Garden & Field

Manawatu Times, Volume LIII, Issue 6545, 29 February 1928, Page 11

Garden & Field

Seasonable Routine Work. Frequent showers have loosened the surface soil considerably enabling the gardener to take in hand some of the work that has gradually but surely accumulated in the garden. Tho thirsty soil can do with very much more moisture and though the plants have freshened up, many of our favourites have all too prematurely finished flowering. These had far, better' be removed from the borders, and if the ground la well worked and a little manure dug In, clumps of anemones,, ranunculus. or any favoured spring flowering plant may be used to fill up the gaps. Seeds of all hardy annuals such as nemesias, godetias, silcno for edgings, forget-me-fiots, primulas, malawldes, cinerarias, escholtyiaa. and many others of a like nature may be sown. Among perennials and biennials such things as wallflowers, delphiniums, antlrrhiniums, Iceland popples foxgloves, geums, and in fact .almost anything that will stand the frost may be sown. Prune rambler roses well back to a strong bud. Ramblers produce their best flowers on one-year-old shoots. Banksia rosea should also be pruned during the summer. Cut back the flowering stems to a strong shoot and they will then throw out plenty of long shoots. , Cut the tips off these to induce them to make plenty Of short side-growths. These bear the flowers. - ■ Sow sweet peas and oiit back the growths of all border roses to oho half their length where a crop of autumn blooms are wanted. Plant bulbs and corms of all spring flowering subjects. f 1 7 The Vegetable Garden. A>l members of the cabbage familywill suffer badly from the attacks of the cabbage fly during hot weather unless precautions are taken to keep this pest in check. Sprayings of black leaf 40 is one of the simplest methods; this is a strong nicotine solution, directions for its use being supplied with each tin, Tobacco dust may be sometimes sprinkled on the foliage while the plants are wet.with dew, wood ashes and soot being used in the saine way. A spraying of water every morning early will often keep the plants from getting too badly damaged. Give the runner and French beans a weekly dose of liquid manure; these vegetables may be had in abundance through the hottest weather if a little attention is given them, and the plants are not allowed to seed. The Culture of Freesia’s Freesias are prized for their delightfully fragrant graceful flowers which last longer than almost any other flowers. They thrive well in a compost of good mellow, loamy soil,, wel decayed farmyard manure and a little bonemeal. If the soil is very heavy ,add some leaf moidd as well as a little sand. Plant in a well-drained bed as this makes for early blooms, and bury the gmali. bulbs two Inchesbelow r the surface, soil. The coloured freesias now offered are wonderfully attractive, the newest hybrids ranging in colour through various shades of rose, salmon, bronze, apricot, red, yellow, primrose and lavender. Among tho cream shades the variety Burtonii is easily the best. The .blooms- are extra largo and of a lovely pure texture, and are as deliciously scented as the old well-known favourite. Freesias may be had in bloom earlier if they are grown in pots, using the same compost as mentioned above. Care must be taken, . however, that there is good drainage. Stand the pots outside and keep them slightly shaded until growth is showing; then expose them to tho full sun and keep tho plants in continuous growth giving water when necessary. Before frosts come remove tho pots to the sunny part of a greenhouse or an airy, sunny window. When flower spikes are showing, stand the pots in saucers of water and as tho buds open give the plants a little weak liquid manure. They like plenty of air, but not a direct draught. Soot as Manure. In answer to an inquiry from ‘M.C-’ as to the use of soot tor manurial purposes, the following notes may prove of benefit. By all keen horticulturists soot is looked upon as ono of the very best of fertilisers, especially to the grower of choice blooms destined for the exhibition table. Tho most economical way to use It is In a liquid form, three gallons of soot being used to forty of water. Let this stand for forty-eight hours before using, a quart of the liquid being used twice weekly. Before using any form of liquid manure when the soil is In a very dry slate, first soak the ground well with water, and the plant will then reap the full benefit of tho manure allowance. There is nothing quite so good as soot manure for giving flowers an,added depth of colouring and it is largely used (when obtainable) for sweet peas, chrysanthemums, and even for the narcissi family, tho cups of the blooms gaining in colour. Sickly pot-plants, which iiavo a otu rved appearance,

Specially Written for “Times” by Lorna.

quickly recover when soot is used, the foliage once again pleasing the eye with healthy green tints. In the vegetable garden it is equally valuable, all crops benefiting from its use, particularly onions. These will grow to an enormous size,when top dressed lightly every few weeks and the manure hoed in. When making a new flower border or vegetable garden trench the ground well, digging In manure as you go. Then give a top dressing of basic slag and a light dusting Of soot and hoe in lightly. A bed prepared thus will grow anything and grow it well. Soot should not be used In a fresh state, but should bo kept for about six weeks (in a dry place). Chimneys which have not been in use since winter If cleaned now, will, furnish soot ready for use; . ’ ' ‘ Soot ’ is : often advocated as useful for the slug pest, but It is such a valuable commodity that personally 1 prefer to use something, more readily obtainable, for as slugs aro so hard to keep in cheek, quite a largo amount of soot would need to be used before tho plants would be able to get well above ground. Like all other manures, when used merely as a top dressing soot should be applied either late in tho autumn or early spring, but where there Is only a little of it. it is best reserved for a few choice plants. It has been known to check tho attacks of the cabbage fly and the fungus disease, which often attacks the foliage of the onions, causing them to bulb prematurely. When Used for these purposes It must be applied after a light shower, or early in the morning after a heavy (lew. ' In' reference to the inquiry to diseased gooseberries, it is to be regretteil that there Is not much hope of saving, the plants. lees planted in favoured localities, are short-lived trees, and many instances have been recorded where, after a spam Of five years and over, the trees have gradually died out.- The specimens sent in for inspection are not badly damaged by the borer, not enough to alone account for their dying out .so completely.. Gooseberries are very touchy over having their roots disturbed, and , tho hoe should b e used very carefully when working amongst them, as a severed root will often start the tree on a down-hill run. Gooseberries love a shingly soil and when grown in heavy, wet localities disease quickly makes its appearance. The remaining trees in question might take a fresh lease of life, if they were cut right back and allowed to make a fresh start. A yearly spraying in the winter months of bordeaux mixture will help keep them healthy, but gooseberries bear so early that I certainly would not waste top "much time and room over-them. Commence again with a few fresh trees. Good drainage is a necessity and probably, it the land had been well drained before planting the trees, they would have remained in health for a much longer period. Work in a good dressing of lime if replanting is contemplated. "v , Bordeaux Mixture. Copper sulphate or bluestone, 4lbs., best burnt lime, 41bs., and water, 40 gallons. Dissolve the copper sulphate in a little boiling water in order to mix it with other ingredients. Use for . fruit spraying. • The Summer Garden. If one studies tho four seasons of tho gardening year, one cannot fail to notice that the summer garden is by far the most beautiful as far as colouring goes, but this season the summer garden has not been tho success which was naturally looked forward to. Although there have been many pleasurable spots where a few favourites have bold their own and blossomed freely, the majority of our loved plants have seemed with their drooped appearance, to mutely reproach us for witholding tho moisture so necessary for their wellbeing. Autumn showers will freshen the garden and wo may hope for a better display of dahlias, chrysanthemums, asters, zinnias, and the many gorgeous colourings among autumn foliage trees and shrubs. Autumn has its lovely colours, its aftermaths, its perfection and yet pathos, for it speaks of the llowerlcss winter to come. Winter certainly has a barren beauty of its own. Spring has the glorious beauty of a new awakening when everything is fresh in Us first unmarvod purity and loveliness. All tho seasons have a beauty of their own, but that of tho summer garden is wont to excel them all, ana it is with a sense of something lost that one views this year’s summer garden.