GARDEN NOTES

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2723, 18 March 1916, Page 15

GARDEN NOTES

[BY "ICowkai."]

/ SWEET PEAS. Once moro .tho season for sowing sweet pea seeds for next spring's supply of flowers has arrived. Sweet peas are usually grown in clumps in the «fl™en, or in lines along a fence, verandah, trellis, etc. The method of preparing the ground is the saino in all cases. Hie raoro 1 grow sweet peas the more I am convinced that one cannot be too particular about arranging for tho roots ot the vines to havo a cool, moist root-run at the timo of flowering. Every year I grow a few peas at the end of a verandah. Tho ground is well dug each autumn, and Ti'as a little bonedust worked into it, but it has never been trenched. The pens

that are grown there are always among my finest,' and flower over a long period, and I account for it by tho fact that an overflow-pipe from the roof empties itself just beside them, thus supplying them with plonty of moisture during spring. By encouraging file roots of sweet peas to go down to a good depth, and by providing them with the necessary rooting material at that depth, one can generally overcome the difficulty of root moisture. : But the trouble is to induce the peas to send down 1 their roote. The old plan of putting all the manure and good stuff in the bottom of the trench, and having only poor stuff on top, is a mistake. If tho soil at the top of the trench is poor the plants never have the strength to push further down, and so the good stuff below is wasted. The soil in the trench should be evenly rich all through, anil any manure that is put in should be thoroughly mixed with the soil. Of well-decayed vegetable rubbish there should be a good deal. But it must be decayed before it is put into the trench. Last year I dug, for experiment, a trench three feet deep and a yard long. In the bottom I put a good layer of 'well-rotted manure from a pigsty. On top of that camera good layer of grass that was fairly dry, and the trench was then filled up with the earth, to which no manure hail been added. Tho flowers in the spring, ware'fairly largo iche variety was Mrs. Cowdy), but the stems were short, and the flowering season was soon over. On lifting tho vines I found that the roots had stayed quite near the surface, the dry grass was still dry, and t'hc pig manure still waiting for the' Toots that never reached it. In all other cases well decayed vegetable rubbish from a "rubbish hole, and a good sprinkling of ground lime had been thoroughly mixed with tho soil, and the vines varied from 9 to 12 feet in height, and wero a mass of beautiful long-stemmed flowers. Unless one is growing sweet peas for "allow," it is not necessary to trench deeply each year. A well-prepared trench will last for three years. The first year, tho top soil is taken off, and removed to a place of safety. Then tljo subsoil is thoroughly broken up to a depth of three l'eet, soma of it being removed from the trench and wheeled away, in. order to make room for the manure or vegetable rubbieh. Plenty of decayed vegetable rubbish or manure, a little wood or rubbish fire-ash,-and, if possible, some leaf mould, and a dressing of ground lime are t'hen worked into the subsoil till they are thoroughly mixed with it. Leave the trench open as long as possible, antt, before returningtho top -soil thai was put in a place of safety, trample all up and down the trench several times, wearing your biggest boots, The top eoil may then bo returned to its place, and should have well-rotted manure", or well-decayed vegetable rubbish worked into it, also a dressing of bonedust (about loz. to tho square yard). Tho two 'following seasons the 6oil at the top of the trench is deeply dug, and has a good supply of decayed -vegetablo rubbish and the usual quantity" of bonedust worked into it. In clearing away the dead pea vines, leave the roots in the ground, and they will, in duo course, decay, and add humus to it.

.Removing the top soil and carting it away while the subsoil is being attended to may, to some, seem an unnecessary attention. But it is worth the trouble. • The'top soil is like the cream on the milk, it 'is the richest and sweetest part of the ground, and, if kept to the top gives young plants a good start-oif. If, as in many cases, alas, it is turned under, and subsoil 'a ■ Brought to the top, the phuits are obliged \ to make their first start in. life in sour, unwholesome soil. It is as imporFant to give young plants a good start ite it is to do the same for babies! A ivrongly-fe<l baby is a prey to innumerable ills. A youn£ plant that is put into an ill-mado feeding ground is 6tunted and weakly, and a prey also to any disease er blight that may come its way. COREOPSIS. ' If coreopsis seed be sown now in seed pans, the seedlings will have time, below the spring, to grow into fine bushy plants, and quite early in the spring they will hear masses of long-stemmed, beautiful flowers. By giving the nlants a good long time to make plenty of strong roots, we induce them to build up sufficient strength to carry them through a

flowering poriotl of nmny months' duration. Plains that rush, into lowering whilo they are still young and insufficiently supplied with roots, give only a fow good flowers, mid then a number of small, short-stemmed ones that aro not worth having.

Coreopsis grandiflor-a iears large, rich, golden-yellow flowers, on very long stems. Besides malting a brilliant display in tho garden, the flowers arc'most useful for cutting, for they last a long time in water, and their long stems simplify tho work o£ arranging. ANEMONES. As soon as tho foliage of anemones appears above ground, the soil about the plants must b? kept moist and well worked at all times. From the startiug of growth, until, flowering is over, anemones should never be allowed to suffer from drought. Failure to keep the plants moist, especially during the early stages of their qrowth, results in flowers of poor quality, and possibly in no flowers at all. i Anemones 'and all springt-flowering bulbs should .be got into She "round ao quickly as possible now. It is always recommended that bulbs ehouild be planted early in order to givo them a long period of growth below ground, before they push up above ground: but this autumn continued drought has so far made early- bulb planting a failure. Now, however, as I write, the rain is coming down steadily, and all bulbs that are already pla-uted will respond at once to tho moisture in the ground, and commence growth. Those who have delayed their bulb planting for want of moisture in the gromul should push on, therefore, as fast, as possible. VEGETABLES. Take advantage of( the ground, whenever it is moist, to plant out winter greens—cabbages, lettuce, celery, leeks, cauliflower. If seedlings of cabbage or cauliflower have been in the 6eed bed for some time waiting to be planted out, it is better to sacrifice them and raise a fresh batch. I had a fine lot of cauliflower piants ready a month ago to put out, but it was useless to do it till raiS came. A week ago I sowed a fresh lot of seed, and dug in the waiting seedliiig'3 for manure. Cabbages and cauliflowers that suffer from drought during the early stage of their growth are not worth bothering about, because they generally bolt instead of making fine heads. When planting out young cabbages and cauliflowers cut off tho long tap Toot with a sharp pair of scissors. This causes them to make' fibrous roots, and tlfe vegetables aro much finer as a result. The jjTOund should be well dug and should contain plenty of humus, but it should also bo made firm before the seedlings are planted out, and should not be too rich. Once the seedlings arc put ont into their permanent quarters, the soil about them must be kept moist and well worked.

Garden Notes next week will contain seasonable notes about sweet peas, freesias, and vegetables.