants ! pots or boxes can be used. sThe point > is, give the seedlings a chance%f making i roots and getting'hold of the -Boil as ] quickly as possible. ] VEGETABLE SEEDS. i The following table shows the length ' of row that the quantity of seed men- ' tioned should plant:— * Feet. \ BroW Beans, 1 pint 100 French Beans, 1 pint 200 ■ Scarlet Stunners, 1 pint ... 100 ' Peas, 1 pint 60 i Beet seed, loz 400 j Carrot seed,' loz 600 Onion seed, loz .......... 300 ' Parsley seed, loz ........ 350 1 Parsnip seed, loz ....,.;•. 300 1 Spinach seed, loz ........ 250 ; Turnip seed, loz 600 Potatoes, 141b 1,00 ( loz of any of the cabbage tribe, onions, I leeks, and l-3oz of lettuce, should pro- * vide 1000 plants for transplanting. 1

A .correspondent writes to say that re the article on the above subject some week or so ago he made some inquiries about the varieties mentioned, and was told 'that even if they were suitable, they could not be obtained here." Tba varieties mentioned were: Blanc, double de Coubert, Stanwell Perpetual, Grus or Teplitz, Common China or old monthly rose, Gloire de. Roeamanes, Boule .de Neige, and any of the Penzance Sweet Briars, Wichurianas, or rambler varieties. Apparently the varieties that are referred to as unobtainable in Auckland or Blanc double de Coubert, Stanwell Perpetual, Boule de Gloire de Bosamanes. The others axe catalogued by nurserymen, so it can be taken for granted that they are obtainable. Seeing that such varieties; as above are grown and found useful in Europe, why is it that they are not offered in Auckland? The reason is because rose growing in Auckland mainly consists in the) cultivation of the various varieties' of hybrid perpetuals, teas, and hybrid teas,: Ito the utter neglect of the; sweeteet scented, most floriferous, and

best garden roses. There is an idea that unless a rose has a place *bn the exhibition table it should have no place in the garden. The consequence is that one hears regrets that, the modern roses have lost their scent, and do not make .the large boshes that can be seen in i many "an old-fashioned garden" in Britain. The newer teas and hybrid teas and their allies need expert prunling, training, and growing, or they die. The varieties mentioned above, which belong to the RUgoses, Scotch, China,' Bourbons, and Hybrid Bourbons, are varieties that are sweet scented, will make, large bushes (in some cases up to 6ft high), need littler or no pruning, do well, and bloom profusely, year after year, but you will never get a bloom fit for competition on the exhibition table. Blanc double de Coubert has double white blooms, long buds, flowers early, and the blooms afe followed by large red berries in autumn. A pink-flowered variety, Conrad F. Meyer, is catalogued by New Zealand nurserymen, and is one of the best of garden roses, making a bush 6ft high. Stanwell Perpetual is a variety of the Scotch or Burret rose (Rosa spinosissima); the flowers are bluish white, and it makes a bush about 3ft high. It is* sweetly scented. Common China, or old monthly rose,* is "the old pink monthly,*' usually considered of every "old-world cottage garden,'' forms a large bush, and is sweetly scented. Gloire de Rosamanes is a hybrid Bourbon, flowers red, and a fairly perpetual bloomer. Souv. de la Malmaison is a : Bourbon rose, and is obtainable in Auckland. Boule de Neige is a noisette perpetual, or, according to other authorities, a hybrid Bourbon. It has white flowers and forms large bushes. When pruning the B» urbons, of which Souv. de la Malmaison is one, thinning rather than pruning should be the aim, as for the most part they flower on laterals proluced from the old wood. These com-non-place roses are the ones that retain ' the so-called "old rose scent," and ilthough so far as colouring is con;erned they must play second to their iewer sister the tea and hybrid tea, etc, n the matter of scent, freedom of flowerng, and vigorous growth they are. far ihead. Whether there are any specinens of .these varieties about Auckland [ cannot say, but the gardens of Auckand would certainly gain by their introtuction. Probably somebody has one >r more of them tucked away in the ':< sorner of their garden, and, if not, perlaps some enthusiast will* take upon i limself the trouble of importing them, j

ROTATION OF CROW. tt Is tdvinUe to l> diitrHmte crops round the garden so that no one particular crop occupies the seine ground two years in succession. Of AOtane this does not apply to p&ltoaent etope such as rknhtfls asparagus, ate, which must, as a matter of eomrae, occupy the same position for several years. Some crops sadras eabbage, etc., axe benefited by heavy manuring; others, such as parsnips and root crops generally, do not require any manure at the time of sowing, hut need land well manured the year previously. Beans and peas fix the free nitrogen of the air, and leave the ground richer in tVn valuable plant food. The cabbage tribe and onions are particularly greedy on nitrogen, and require the ground to be rich in it, and leave the soil almost depleted of it. If, therefore* a rotation of crops is maintained it will be seen how one crop can be made to follow another requiring some particular plant food which the other did not require... All plans of rotation can only be arbitrary because so two gardens are alike in every respect, and only guiding principles can be given. Again some will-grow so much moire of one crop than another that they must over* lap at some period.' Such are exceptions and must be . allowed for. The idea, however,'is shown by the diagram. Here the garden is divided into four. One quarter is occupied fay permanent crops, the other three by the principal vegetables. This is the first year's working, the next year the.aK>pa which are occupying section 1 put, into 2, those' in; 2 Will be put lktO 3, and those in 3 "will be put into IV The following years continue the same rotation, 3 always moving up into 2, 1 into 2, and 2 down into 3. There are other crops/ such as lettoco, spinach, which areTnot enumerated; but these can be only grown in sqmll quantities and matui* quickly, and therefore can be grown -as catch crops; between others and in spare vacant places. I 1- 2. Celery Cabbage 1 Ijeeks Cauliflowers Onions Broccoli , • Potatoes Brussels Sprouts Turnips ( Permanent. Crops. 3. . Rhubarb Beans Asparagus Peas Seakalc Beets . . Herbs Carrpts ' Parsnips Kumaras < AN EASILY MADE DBJUL The illustration shows how to tnrn a ake into a drill marker. Put cotton eels on the teeth of the rake at the

THnmnrG onions. Many people sow onions with the best of intentions to do all that is possible,, to produce-good results. In the spring, however, when work is pressing and the onions are looking well in the seed rows they think "Is it worth while to transplant?"—there are far more than is wanted, thin out a few and let the rest stand. The result is a secondrate crop. Whether transplanted or thinned in the seed rows, the distance apart for each plant should be the same. It appears drastic and wasteful to pull.out ten times as many as you leave, but it is necessary. Some often inquire if it is necessary to transplant autumn sown onions. For the beßt results, it is. If left in the seed rows there will be a large percentage of thick necks, and a large number will run to seed. The cheek given by transplanting appears to prevent both of these failings. CHRYSANTHEMUM COMPOST. The growing of • chrysanthemums in pofa is not largely practised about Auckland; still, there are a few grown, and probably m time they will be much more largely grown, for when given the means and attention necessary, the plants are much more under control than when growing in the open ground Those who intend-growing some in-pots the compost some time beit, to allow it to become .thor-oughly-mixed. A good compost is:— Four parts good loam, one part well decayed manure, one of leaf soil, and about 21b of boneduat to each barrowload of compost. This mixture' should be put Under cover to prevent it becoming WORKING THE SOIL. Working the soil in ancient times was regarded as manuring, and the word manure" is derived from the word manoeuvre." Although the present-day use of the word applies to the addition of fertilisers and other plant food to the soil, it actually means to cultivate or till the soil.