GARDEN NOTES

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2920, 4 November 1916, Page 15

GARDEN NOTES

(By "Kowhai.")

I havo to acknowledge receipt of the Wellington Rose and Carnation Club's schedule of its Patriotic Rose Show to be held in the Town Hall on November 10. . ■> .

A USEFUL HINT, j A correspondent from Peilding writes: "As wo regularly rend your garden notes with interest, and. great benefit to ourselves,: in. our • veg'etablo growing, it occurred to me you may bo interested in a hint; we haye taken; 'We read somewhere—l forget where—that soaking peas in.kerosene was a safeguard against birds and slugs. This wo havo proved to be sbr-as wo-sowed RichaTd'beddon peas, cress, turnips,' and s radishes—then went away for a fortnight.' On our re- ' turn nothing was left save the peas. Wo havo two more tows now coming, and they are untouched also. ' The' kerosene only preserves them for about ten da™, after which they require watching. • We : simply put the booS into pure kerosene, and leave it' for about two hours. Then .bow as usual. . ROUTINE WORK. Sweet Peas.—Already tho plants from IBe first autumn v *3swing are in flower, .and a good drink,of soot water will be much appreciated by them. The tendency tni6 year is for the vinos to be very tall, and staking and tying in must be most carefully attended to. The ground should t>e kept well loosened, and weeds niust not be tolerated.- So far, in most districts, watering has, been quito"unne6essary. ' Just now, when tho plants are in bud, cold winds are muoh to be dreaded.' A cold wind following a' few warm days will often cause all the buds to ■ wither' and fall at the ' least touoh.- Wherever it is possible, vines should be covered over at the first approach of a cold southerly. _ The plants from {he second sowing are just showing siens of btid-forming, and theso may now be fed judiciously. Dissolve 2oz. of superphosphate and loz, of sulphate of iron ia four gallons of water. Givo' each plant a good soaking with this .solution. See tnat .the vinos . are kept growing upright, and that they are wcJl.tied in, .'Those who like to have a succession, of .sweet.peas all through the summer and a!utumn will probably have another, batch of plants about ono foot or eighteon' inches 'high, and perhaps another only a few- inches high. These two later Tots must bo . encouraged' to grow;upright by giving them■ plenty of brush .or twiggy sticks to cling to, Hoa the soil about them constantly, working in ground lime and well ripened soot alternately. Sweet peas oan make us® of plenty .of lime and soot. Plenty of water must -1)0 -supplied 'to- the later batches of-sweet peas, to induce tlicm' to make good growth '.'before flowering. If allowed : to 'suffer : from ' want of water the vines will flower prematurely, and the. flowering will soon be over. 1 A further. sowing of sweet peas may now be made to keep up a succession of flowers. . For this last sowing, provide plenty , of well-rotted vegetable rubbish in the trenches or boles for the plants to root-, into. . In very dry distnots a small drain pipe sTiould be placed vertically in the hole made for each clump, the top' of the pipe "Being, when in position, an, inch "or 60 above the lovel of the surface soil. Water or liquid manure when poured down this pipe will be sure to re.ach the roots, of the plants. Tlie pipe, moreover, provides a suto and easy method'of keeping tho rooting ground, of the plants moist. ■ .

KoSes.—Greenfly is particularly-trouble-some thi6 season, and the gardener who loves his roses must be ever 'on the wa.tch. Caterpillars, too, have found their way. to. the: buds, and unless a strict watch 'is kept promising 'blooms are. soon spoilt. During the daytime tha caterpillars generally hide by folding a leaf over themselves. It is as well to visit one s cherished plants early in ■ the evening as well as during the daytimo'. By the, aid .of a lantern many a foo may bo discovered. Dust flowers of sulphur over the'bushes'at the first sign of mildew. The whitish and orippled appearonco of the foliage is a sure indication of mildew. . So far this season there has been no urgent need for mulohing, but now that the first lot of roses] are well out mulching had hotter bo attended to. Before applying tho nvulch, prick a littlo bonedust into the soil about each, well-estab-lished bush. Have the soil thoroughly moist, well loosened, and warm befora applying the mulch. ,The 'niulch-itself' may consist of well-Totted manure, road Bweopings, well-decayed vegetation, or grass dippings.. Tho mulch, when applied, snould bo about ono inch, in thickness. : ■'

Do not apply a mulch to dry soil; ■' ;

Do not apply a mulch to cold soil. En-deavour-to apply it-when the eun has warmed the ground after rain. . I'ansies.—- Can anything be more beautiful than a border of well-grown.pansies? One can have theni now in ench* an endless variety of colouring, and with such wonderful markings. The petals of tho .well-grown flowers, too, are thick and velvety, and so very rich in colouring. Every • morning dozens,-.of fresh pansy faces look "up at you. Some are so cheeky, others so stately, but air so decidedly friendly-looking. As you throw up your window first thing in the morning and see all the pansies facing In one direction as if watching for you, you .involuntarily smila and call out "Good morning" to them. And it doesn't need much, imagination to see them nod back -and :: look pleased to see you. But so often amateur gardeners are satisfied to have the first few flow.ers fine, and then to allow the others to come small-faced and weak of stem. Pansies so quickly form seed pods if the dead flowers aro not removed, and the formation of seed is a severe drain on the strength of the. plants. Pansies, too, are very gross feeders. They must be watered; and fed, and hoed in oon«tant succession. Where water is scarce cive the plants one good' watering, and then apply 1 a -mulch of' - half-rotted manure.. Where plants-show a tendency to become leggy,.. pe*j down, the long growths with strong hairpins, and heap o little sand over them, and, if necessary, in the middle of the plant; New 'growth will soon be; produced, and. barelooking places will .bev.fillod-in. ' Weak liquid manuro should be .given to pansies regularly during '.the flowering seaeon. Where animal,manure .cannot be 'had guano may be,.;purphased from , a aeeu merchant. Begin, by* dissolving Joz. in one gallon of wajter, and graduallyincrease the strength "to loz. in 1 gallon of water. ' ' '

Slugs.—Writing of;piineies. brings; me to this subject—slugs. : T.hey are, I think, tho worst foes that-pahsles; have. If you go out soon after dart .-with, a lan.tern, you. will see numbers of, slogs hastening from every. direction towards,the pansy plants. . They climb up. the; stems and nibble- at" the newly-formed buds, they sit oii- the leaves lind eat up the edges, and they bite holes ,in the beautiful velvety pansy faces. - A perfect. fury, possesses the gardener at..tho thought of thoso slimy enemies desecrating novterg with such human-looking': faces,-'and 110thing is too bad for them., 'To be, chop-, ped in half with sharp ' scissors! seems almost too merciful an end.'Soot sprinkl-' cd round plants is a little help if enough can be had, but I believe the'slugs are quito capable of burrowing; .underneath it and coming up close to the stems of

tho plants. Thin slices of. potato will, often trap the pests. A visit to the'traps abo.ut an hour after, dusk will disclose often one or two slugs comfortably Seated on tho potato slices while they feast on the juicy substance. The potato may bo lifted quickly, tli'a slugs shaken into a bncket of hot water or brine, and the slices replaced to: trap more slugs. Hunting the enemy after dark seems to be the only sure way of. disposing of -him. VEGETABLES. 1 '

■ TOMATOES, , : In buying tomato plants care should be taken to choose short, sturdy plants. Too often tile plants exhibited for sale are drawn and weakly. Don't plant on ground that is too rich. ; Food can be supplied to the plants from tha Burface when it is needed. A ,riok bed .at the start produces rapid 'and luxuriant growth, but this ia not .what is wanted. Wo want strong, .sturdy plants, bearing plenty of fruit. Tlio ground should be thoroughly dug, but should be made firm again before the plauts aro put out. Alter thoroughly digging, and before putting out your plants, boo over the suH'acc, working in a slight dressing of superphosphate. Wood ashes, or ashes from a rubbish lire, should also be in-

corporated with tho soil. A strong stnko should be provided as soon as tho plants aro put in tho ground. Two stems tiro quite enough to allow tho plants. As the plants grow rub out all lateral growtEs anu new growths from tho roots.