HOME GARDENS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 45, 24 January 1949, Page 6

HOME GARDENS

(By J. W. Goodwin, N.D.H. (N.Z.),F.R.H.5., Massey Agricultural Col-

lege.)

A “heat-wave” tests our gardening methods, and the .types of plants we use in different soils. Various methods of soil improvement and thorough and frequent cultivation have repaid handsomely. With the first signs of a break in the weather we should make good any losses and plant out our main crops of winter greens.

container as the copper reacts with the metal. Allyssum, French marigolds, linaria, nemophila, and stocks may be planted out to fill any gaps and give autumn colour. Nurse Summer Vegetables

' Carrot and cabbage aphis and mildew on peas will show particularly after the plants have received a check. The first may be checked by Black-leaf 40 or Derris and the second by a spray of colloidal sulphur. It is important that older pea crops should not be alowed to infect younger chops. Clean up all spent crops and apply protective sprays. After the dry spell a break in the weather, will encourage the spread of potato blight and preventive sprays of Bordeaux should be applied immediately. Runner beans should never be allowed to become really dry and all small and old pods should be picked. It is one of the most productive of summer vegetables and appreciates liquid manure, a liberal supply of moisture, and a mulch. Celtuce is a useful salad crop and deserves to be grown much more than at present. Salad crops should be sown for succession and French beans where there is no danger from early frosts. Marrows and»pumpkins should have their long runners pinched back when they reach three feet or back to the last fruit set. These subjects thrive on liquid manure and plenty of water during January and early February. Winter Vegetables

There are many lessons to be learned as a result of these short periods of heat. Firstly, the general range of plants. It will be noticed that stocky bushy plants with a good root system have done well whilst plants grown leggy and soft, with to much rich manure, have suffered. Plants naturally suited to dry sunny positions have simply revelled in the heat and promise a good flowering season. Plants unsuited to the soil or position in which they are growing may have perished. Srubby and herbaceous plants with a surface rooting habit may have suffered if the soil was light and packed hard. Here in this section may be seen the beneficial results of mulching. Mulch Moist Soil Only

Mulches if applied now should follow a heavy watering and hoeing of the surface. , The mulch must then be soaked. Mulches of dry sawdust on dry soil will do more harm than good as light rain will be absorbed by the sawdust which sets hard and becomes almost impervious to water. Moist soil covered by moist sawdust is beneficial and it will be found that many' plants will produce masses of fibrous roots in the sawdust. Mulches of half-rooted leaves or straw are excellent and gradually break down to a fine mold during the season. .Rotted strawy-manure has been recommended in earlier notes as a fine mulch for the her-baceous-border, fuchsias, hydrangeas and many vegetable crops. The plants receive the benefit of the mulch, the nutrients from the manure and the humus residue. Lawn clippings may be applied regularly but thinly. Asters may still be planted out to give autumn colour. These subjects are frequently attacked by a fungus frequently referred to as col-lar-rot, wilt, or black-leg. The fungus spores may be already in the soil or in the seed boxes. It most frequently attacks plants after transplanting and spreads rapidly. Cheshunt compound will kill the spores and prevent the spread of the disease. It will not cure infected plants so water all plants at the first sign of trouble and prevent, infection. It is also advisable to water again a week later. Cheshunt compound is prepared by mixing two ounces of finely powdered coppersulphate with 11 ounces of ammonium carbonate. This should be stored for 24 hours in an airtight jar. As required one ounce of the mixture should be dissolved in a little hotwater and then dilute to two gallons with cold water. This mixture should be applied immediately by watering around the plants with a watering can. Do not allow the mixture to stand in an iron or tin

We have already discussed the preparation of the ground for winter greens, celery and leeks and these should be planted without delay. The main crop of celery should be planted in trenches 12 inches deep and 15 inches wide to take two rows of plants set 10 to 12 inches apart. A single row would require a trench 12 inches wide. On heavy stiff soils it is advisable to plant in shallow trenches and “blanch” the stems by using planks along each side of the row and fill-ing-in the spaces with straw. Give the ground a dressing of two ounces superphosphate and quarter ounce of sulphate of potash per square yard. Never allow celery to become dry, spray with Bordeaux to prevent fungus attacks and watch for the carrot rust fly which also attacks this plant..