GARDEN NOTES

Chronicle (Levin), 12 June 1946, Page 8

GARDEN NOTES

(B.v "Kijnio.") Tho tuni of the yeni' will ho here very shoi'tlv and onco that occurs plant lil'o will 1 io stirling again and soon grnwth will lio noticoablo, ospocially as I'ar as wccds aro etmcornod. Tako advautago of ovory dav of suitablc woatlior to tidv tho garden and so.e that hodgos, juiths and lawns are in goi;d onior as well as tlie flower borders. II' all these things are left until the spring tliere will be so niany things requiriiig doing siniultaneously that sonie are bound to lie negleeted. RenuMnber the compost lieap when Hoaring ii|) both the flower and vegetaide . gardens. Everything free from disease whioh will rot down sliould go on the lieap, and anything liard and woodv or diseasecl in any way ouglit to be put in a heap and burned. The ashes from a bonlire are good for many i>m'j.oses, espeoially roses, but tliey sliould lie gathered up aiul scattered over the beds before they becdme wet. -■ A labour-saving plan wliicli is : becomiiig inore and more popular in the South Jsland is to cover the surface of the garden — particularlv where shrubs are grown — with a mulch of sawdust from two to three ixn-hes in depth. This effectively stops all small weeds i'rom coming through and large ones rau be hoed off from time to time. This method is also used to deal with i-ouoh-grass, whioh will come tlirPugh the sawdust at tirst but ean then be very easilv pulled up as the roots come towards the su)rface or it can be hoed of!' and more sawdust put on, but eventualiy the weed necomes discouraged and disappears. Those who can obtain supplies of sawdust should experiment and try this method out. When hoed into the ground sawdust will turn into liumus and aot as a plant-food. To lie offeotual as a weed-killer it must be jiut on thiokly and left on the surface for sonie time. Used round azaleas and rhododendrons, sawdust is very useful as it does away with the necessity of disturbing the ground around these su rf ace-roo t in g sli ru bs. All spring-tlowering bulbs and plants should be watched over during the winter and have the earth pricked up round them affer wet weather. Aiiemones and ranunculus, in particulur, appreeiate this attention as they both object to liaving wet feet, and their foliage will turn yellow and sickly unless they are kept reasonably free from wet, clogged soil. Plenty of aeration seems necpssary to keep them in a healtliy condition. Anenrones could have a pinch of blood and bone occasionally, also a dusting of lime, but it is • not advisable to use quick-acting fertilisers such as superphosphate at the present time as there is not sufficient growth going on to absorb it, and it would be washed into the ground below root-level before the plants could benefit from it.