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THE GARDEN

WORK FOR THE WEEK

(By

J. A. McPherson.)

Seasonal Operations.

In both flower and vegetable garden the main work requiring attention is the retrenching of old beds and borders and the trenching of new opes. In trenching, or double digging, take care not to bury the surface soil or bring to the surface too much unsweetened subsoil. Keep both top and bottom spits in their correct position as the work proceeds and open out a wide trench in which one may dig the bottom spit up in comfort. Most of the garden refuse can be conveniently disposed of during the above operations. Burnt soil, wood ashes, and lime will help to open up stiff soils if forked into the top spit. Prune rambling roses, lift and divide Violas and such herbaceous plants as Phlox and Michaelmas Daisies.

Pruning in the fruit garden commences with Raspberries and other small fruits and finishes with Apples and Pears. Only the young healthy canes must be left on Raspberries, all others being cut out right from the bottom.

Now that heavy rains have given the ground a thorough soaking, nurserymen will Commence to send out their orders of trees and shrubs.

In the vegetable garden, a few crowns of Rhubarb may be lifted and left to lie on the surface for about a week. After that they may be used for forcing by packing the crowns closelv together in a shed or cellar, spreading a little soil around the roots and covering with boxes to exclude the light. Forcing may be carried out in the garden itself by placing strong barrels or boxes over healthy crowns and packing round the outsides a good quantity of fresh manure.

Take advantage of wet days to go over all stored vegetables. Onions in particular will require attention and any diseased bulbs removed. In order to have well greened and sprouted sets of potatoes for next season’s planting a start can be made to pick out medium sized tubers and set them up in shallow trays. Discard any with the slightest trace of disease and set the trays where plenty of light can reach the tubers. Experiments have proved that it pays to spend time in properly preparing sets before planting time. When Plants Arrive. A few notes on the treatment of plants after their arrival from the nurseryman will not be out of place at this season of the year. If packages arrive when the ground is too wet for planting, do not leave the plants tied up in the packing material. The sooner they are out of it the better. Remove the packing, loosen the tying material and “heel in” the plants in a corner of the garden. That.is to say, open out a small trench, place the roots evenly in it and cover over with soil. In such a position they can remain until better soil conditions prevail. Supposing however that the ground is in good condition, but the plants have arrived with the soil around the roots in an exceedingly dry condition. In such case the ball of soil adhering to each plant will require soaking in a bucket of water and then standing aside for a little while to drain. It is useless to plant trees with a ball of dry soil attached and expect the surrounding soil to gradually supply it with moisture. Given plenty of time, the surrounding soil will do this; but it will cither be a long or extra long time in accomplishing it, according to the state of the weather. In the interval the plant is suffering from an insufficient supply of moisture, and the grower often 'wonders why certain plants do not make the required headway when planted. Plants supplied by nurserymen in pots, or those purchased from shops such as Boronias, Heaths, Clematis, etc., very often require a thorough soaking before being planted or potted into larger pots. When given small rootlets or pieces of plants by friends, do not stand in a basin or jar of water to await an opportunity ot placing them in the ground. Within a day or two the stems become overcharged with moisture, and their bark commences to rot away. ; So that when cutting or whatever it may be is put into the ground i starts off with a great handicap; firstly too much water in the cells, secondly instead of the bark or outside coat of stems being rigid and dry' to withstand attacks of fungoid and insect pests, it is half rotten and often decays away. Far better to pop the cuttings and rootlets into a cool piece of ground until time is available for trimming and planting in their proper places.

Should Roses and other bushes of a like constitution arrive late in the season, with buds sprouting and both roots and bark in a dry and somewhat shrivelled condition, the best thing to do is to open out a trench in a moist portion of the garden and bury the whole lot, both roots and stems.. In two to three days time they can be lifted and-it will be found that both roots and bark and even buds have taken up sufficient moisture and returned to normal condition. They ■ may then be planted out' and watered into place. If the weather is sunny wtih drying winds, syringe the stems morning and evening with a little water. Catalogues. "Winter evenings give many gardeners an opportunity of perusing the various catalogues forwarded to him or them throughout the year. Many firms of long standing issue large catalogues which besides detailing the plants and their respective prices are really a fund of general information on growing plants. Others again issue their catalogue in parts, that is to say they have the bulb section issued in autumn or mid summer, the Dahlia and Chrysanthemum section in winter and so on. New Zealand seedsmen, besides their general catalogues, - issue leaflets of new and rare plants and seeds as stocks of these become available.

Both in the flower, fruit and vegetable sections, growers should adopt a policy of ordering well tried and standard varieties as a base for their order, at the same time picking out any • novelties which appeal to one’s liking. Perhaps we are a little too cautious when it comes to novelties. True there are some things which have in other years disappointed us; but that may be the fault of soil conditions and climate, not the plant or seed itself. Take for example the new roses; some will do with us: others will not. Several years ago . the rose Golden Emblem came on the market with a fanfare of trumpets; admittedly a glorious rose, but unfortunately not suited for all soils. In the vegetable section however, "rowers should strive to obtain the maximum results from their plots, as, indirectly,. this has a bearing on the economic aspect of the country as' a whole. The maximum amount of vegetables from any given piece of ground should be the grower’s aim. Varieties have been enormously improved during the past eight years and any poor producing variety should be discarded.

Turning lastly to trees and shrubs; it is a fact that we have been too content to plant one type of tree or shrub leaving new’er and better varieties in the background. Nurserymen are ’ always anxious to obtain plants for propagation, it stimulates trade; but if the gardening community insist on planting one type of thing, then there is little encouragement for the nurserymen to attempt producing better things. Berberis, Cotoneasters, . Deutzias, Philadelphus Ceanothus etc., are all good shrubs and should be obtainable in many varieties. Flowering plums, Cherries, and Apnles are other subjects which could do with more extensive planting.

There is therefore ample room for selection when reading through Catalogues during winter evenings

THE LANTERN FLOWER •

GREENHOUSE ABUTILONS.

The abutilon, or “Lantern Flower,” is , a useful hardwood perennial for greenhouse or conservatory decoration. Large speci- , mens achieve a height of six or eight feet, and such plants, when grown in tubs, may be stood outside from early December to March, forming an attractive feature. Smaller plants may be bedded out, and make a pleasant change from the more usual bedding plants. The plants may be lifted before the advent of frosts,' cut back, potted and stored in the greenhouse for winter. ' • Abutilons may be grown cither from seeds or cuttings. Cuttings root readily in July’, August, or September, and seeds will germinate at any time of the year in a temperature of about 70 degrees. Abutilons like a rather sandy compost, and appreciate a dash of peat, though this is by no means essential. Greenhouses used for chrysanthemums, primulas, etc., with a temperature of 40 to 50 degrees in winter, will accommodate " these lantern flowers. During the past winter the heating apparatus in my greenhouse broke down, and frost killed a great many plants, but the abutilon did not so much as drop a leaf,

so it is far from being delicate. Plants in pots may' be obtained from reliable nurserymen, and if several varieties are grown, abutilons may be had in flower during the whole of the year. A. insigne (white and" carmine) flowers in July, as also does A. paeniflorum (a pink variety). A. aruanticum (orange) flowers in spring and summer, while A. striatum bears orange-red flowers practically all the year round. A. vitifolium (the blue lantern flower) flowers in January. The hybrid abutilons, Boule de Niege (white), Golden Fleece (yellow), Princess of Wales (pink), and L’African (crimson) all bloom in summer and' autumn. Most seedsmen offer packets or mixed abutilon seeds, which include many of the new hybrids—Anne Lamplugh, in Amateur Gardening.

II ID ALGO A WERCKLEI This fine climbing plant from Central America has never achieved a great measure of popularity and yet, at the time of its introduction, it appeared to have a great future; known as the Climbing Dahlia, possibly because of the resemblance which its flowers bear to those of the popular single forms of the Dahlia, H. Wercklei is a quick-growing greenhouse herbaceous climber, attaining twenty feet or more. Its flowers are bright scarlet above, yellow beneath, and while they certainly recall those of Dahlias, they lack the symmetry and regularity of outline inseparable from these flowers. The leaves are niuqh divided and very elegant, and the plant climbs by means of long, twining petioles. The plant is fibrous-rooted and thrives in a light well-drained soil; it is effeciive and valuable in the cool greenhouse, and plants secured by early propagation should prove of service in the summer flower garden, for the growth is rapid and the plant is exceedingly free-flowering, its floriferousness ceasing only with the advent of short days and cold weather. A few plants placed in a sheltered position, the foot of a warm wall for preference, should render a good account of themselves; the plant is easily propagated from cuttings. 11. Wercklei, which belongs to the Natural Order Compositae and is closely allied to Dahlia and Corepsis, was discovered in Costa Rica, in the uplands of that country, by Mr Carlo Werckle, in 1898, and shortly afterwards a specimen flowered at Kew, where it created a favourable impression.—" The Gardeners’ Chronicle.

ONION MILDEW

Probably no disease has affected any vegetable of late years so much as onion mildew. It is no new disease, but either due to preventive measures not being-taken, or climatic conditions favouring the disease, there is no doubt that it is much more prevalent than formerly (says the Taranaki Daily News). The first signs of the disease is the sickly yellow appearance of the leaves which gradually go completely; in severe attacks the whole plant gives out. The disease in its epidemic form is entirely due | to the particular kind of .fungus yhich appears in the form of very fine powder on the leaves. Much may be done by means of good cultivation to keep onion plants free from mildew. The grower should aim at promoting robust, steady growth by deep digging, complete manuring, and constant hoeing. The mildew may 7 be kept in check by spraying or by dusting with a dry powder fungicide, but to be successful this treatment must be commenced early. For spraying purposes Bordeaux or Burgundy mixture may be used of the strength recommended for potato disease. The spraying should be given as soon as the seedlings are a few inches high, and if damp, cloudy w’eather prevails, it should be repeated at intervals of ten days'. The spray is best applied early in the morning. On account of the smooth surface of the onion leaf the spraying mixture does not adhere well to the surface, and some growers prefer dusting with dry powder. This should be applied when the plants are wet with dew. The following substances yield satisfactory i results:—Flowers of sulphur or a mixture of powdered lime and sulphur (one part of ' lime to two of sulphur). The powder may i be applied by means of a sulphurator or bellows, or by some such improvised apparatus as an old disinfectant tin. As a rule the disease spreads in the first instance from, one or more centres, particularly in the case of autumn-sown onions. Individual plants may frequently be found stunted in growth and badly infected with mildew. It is very important that these should be removed and burnt before the disease can spread from them to other plants. After their removal the remaining plants should be sprayed. Although onion mildew spreads by wind-borne spores, it should be remembered that the new attack each season is due primarily to the renting spores present in the soil. In order to destroy these spores it is essential that as far as practicable all diseased tops should be collected and burnt and not thrown on the manure heap. It is most important also not to plant on soils where badly diseased plants have previously existed, as a certain number of resting spores inevitably reach the ground and become buried. These retain their vitality for several seasons.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ST19300604.2.98

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Southland Times, Issue 21100, 4 June 1930, Page 14

Word count
Tapeke kupu
2,348

THE GARDEN Southland Times, Issue 21100, 4 June 1930, Page 14

THE GARDEN Southland Times, Issue 21100, 4 June 1930, Page 14

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