SWEET PEA SEASON

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 97, 18 January 1935, Page 16

SWEET PEA SEASON

Fertilisers Prolong It Probably no annual gives a better show of blossom with little attention J than the sweet pea. It is equally true I that no plant responds quicker and better to good cultivation. Its needs, in this respect are not so great and varied 'l as.some people think; deep digging and fairly heavy manuring provide the nec- , essary basis for producing strong plants . with a fine first crop of bloom. Not . until this first flush of bloom is over does the need arise for using fertilizers. ( Many gardeners begin loading the soil with them as soon as the first blooms appear. This is a mistake. Give the plants a chance, and watch them care- . fully. As long as fours or perhaps fives are regularly produced, there is obviously no need for a fertilizer, and the use of one will probably only do harm at this stage. Wait until the flower stems show definite signs of shortening and the blooms begin to lessen in numbers. The beginner is well advised to avoid attempts at mixing up a fancy formula, and to buy a special fertilizer, for use with sweet peas only. These plants have special requirements. in this respect, such as little nitrogen and abundant potash and phosphorus, and these are taken due notice of by the firms responsible for putting up the fertilizers. There is only one satisfactory method of using a fertilizer, and that is with the aid of scales and weights. Guesswork is not only useless, but harmful. Measure off the run of the rows in yards and allow 11 or 2 ounces for every yard. The ground must be in a moist condition for the fertilizer to have immediate effect and, if necessary, a good watering the day before will get it into the right condition. Using an ounce of fertilizer at a time, stir this well in a gallon can of water, and pour on the ground along the sides of the rows. Avoid splashing the stems and leaves but pour as quickly as possible to avoid the settling of uudissolved sediment in the bottom of the can. Repeat this process until the right quantity of fertilizer has been used up. Should the ground be very wet so that any liquid applied would run off the surface, then the correct quantity of fertilizer may be weighed out and mixed up with four or five times as much dry, sifted earth. This should be scattered evenly along the rows, and the next storm of rain will wash it down to the roots. Plants like an occasional change of diet. A dose of soot water in a very diluted state may sometimes be given, and in rainy weather a surface application of dry wood-ash will do much toward adding to the tone and vigour of the plants. HARDY PLANTS FROM SEED Few Difficulties

None need hesitate because of any difficulty attached to the raising of hardy plants from seed, for there is none. The majority asks for nothing more than to be sown in the open in drills in a fairly rich and well prepared seed bed. Deep digging is not necessary, but it Is important to have the surface soil made fine by cross raking to remove all large' stones and coarse weeds. If the soil is dry, watering the drills before sowing is advisable. With this treatment and eonurtant hoeing between the drills, which should be set about 9in. apart to allow of the convenient use of the hoe to keep down weeds, no further watering should be necessary unless the seedlings experience a very dry February, when they will benefit by an occasional watering. Where a proper seed bed cannot conveniently be made out of doors, or where a frame is available, seed can be sown in boxes- filled with a good seed compost of loam, leaf mould and sand, and brought on under glass. This is undoubtedly the more satisfactory method, especially with choice things like delphiniums, which fall ready victims to ground pests, for the seedlings can be watched carefully through their young stages and handled more easily. There should be no attempt made to coddle the young seedlings, which invariably leads to plants of weak growth that are unsuitable for planting out. They should be grown on as sturdy as possible, thinning them out early into other boxes where they can remain over the winter with the protection of the frame until next spring, when they will be ready for planting out. Whether grown in a seed bed or in boxes, early thinning should be practised, for there is nothing which better ensures strong and healthy seedlings. Such perennials as the gorgeous oriental poppies, the erigerons, many of the campanulas, the geums, lupins, delphiniums and anchusas are quite easy to raise and are well worth attention. In the ease of some kinds, the named varieties can be trusted to come true to colour; but in others a good strain of seed, saved from the best named varieties and embracing a wide colour range, will afford the best results. The two well known geums, for example, the brilliant scarlet Mrs. Bradshaw and the yellow Lady Stratheden, will breed true, as will some of the oriental poppies and that fine variety of anchusa known as Dropmore; but with most lupins and delphiniums named varieties show variation in colouring. A good strain of seed of these last two will provide a batch of plants many of which will be as good, if not better in colouring, as many of the named varieties. The Regal lupins are an example of an excellent strain that will afford a fine colour range and many individual plants of good shade; while in delphiniums, any strain of seed saved from the best, named varieties on the market can be trusted to give good results.

BULBS BENEATH TREES Enrich the Soil You can only make sure of obtaining a bright display from bulbs planted beneath trees by giving the ground some preparation beforehand. The soil there is bound to be hungry—probably somewhat sour; and such defects must be remedied. The first step is to dig up the soli to the depth of Ift. Use a fork so as to avoid cutting through any of the tree’s roots. If the soil is so dry that the fork cannot do the job, water the soil some twenty minutes before digging—it will then “bind” sufficiently to ho manipulated easily with the fork. Enrichment of the soil will be essen-

tial for such a position, and you will be Wise to get a bucketful of manure for each square yard of soil. Use rotted stable manure or leaf-mould, working it evenly into the soil below the top 6in. In addition, rake bonemeal into the surface, Jib. to each square yard.

Supposing the position beneath the tree to be turfed over, the best results will not be obtained by merely dibbling the bulbs into the turf. Where the groups of bulbs are to go the turf should be cut and rolled back and the soil below forked up and enriched as before. This can be done very shortly before planting so that the turf will suffer no damage. If the weather is very dry, moisten the turf before lifting it. It will then come up without breaking and cracking.

HOW TO TRAP EARWIGS A Night-Time Job Owing to the dry summer, earwigs have increased rapidly and are doing much damage to flowers and seedlings. As these pests feed chiefly at night, many people are puzzled as to the cause of the damage. If, however, the garden is visited after dark with a lantern, the plants will be found to be alive with them. Earwigs are particularly fond of Zinnia seedlings. They do not eat through the stems in the same manner as slugs, but devour the tissues of the young leaves,, leaving the skeletons in the form of a network of ribs and veins. Not only do -they eat the foliage, but are also fond of the petals of many flowers. Small holes are bitten in the petals or pieces are torn out of the sides. Coreopsis, gaillardia, viola, pansy, dahlia, and -many other plants are often disfigured by these pests. . They are not easy to destroy. The well-known method of filling flowerpots with hay or paper sometimes accounts for many. This is no use, however, unless the traps are examined every morning and the catches destroyed. The best way to get rid of them is to visit the flowers at night with a lantern, and a large fiat tin half filled with water. The insects can then be brushed off into the tin. from which they cannot escape, and afterwards destroyed.