IN THE GARDEN

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIII, 19 July 1929, Page 3

IN THE GARDEN

PROGRESS RETARDED LITTLE DOING IN VEGETABLE CULTIVATION Weather conditions —not to mention the earthquake upset—-have been even less conducive than usual for gardening pursuits. As we have remarked before, it is not the time of year when very much can be done—especially ill the vegetable plots—hut recent conditions have been more unsuitable than wo have experienced for some years. It is futile in attempt In ilo anything to push things ahead when, weather and soil conditions are adverse as they are at present. The frosts we have had will, have been of great, value to plots roughly dug over. Some amateurs are anxious to put early potatoes in, but this should be done only in exceptionally favoured situations. Potato sets, however, may he placed in shallow boxes to sprout. Stand the boxes in a. light, dry position which must not be at the damaging influence of frost. When planting, du not leave too many sprouts. Two of the. strongest are. usually enough. Meanwhile th e ground should be prepared, if possible, fur both potatoes and peas. On light, warm land, early planted cabbage and lettuce, should begin to show some life. 'J'he, rows or beds should be gone over at regular intervals and the soil should be kept stirred to keep it as sweet as possible. A succession of cabbage and cauliflower may be. planted if plants are available. •More lettuce may be. sown to ensure plants to plant out as soon as the spring growth begins. Early planted broad beans may be large enough to have, their .tops pinched back to make, them branchy. A second sowing should he made now. J'eas may now be sown on warm land. Select early varieties and sow thickly to make sure of a reasonable number coming up. Early planted rows should be gone over with the lux; to help thenf on as much as possible. Turnips should be sown in lighter soil. Do nut sow too thickly unless the plants are to be spaced out very early. Onions may be sown on light land. On heavy land it is rather too early -o plant, the main crop varieties. Where autumn-sown plants of onions are available they may be planted out any time now. Radishes may be sown but only if warm, sandy or peaty soil is available, i'liey may be sown among cabbage and cauliflower seed but prefer a bed to themselves. Carrots may be sown in very warm sandy soil, but it is worth waiting for unproved conditions. They must also have a, sheltered position. * In light, well-drained soils it is possible to plant and sow immediately after rain. On heavy retentive wet soils it is folly to attempt the work until the surplus moisture has run off. Look over the tools; now is the time to have a general clean up. Sharpen any cutting edges, and oil the handles, using raw linseed oil. Look over the seed boxes, labels, and stakes; this work should be done, and if done during the slack period means a great saving in a busy time. 'MIDST THE FLOWERS To provide early plants for putting out as soon as weather .conditions avo favourable, a number of seeds of the hardier kinds can be sown now. To secure germination a certain amount of heat is necessary, and this must be supplied in the usual way by hot water pipes or fermenting manure and leaves. Known as a hotbed. Should no source of artificial heat be available, it will he bettor to postpone sowing for a fortnight or more until the sun heat- is stronger and the days longer..

When small quantities of seedlings are required, pots or seed pans will do for sowing, and these must be provided with plenty of drainage; in fact, sixinch pelts should -be - half-filled with crocks. \ When considerable numbers of seedlings are desired, boxes are more suitable, and we sow practically all our seeds in boxes. These can" b,> made from old fruit cases by splitting them down the middle, which will provide two boxes about 12-inch by 22-inch and 4-inch deep. It is a decided mistake to sow seeds in too great depth of soil, it becomes sour and sodden so readily, and seedings which have to be transplanted must not be allowed to root 100 deeply. Of course, provision has to be made for drainage, by making a number of holes in the bottom, and in addition a layer of rough material, such as sittings from the leaf mould and loam, about an inch in thickness, will be necessary. A seed bed should be. fine,' firm, well aerated, and composed of soil which is readily drained. The usual mixture is one ,of clean loam as free from the seeds of weeds as possible—two parts, leaf-mould, one part 'clean sand half a part, hi some cases it is convenient to mix an equal quantity of old cutting soil or potting soil with th e loam if it is at all wet or inclined to be heavy for a soil for seed sowing must not stick to the hands or the tools. Rose planting should be pushed on. The sooner the plants are in the better the results. Keep the old plants of chrysanthemums free from weeds so as to encourage the growth of the offsets. Plantings of pansies, stocks, pentstemons, calendula, aquilegias, can be made when the ground is in a workable condition. Sweet peas should have tho growth kept up by small twigs. If left lying on the grounds slugs, etc., play havoc with them. Shrub and tree, planting can still be done. Seeds of many varieties of annuals can be sown now for giving a display later on. Once the soil is workable the beds and borders should be forked over. Herbaceous borders should be dug over and replanted. Label legibly ali the plants so that the positions can be readily seen. Liorders of violets, daisies, primroses and polyanthus should be kept free from weeds. Stir the soil around the plants and give an application of cow manure. Now is a good time to lift and replant borders of violets, daisies, polyanthtis. The soil should be well manured before planting. Trim hedges and clear away all rubbish from the base. The planting of any new hedges must not he left too long. The soil should be prepared a week or two before planting. Weed the beds of anemones and ranunculi. The soil around the plants should he lightly stirred with a small hand fork. Spraying the foliage of plants before sunrise in frosty mornings with the spray pump or watering can is the simplest means of saving those that are likely to be injured by frosts. Bright, sunny days of which we have

nut liiid ass many a.s usual may return. They dry the {surface of the ground, leaving a liard <.-i*iisL; this must be broken l>y a light forking to admit the ameliorating effects of the sun and atmosphere, and to benefit the. plants and impart a holler appearance to the garden. liuJbs, notably anemones, ranunculi, I'recKias and daffodils, are making goW progress, several iboing alrea«|y 'in tiowcr. Kpep the »so;l between t.he rows and in the beds well stirred. Proceed with the propagation of chrysanthemums, from cuttings or from rooted suckers. Rooted suckers polled into three-inch pots provide plants to grow on slowly and he (it l'er beddingout in October, Jn pruning climbing orises: (1) Cut out all dead wood as cleanly us possible. (2) Cut diseased wood back to abrnit an inch beyond the extent ul the visible disease. (3) Leave the long unites or rods untouched unless they are unhealthy or unless new growth's are wanted; in the latter case, cut back one. or two rods in the hope that new ones will form. (1) Cut hack the twiggy growths and some of the strong laterals, but remember that heavy pruning means much more new wood and few flowers. The principle should bo to keep the whole plant healthy, and to strike a balance each year between ilowerjng shoots and now branches. With a fair amount of care, climbiug roues should live for upwards ol* fifty years, fur in the Old World some have been known to live lor hundreds of vears.