THE GARDEN.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXV, Issue 4754, 22 September 1924, Page 4

THE GARDEN.

VEGETABLE CULTURE. AN AUSTRALIAN PROCESS. (By W C. Hyde, Horticulturist, in. the Journal of Agriculture.) Urgent work at the present season is the timely hoeing of seedling crops, the success of which depends very largely on this being done properly. Before the seedling weeds develop their second leaves the hoe should be put through them on a fine bright day, and they will be quickly disposed of. As soon as the young shoots indicate the rows in the potato crop a similar attention should be given, and a great deal of work that is a real drudgery will be avoided. Land that has carried .winter crops of cabbage and bioccoli should be cleaned up and cultivated as soon as it is available, and sown in root crops or planted in potatoes.

Now is the time for sowing the main crop of carrots, beet, and turnips; also celery, peas, spinach, silver-beet, and salads. In the colder sections with b fair rainfall, cabbage for autumn use may be sown; a little red cabbage may well be included. In more favoured areas aubergines (eggplants) and capsicums may be sown and raised in heat. Like the tomato plant, they are half-hardy annuals, and require somewhat similar conditions. Their growing popularity is well deserved.

The preparation of land for tomatoes and other late-planted outside crops should be completed as soon as possible and kept in clean fallow. This affords an excellent opportunity for cleaning land, and eaves a lot of work later? Reserve a piece of rich land, in a cool locality for a seed-bed for winter crops, preparing it now for solving later.

I.and that has been prepared for asparagus may be planted now. The old system of crowding the plants is unsatisfactory. Large areas are now planted in rows or clumps 3ft or 4ft apart, bu: for ordinary purposes rows alternately 18in and 3ft apart will be more- generally satisfactory. Obtain two cr three-year-old plants and handle them with care. Open out a liberal trench for planting, and place them so that there is finally sin of soil over the crowns. Cover them with 2in or 3in of soil, at present. Hoe the land over occasionally before sedling weeds reach any size, and allow the plants to be gradually covered to the full depth. There should be no cutting of young sticks made this season, and very few next. Established beds of asparagus should receive 1 a dressing of nitrate of soda; 2oz to the square yard will, be usually sufficient at the present time. Beds on light land may receive a dressing of common salt a little later. Rhubard beds that are being cropped should also have a dressing of nitrate of soda, loz to the square yard being sufficient.

Where tomato plants are grown under glass care should be taken to see that not only is the ground prepared, but that the house is free from the infection of plant blights. The experience of the past season will guide one in this matter. Where leaf mould has given trouble the spores will be general throughout the house, and the crop will be more easily handled if they are destroyed before planting. Even the strings should come in for consideration where the attack has been bad. Bluestone solution, 11b to 25 gallons of water, is a good fungicide for this purpose. Flowers of sulphur are sometimes burnt in un empty house before planting—ll.b to 1000 cubic feet being used, and the house kept closed for • twenty-four hours. Carefully examine each plant before setting it out to see that it is true to type and free from disease. After planting, houses are best kept warm by early closing, and on the dry side, (ill the finst bunch of fruit is set. tj SMALL-FRUITS. Land prepared for passion-vines may now be planted. It should be clean, in good heart, and sheltered. The rows—running north and south — should be 10ft apart, and the plants 12ft apart in the rows. To support the vines posts standing sft out of the ground should be placed at intervals of 24ft, and along the tops of them two No. 8 wires should be etrained side by side and about 6in apart. The young vines should be trained to a single stem by stopping all laterals and tying .them to stakes’ till they reach the. wires above, when four laterals are allowed to grow out and are trained along the wires each way. These form main Readers from which fruiting laterals are grown. To keep these plants carrying heavy crops generous manuring must be maintained., Old Vines should now have the fruiting laterals pruned back to the two 1 base buds. Breaks of Cape gooseberries which cropped last year may now be cleaned up and given a dressing of chemical fertilisers, and the land between the rows turned over by shallow ploughing, followed by light harrowing. Established strawberry beds will also require a good dressing of manure, working it in with a light cultivator. Attend well to any necessary ispray„ing, and keep the cultivator busy during fine, dry weather. This also applies to breaks of gooseberries, raspberries, and currants as well as the preceding. Land to be planted out in Cape gooseberries next month should now be getting thorough preparation. There has been some, inquiry regarding the growing of loganberries. Those deciding to plant' should get their plants in as early as possible now. Heavy land in a sheltered locality is required flor., good results. Large areas are usually planted Bft between the plants both wfays, and: small plantings rather eloper. The canes are usually trained on a wire trellis supported .oh posts sft out of the ground and placed at intervals of 30ft, two wires being strained bn these at a distance of 2ft and 4% ft from the ground. Plant deeply, and aim to get a strong growth of canes the. first season, TOBACCO CULTURE. If the tobgcco-seed beds are not yet

started a commencement should now be made without delay. It is as well to make two or three sowings at short intervals, and thus have plenty of plants and provide for all contingencies. Keep the beds free from weeds and thin out the plants where necessary. The beds must not be allowed to dry out, but when the plants are half-grown it is a»s well to keep them rather on the dry side. Although this crop does not require the heaviest land, it requires the best of preparation, and if the area to be planted is not yet ploughed up a start should be made at once. The cultivation should be of the best, and the land cleaned by frequent working. If the land isat all sour an application of lime, should be made and worked in.

Those who are holding last.seasons crop should now' bulk it down. This is done by placing two rows of hands, overlapping by about one-third of their length, with the butts outward. Build up in this way to a height of 3ft or 4fit. Weights should be placed on the top of each bulk, which should be covered with a tarpaulin, the object being to conserve the heat and moisture and avoid drying out the leaf, as well as keeping it in darkness. For this operation the leaf should not be moist, but in such condition that the tips can be squeezed together without breaking and that a Blight shake will release one from the other. Examine the bulk daily for a while, and, if found too warm (over 100 deg. F.), it should be broken down, aired, and restacked. The product improves with age i£ kept under proper conditions. SHRUBS, LAWNS, DRIVES, ETC. The planting of trees, shrubs, and' perennial plants should now be completed. This is specially urgent on light land in the drier districts. The same expedition is required where lawn-grass seed is to be sown. Secure a firm, even, properly graded seed-bed, and sow it down now as soon as the weather permits. Grass on playing greens will now

be making considerable growth, and will require cutting. Where the grass is young, autumn-sown, or mostly young (through resowing and topdreesijng), it must be cut with care. To cut it down hard is to lose it. A perfect and fast-playing surface cannot be expected the first season under ordinary conditions. Follow up the cutting by rolling and cross-rolling the lawns. Yaids, walks, and drives at this season are often disfigured and the surface drainage interfered with by the growth of grass and weedis at the sides and in the water-tables. Where any extent has to be dealt with, hand hoeing is costly and spoils the surface. A weed-killer mentioned, among others, in the Journal for May, 1922 (page 304), will be found effective for this purpose, and it should be quite safe if handled by an adult. It is composed of lib of arsenic and 21b caustic soda placed in a kerosene-fin three parts full of soft water. After a few days the arsenic and soda will have dissolved. Stir the solution well and dilute it to 40' gallons, when it may be applied through a rose watering can. In such a climate as is enjoyed by New Zealand, pot-plants of different kinds are in great demand for furnishing the airy rooms, verandahs, and balconies of domestic and business houses. Be the position ever so dry and sunny or shaded, plants of some kind may be found to suit it. Quaint succulents—cacti and aloes—enjoy the former, while ferns, hydrangeas, fuschias, bays, and many other shrubs prefer the latter situations. Properly catered for, such plants require but little attention if rightly placed. The present is the proper time for potting up such subjects, or repotting those which have overgrown their position. Most of them would benefit by the removal now of some of the old top soil and replacing it with a similar quantity from a good, properly prepared compost. Let the rim of the pot or tub stand an inch or two above the soil to allow for watering.