GARDEN NOTES

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 97, 18 January 1919, Page 13

GARDEN NOTES

(By "Kowhai."),

AXSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. "Amateur" (Wellington) writes : -"Vonr notes liavo been a., aoui'ce of. rinuch pi auro and help <turinpr tho last , few inon tl a. To-day 'Garden Notes' eo aptly cxp tss wliat I havo been tlunlii.iie of you will kindly bear wiUL. a sight■ Aescriptiou of what I have done Autlii l .unpromising looking «-ity ■ • WJietf X took possession fljq. months a„o a piece. 30ft, by 24ft,, at thoracis' was .i wild tanglo of ivy.,?" a ßebnff-. r oßes. inated by a spleJidid cvqpiof docks arid sorrell. Three or four sickly vainly ..tried, to gro.w under - tic hieltci of somo huge wattles. w : .iob to ono not used to manual .la 1 with tho'help.of an axe, pick,; and shmel wci'.at-iaet. cleared the lot out. A boitoi ol- six feet all Tound had ow.de'Jtl} been at ; some remote .period cnltnatM. « began on that. The lWirielt just onposito. provided ub with inanuit foi i uarrying; l ' A 4d. bunch 01. beet, lettocc, ; cabbaßo,"land' cauliowor; a.:3d. packet of scarlet runners, ..peas, broad- jcaias, and were our., first 6tart..r . Later w added, bit by bit,: as grountE was ready, carrots;: butter,, beans. parEmps, aiida dozen tomato plants. Already moro. than paid all: our outlay. We ha\e had ' tho. most., delightful salads; we are looking", forward; nexti week to oax tost boiling of peas, aild. have three latei lotß eoming Oil. :.Ten; our of our twebe tomato .plants are: strong and healthy, al ' ready'.-fruiting and covered wtli a. toe show of;, flower. „I knew nothing of gardening, my majn. inspiration being V'Garden Notes.' It -lias been hard woilt so far, but will,be' le'£B arduous now tbai the ground: is up. I think I oan.'SafolJ say.ihat; our. ,30ft. by Z4ft. patch'will-supplyj; u?.with an ample supply/- of-. vegetables—find sucli. vegetables, all' the year:,iound.'.;Apart altogether from the saving ', of ' money, it-. has been a 'healtli-giVing f, bif of work/. I an» now cjiiite fascinated with my bit of garden. '■ "I have Baid enough, to show bow 'iery heartily I endorse your remarks in today's Notes (re the necessity for homegrown vegetables "K"). How very heartily I can adviso anyone with a bit of spare ground to at once begin using it. Once they have tasted "the sweetness of home-grown vegetables they will have little stomach, for- shop supplies. Hope I have not wearied you. Accept my thanks .for all the help you ,havo : been. .• •' '. • - .DAHLIAS,.

The.aeason so far has not:.been a "very happy one for dahlias, ' for continual boisterous weather has so buffeted the plants that it haa taken all-'tbe- gardener s Blcill in staking to prevent; the bnttlo stems being Bmashed. to the: ground. Jly limiting the .number of stems, and by keeping the middle of bushes free fr9m . growth, one. is better able to''grapple with the difficulty of' protecting dahlia plants from ficrco onslaughts of wind and ram. Although the season has been a wet one, there lias not been enough., rain to give dahlia'plants the frequent-thorough soalimgß that they so" love. Ono good watcring .onco a 1 week • should be'-given, if pos- " Bible, and should be followed by weak liquid manure. Tho soil about the plants mußt be Jiept. loose, for dahlias very ftiuch resent firm, or well-trodden soil about their roots. . .-. ' - PANSIES .' AND VIOLAS. Pansy and viola plants that have been . flowering for some-time need;'constant attention and liberal feeding ,if largo flowers, iwith thick ; velvety petals of good colour, arfi ■ desired. ■So often amateur gardeners are satisfied to haver tho first few ilowerß fine, and thou, to allow the others to. come- small-faced- and - weak of, stem. Pansies quickly form seed .'.pods if the dead flowors are not removed, and the formation Of seed is a severe drain on the strength of the plants. -Pansies, more-, over, > aro gross 'feeders. This is a fact that is too often overlooked by pansy growers.. Not only must they be planted in well-manured ground, but also, after a few weeks of flowering, they must bo , watered and fod, and hoed ."in constant succession. Wliero water is:-scarce, give tho plants one good itatering, and then apply a mulch of half-rotted : manure. Where plants show a tendency to become leggy, peg down the long;;, growths, with strong hair-pins and heap a little sand over. them,*'and, if necessary,", in the midIdle of tho 'plants. If tho sand is kept ' moist; now. growth will soon-.be produced, and-bare-looking places will;:be filled in. Weak: liquid' manure should: .be given to . panßies regularly during the: flowering season. -Where • animal manure cannot be had, guano may bo purchased: from a seed morchant. Begin by dissolving }oz. in one gallon of water, and • gradually increase tho strength to loz. :in ono gallon of water.

Pansies love ,-a cool, moist, rich. bed, sheltered from north-west winds, Violas, on the other hand, fare better when they are placod '.right.'.out.;iii';'tho open sunshine. :.Thair'quaint.little flowers aro produced so freely that one must go almost daily to the • borders to pick - oif faded blooms:

It is a good plan to'pick off, occasionally, all flowers and the buds showing colour. This gives the plantß a little rest, and tho new crop of flowers will bo all .tho finer for it. Like pansies, violas love a., good, drink: of clear., fresh'-water,' and, in dry weather, a comfortable mulch tucked under their shoots and well round their roots. '" " '■'

Wliero. thero are plenty .of strong, young, shoots, cuttings of both pansies and violas may be taken.'now. 'Thcy should be .planted .firmly in. very sandy aoil, and kept -moist till new growth begins. These cuttings will furnish strong' little plants ■ ; ready for plahting-'..outyipte,:.itf..;;the autumn. On .great advantage ,'of Hailing cuttings is that one. ; knows the ..colours of the flowers, and can arrange a. border or bed so much more effeatiyolyV'tiian when usiug seedlings. ' VEGETABLES.:-:"? . | "" ' • ' ONIONS. Ae soon as. the bulbß are . well ErowiU 'bend , over tho haulm.- at :.thb peck and tread it firmly downi This'TVill cause the buibß'to'swell still further and mature. In ben'dinc down the haulm, care must* be. taken to "do 'it thoroughly? as otherwise new growth' may set in and spoil tho onions. Another point to be considered iB tho time for bendinff ldown..the haulm. If done too soon, that is v ;beforoi the . onions are fully grown, how '/growth will •Bpring'Up from'the"necks-and so ruin the ( crop. . v,-- ;•

As- Bpon ; afl tho hn-ulm is withered, the onions may,be lifted, and v apread out in a cool dry-place to dry, : before, being stored away. WINTER G3JEBXS. Winter Erceno,<may : planted out between the' rows'-ofV late potatoes, or in ground that has become vacant. If the ground : m&nur6d ..in'tlio "winter, no- more maiiurinjf'is necessary,'but the soil should.be well forked over, and then made Arm 'again by 'treading upon - it. When planting, the soil should bo made Tery, firm "about the. roots, and a good watering/should''be -given* "'.'lf kerosene tins are cut in half and inverted over newly-planted cabbages, etc., they "w'll shade thera from. tho sun, and help to keep soil moist'till the plants make a start. If ; the plants are being putout on a piece of unoccupied ground, it is a good >plau.vat' this time,-of.'the .year .to plaut them in shallow trenches. When tho plants aro being watered, the water can be confined >toHlio ;tronches,- instead of being spread all over' the ground. As soon as all fear of dry weather is over the plants can bp/earthed up. : Cabbages, l 'broccoli/ ctc.', that' aro - in* tended for the winter must not be allowed to suffer from dryness at tho roots or they will bolt. . As soon as the young plants begin to make new growth, a very little nitrate of . soda may be given to them to givo them a good start. Begin ■with' loz, in 1 gallon of water, and apnly it when the soil is thoroughly wet. Tho quantity may then be gradually increased to 16z. f in 1 gallon of water.

ItOUTINE WORK. •Sow, where necessary, ,thc following Scarlet: Ruiiiier ' Beans.-r'Sow in ground that lias been trenched and manured, flow the seeds from six to eight.,.inches apart, and- abo.ut '.two Indies deep. French • BeansJ—Sow in'drills two feet apart, and have the seeds six inches apart in tho rows. Dust .bonedust in the drills afc the timo of. sowihg the seed,.and give a slight dressing of 'superphosphate as soon as the seedlings' aro a couplo of inches high. Carrot.—Sow thinly in drills 12 inches apart. Dußt superphosphato along the rows as soon as the seedlings appear, and begin thinning out as soon ab they aro biff enough to handle. ... reas.—Sow in drills from 2 to 3 feet apart. Ground should be trenched and manured, and should have wood-ashes mixed -with it. Dust bonedust in tho drills when sowing.. Beet—Sow in drills 18 inchcs apart in ground that was manured for a previous • crop. The ground 6hould bo deeply dug, and made'firm again before sowing the seed. Dust bonedust in the drills when sowing. v " 1 v./ Lottuce.—Sow thinly-in drills 15 inches apart, .and thin out lo 9, inches, in tho rows. The-ground should be deeply dug and enriched "with well-decayed manure. Dusf'bonedust in the drills when sowing the Bced. , . "Garden Notes" next week will contain seasonable notes about:—Freesias. routiuo work, and vegetables.