HOME GARDENS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 71, 21 July 1948, Page 6

HOME GARDENS

(By J. W. Goodwin, N.D.H. (N.Z.), F.R.H.S., Massey Agricultural College.) BASIS OF GOOD GARDENS Our garden plants were originally natives of widely-varied soils and climatic conditions. Whilst inany are amendable to wide and varied conditions, it is understandable that many will give of their best only in conditions somewhat similar to those in which their wild forms flourished. Shelter, drainage and the soil itself are physical conditions, while temperatures, sunshine, rainfall and wind may be termed climatic conditions. First let us consider a rough, general classification of garden soils. The light, shingly soil is one which is quite common, and very often neglected. These areas usually consist of layers of metal intermixed with light loam or silt, and have been laid down by our rivers, the shingle being deposited at the height of a flood and the silt during the fall or minor floods. This class is extremely variable and may range from what appears to be pure pitmetal to quite good land. Actually, this range occurs in the Massey College grounds, except for the deep silt of the river flat and two sandhills. This class of soil is usually well drained, though an “ironstone pan” may occur in some localities. In the latter case, v where the pan is so close to the surface that the winter watertable is unduly high, it is necessary to break the pan by subsoiling. Plants roots will not penetrate, and, being confined to the surface areas, trees become ‘stag-head-ed,” and all plants suffer from the two extremes of excess moisture in the wet weather and drought in the dry periods. Controlling the Watertables

Where a stony pan develops near the surface in shingly soils, it must be broken up. All borders and beds should be double-dug. This means a great deal of hard work, but, once thoroughly carried out, it remains effective for a long time. A good trench, two spits deep, must be opened up with the pick and shovel, and as work proceeds this trench must be kept on the deep side, as the work is thus made much easier. Now, to, return a shingly soil is to invite the material to set to a hard pan again. The larger stones should be removed entirely, and tufty soil or any form of organic material should be mixed in with the remaining light soil. This, and the later action of tree and shrub ‘roots will keep it open. Ido not believe in fillipg in with all heavy soil, as this is costly and also gives the larger plants a severe check when their roots eventually grow out into the poor shingly subsoil. The removal of stones creates two problems. Firstly, what to do with them, and secondly, how to build up the ground to its original level. In some cases the stones are quite large and these may be used as edgings to beds or borders. The smaller stones may be used as a foundation for paths, a garage floor, or even the floor of a hen house. " ; Borders prepared with stories will grow a wonderfully-wide range of annuals and perennials. Of the trees and shrubs whose roots will eventually penetrate into the poorer soils, there is quite a wide range to select from, and many of them will flower and fruit more profusely' than in heavier soils. The, thorough preparation, however, will give them a really good start. Sandy and Peat Soils ' Sandy soils are much easier to work with, and are usually well drained except in low-lying portions. Some may contain a proportion of silt, but others are entirely lacking in plant food and organic matter. They are very unstable and subject to erosion by wind and water. Quite frequently the sand occurs in hillocks, with, areas of peat lying in the intervening hollows. Now, peat in its numerous forms provides one of the finest plantgrowing media. It puts life into the soil in the form of humus and, though not rich in plant food, it helps to bind the sand, and improves its water-holding capacity .by its ability to absorb and hold moisture. Clay is very useful for binding sand and is comparatively rich in plant food, but it lacks humus. Heavy loam contains both. It is really a question of what is most readily available. Peat or clay and some form of organic matter, or heavy loam, should be worked into the borders on a very liberal scale, in the same manner as shingly soils were treated.