HOME GARDENS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 15, Issue 23, 19 April 1950, Page 6

HOME GARDENS

(By J. S. Yeates, Massey Agricultural College) i The Feijoa

I have mentioned this sub-tropi-cal fruit before, but it is worth mentioning many times. It is really quite hardy and trees have 'stood 22 degrees of frost (a temperature of 10 degrees F.) It is of little use buying the seedling plants of it which are on the market here. The only worthwhile plants to buy are from layers of rooted cuttings or grafts of one of the best named varieties such as Coolidgei, the only one for which I can vouch. If you decide to grow this fruit, it is no use neglecting the trees. Grown in long grass and not well manured, you will pick little fruit. The soil around them should be kept clear of growth and given regular applications of complete fcrtiliset—such as dried- c'ecri, superphosphate an • potasvi in the proportions 4,4, 1.

Strawberries

The time has arrived when attention should be given to planting of new strawberries. A fresh row or more should be planted , each year, because after two or three years any row of them should be discarded. In the average garden a. row that can be covered by an ordinary strawberry frame is the' handiest

form of planting. If your frames are wider, put in two rows. A spacing of nine inches and two feet between rows is about right if you do not intend to walk between the rows.

Get the plants in early in the autumn if you want a heavy crop next summer, and remember that heavy manuring is half the battle. The Vegetable Garden

■ A row of broad beans can be sown at any time now. Dwarf varieties are easiest to keep upright in wind. Watch for the approach of ■ the first frost, so that you can save as many tomatoes as possible. The whole plants can be pulled up by the foots and hung by the root under trees in frosty weather. Many more tomatoes should ripen in that way, utilising the sap in the stems. Remove most of the leaves when doing this. Pumpkin leaves are usually killed back by even moderate frosts but the fruits are generally not harmed. It does no harm to cover them with some straw or other material in frosty weather, but it is better in any case to leave them attached to the vines as long as possible, to allow them to fill out and ripen as much—as possible. Asparagus should have the tops cut off at groimd level before the berries are ripe enough to drop off. The Flower Garden It is still not too late to plant out the various bulbs such as narcissi, ranunculi," anemones, tulips, hyacinths, bulbous irises, and ixias. In general, the depth of planting is in proportion to the size of the bulb or corm planted. Those planted about one inch deep include lachenalias, ranunculi, anemones. At two inches are snowdrops, ixias, freesias, babianas and tritonias; and three inches is suitable for gladioli, snowflakes, montbretias and Spanish irises. Between four and six inches, go most lilies, hyacinths, narcissi, and tulips. In every case I smaller bulbs of any one sort will be planted shallower than large bulbs of the same sort. Polyanthus plants, pansies, violas and various biennial and perennial plants can be set out now. Any shrubs, young trees, or perennial plants which are to be transplanted can be “wrenched” now, by cutting around and under them with a spade. This severs straggling roots and promotes the growth of a mass of active young roots, giving the plant a better chance of surviving the transplanting. Most parts of the North Island, and warmer coastal parts of the South Island, can grow the hardier citrus fruits quite satisfactorily. The two types most suitable for general conditions are the Meyer lemon and the N.G. Grapefruit. These both do quite well around Palmerston North. ' In warmer coastal districts it should be worth while trying also one of the hardier sweet oranges, and also the Wheeme grapefruit and the Lisbon lemon.

Do not cultivate deep round citrus trees. Their roots like to spread and feed in the top layer of humus. Give fertiliser in autumn and in spring’.

Persons living in New York City in the United States can hear radio programmes over local stations in almost all lthe main languages in the world. x x x x Nearly three-fourths of all exservicemen receiving compensation benefits or retirement pay from Ihe Government in the United States served in World Woo IT.