THE GARDEN

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 243, 11 September 1940, Page 10

THE GARDEN

'Notes’ are published under this heading, and readers interested in gardening are invited to send in questions relating to matters upon which they wish expert advice; answers will be published with the weekly notes.

THE FLOWER GARDEN

All rose’pruning should,bo finished now, but tiiose who are growing bouvardia6 will find this month the best time of the year to do this work. To prune them is an easy matter. The weak shoots are cut away and the remaining shoots are cut down to about a foot; then a good ccaung of manure is spread round the plants and-lightly torked into the soil. If good old maiiuro cannot be got use some bone dust in the mixture. These are beau til id flowers to grow in a sunny part of the garden. They like a warm, well-drain-ed situation and when they are growing well liquid manure given once or twice a week is helpful to them. The most important plants in the garden at the present time arc the daffodils, and. they must be kept clear of weeds. So far this season it has been an easy matter to take the weeds out and shake the earth from their roots and carry them away to the compost heap, where they can be rotted down, to make manure lor future use. Old carnation beds must be cleaned up now and all the dead leaves removed and burnt. New plants can be set out iu well-prepared soil that has been well limed. Carnations of any kind cannot be grown without plenty of lime, and if there is any soot available it can be worked in at the same time. Keep the polyanthus primroses well worked amongst and a little blood and bone manure worked iu between the rows will help the plants considerably, louring the last tew years a great deal of interest has been taken in these plants and tome very fine strains have been worked up. If you see any varieties that will improve your collection it is quite sate to get them now, but do not divide them until about February, when they can be broken up into single pieces and planted out in ia bed lor next season's flowering. To grow them well the soil should be well manured and drained.

Attend to the sweet peas, which are' making good growth now. The central shoots must be tied up to their supports and the side growths or laterals pinched out as soon as they are seen. Keep the soil well stirred about the roots of the plants and work in some lime and soot. There are many plants that are covered with a dark substance on their leaves and stalks and this should be got rid of as soon as it is seen. White emulsified oil is the best thing that can be used, but it must not be stronger than one part of the oil to 80 parts of water. Roses that are affected with white rose scale should be. sprayed at once with the same mixture. This scale is becoming worse all over the country, and unless it is checked it will go on spreading and the result will be a lot of ruined plants. This scale is easily recognised by its colour and also the way in which it lilts and flies about. Birds ca.n. carry this trouble from plant to plant on their feet.

THE SEASON. “For many years wc have kept a, diary for. garden work,” writes a reader, “and we 'nave put down things of interest that have occured from time to time; but we have never been able to record tulips in bloom in the first week in September. This year wo 1 can do this and we are wondering if any other gardeners have found the same tiling. Another thing that we have to put on record is that a tree sopliora japonica is going to bloom. Some 20 to 25 years ago wc planted this tree and were told at the time that it would be years before we saw any flowers. Other people liavc told us that they have had the same tree growing for years nd have never seen a bloom. Tins season the flowering plums came into bloom a little earlier than usual, but owing to the absence of rain and wind the blooms lasted much longer than usual and have only just fallen. These trees are well worth growing and are followed by beautiful foliage. Another thing we must record is that strawberry plants have formed fruit and these are beginning to ripen. Is tliis not a very wonderful thing ? Two or three roses tliat were pruned early in the season are ready to bloom and we cannot remember having seen a like case. There are quite a number of cases "wherein early blooms can be recorded and these will bo useful lor comparisons in years to come. Some of the liliums are well above the ground and are stronger in growth than they have been for many seasons.”

FOREST CONSERVATION

CHRYSANTHEMUMS. Those chrysanthemum cuttings that were taken last month or the month before should, be footed and ready tor potting up now. ,We believe that a good potting material can be made from old rotted turf and a little pow : dery cow manure, and a bandful of bone dust mixed up with every box of soil that is used. A small piece of crock can be placed over the hole m the bottom. When putting the plants in, use a small* rammer and press the soil down firmly. With many of the

varieties the more firmly they are potted the better it is for them. After potting them, keep them in a frame or glasshouse until they have got over the move, and then give tile plants plenty of air. It is not so much a question of getting top growth as getting a good hall of roots to plant up later on. It will 'be necessary to give water when it i 9 required, but do not over-water at any time. Liquid manure should not be used until the plants are ready to flower. As soon as the plants have been potted, begin preparing for planting. If the plants were grown in the samo ground last year the soil they were growing In must be removed and replaced with fresh, well-rotted turf. These plants are not deep-rooting, hut take away six inches of the surface about two feet wide and replace this. Do not use too much manure; a little pure bonedust dusted along the 'soil will be all the manure that is required for the present. QUESTIONS. “Apple Tree” says: “We noticed some time ago that you suggest that instead of digging old trees out they should he 1 cut off and grafted, and what wc want to know is when this work can be done and how to proceed about it.”

When old trees are to bo overworked with scions of another variety you have selected, take the wood of the last season and heel it into the ground in some cool place until they are required. The work can ho done when the bark lifts easily from the wood.

The illustration will show how the work is done. When the scions or grafts have been inserted under the bark they can be tied in with strips of waxed cloth or raffia, which is covered afterwards with grafting "wax. •Grafting wax can bo made, but if only a small quantity is wanted it would bo better to buy a small tin, which can be got at seed shops. It is important that the scions should be quite dormant at the time they are inserted under the bark of the fosterparent. It is quite possible to insert short pieces of wood under the ' bark of any part of the branch that is worked on in much the same way as budding is done. The only thing is that short pieces arc used instead of buds," which arc used in budding.“Amateur” says: “A patch of couch grass in the garden has been dug over several times and appears to be quite clean, and lias been manured with cow manure. I wish, to plant something in the bed that could be easily taken up should any couch appear. Would it be wise to plant gladioli or annuals?

It would bo quite safe to plant gladioli or dahlias, as you could easily work between them and lift out any stray pieces that may have been missed It is a good plan to manure the soil heavily and make the couch grow as fast as possible, and then it is easily seen. “Amateur” wants some information about feeding chickens. This is rather outside our work, but we shall try to got the information that- is required. Our experience with chickens is that they will do well if they have the run of the garden, especially where there are nice succulent lettuces and other plants of a like nature. However, they are not conducive to the growth of plants, and it is a question, of the garden or the chickens.

That trees are necessary for the conservation of moisture anyone who has studied t'lie subject will admit at once. It is not because the trees attract moisture in the shape of rain, but when the rain does fall on forests the water does not run away as quickly as from bare hills. For many years there has been some beautiful bush growing in the Akatarawa Valley, between \Vaikanae, and Upper Hutt, and now it is in danger of being cut and destroyed. Once cut, the land will be of little use for pastoral purposes, but will be another place where gorse and othei noxious tilings may, be found. It is a wonder that the whole of the Wellington province docs not rise up and protest at such destruction. There will come a day when the Wainui-o-mata water supply will hot be enough for the city of Wellington, which is growing every day, and it is the Akatarawa River to which it will have to turn for an increase in the supply. If this bush is cut out it will mean that the water will got aw'ay too quickly and this will add to the troubles of the Hutt settlers and homes. However, this is a small thing compared with •the loss of tlie natural covering foi hills and valleys which are useless foi any purpose when they are denuded of the beautiful covering. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN.

The rain that has rallen lately will give the vegetable garden that start which it wants. Those who had planted . onions, potatoes, lettuces and so on will find that they will begin to grow now. The worst of it is that weeds will begin to grow as well, but as it is necessary to keep the soil well stirred these should not cause the enthusiastic growers much concern. The Dutch hoe is one of the most useful of ad tools for this purpose, and one should be in every toolshed. Keep it sharp and it will always be ready for any job that comes to hand. As long as a. good mulch can be kept on the surface the moisture in the subsoil will not be wasted. When the surface soil gets hard and dry the water in the sub-soil gets away much quicker than when a good surface mulch is kept. When lettuce plants are about two inches high a light dressing of nitrate of soda can be sown along the row and worked into the surface, where the soil moisture will dissolve it and bring it to the use of the plants. Growers of lettuces water the plants with a solution of nitrate of soda about 24 hours before they are due to be cut for the market. We have not tried this out, but have been assured that it makes the plants much crisper. Liquid manure made from animal manure with a handful of superphosphate to every ten gallons of water . will help the

plants to come along quickly. To grow good lettuces they should be ready in about ten weeks from the time they are first put in the soil. It is too early yet to think of planting seeds of runner beans, but it is .nor too early to prepare the soil for them. The ground should be trenched to a depth of about two feet and plenty of manuro worked into the lower spits. About tlio first week of November is early enough to sow the seed outside, but if you have the space and pots available a lot of time can be saved by planting a seed in a five-inch pot and growing it on until it is about to run, when it can be tipped out of the pot and planted in the open ground, Tall stakes must be provided tor the plants to climb up, and they must be tied along the tops to stop them from blowing over. French beans can be' sown in October, but the ground must be well limed and free from stagnant water. When sowing this seed, allow at least six inches between plant and plant. If they are grown closer than this the crop will be a very poor one. There are some varieties that are rust-proof or nearly 60, and these are the best varieties to get for homo use. There are some vegetables that can be sown in boxes under glass, sucli as tomatoes, pumpkins, marrows, cucumbers, celery and so oil. Tomatoes are easily managed as long as they are not sown too thickly. The main thing with all plants is to get fine sturdy ones for pricking out. Such plants as pumpkins, marrows and cucumbers can be started between two pieces of flannel, and as soon as the root appears they can be potted up into small threeinch pots, which can bo grown on for a while before they are planted out in the open. Celery seed is very slow in germinating. and takes from three to four weeks. The plants do not grow very fast at first, and on that account must not be sown too thickly or they will become drawn before they arc ready to be pricked out into other boxes. Cape gooseberries are not often grown in gardens, but there is no reason why they cannot be successfully cultivated in a normal season. Sow the seed now and plant out about the same time as tomatoes. They respond to potash and superphosphate.