THE GARDEN

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 798, 19 October 1929, Page 30

THE GARDEN

By

LEONARD A GRIFFITHS,

• He that iilants trees loves others besides himself.’’ —Sir Hans Sloan

FLANT PASSION FRUIT

The passion fruit, or to give it its botanical name—Passiflora Edalis, iff highly esteemed during the summer months for fruit salads, and various other methods in which it is employed. The banana passion fruit, or to use its correct name, Tasconia mollissima, is not so often met with but is preferred to the black varieties by some. It is not so prolific, and hardly pays from a commercial point of view, but when fences require covering it is worth planting. The treatment of both is identical. It is best to procure plants from the

nurseryman for home work, but where grown in large quantities they can be grown from seed sown in the spring. The soil should be rich, as they are gross feeders, but the most essential thing is to have a good drainage as the plants will not grow in wet sodden ground; although they like copious supplies of water during the summer months, it must drain away. Thoroughly trench the ground, and work in some lime; well break up the subsoil, and mix well with good rotted manure. Bone-meal can also be worked into the soil. Allow it to settle before planting. If growing the plants in the open, put in posts about eight feet out of the ground, and run two wires, one on top and the other about two feet lower, to train the vines on. Put the posts 12ft apart, and put them in before planting. Place a plant at each post, and if more than one row is ,to be planted, the rows must be 12ft apart. After planting, tie the plant to the stake and give a good soaking of water. Passion fruit must be carefully looked after during the first year; they come into bearing the second season, and the following year heavy crops can be looked for. They generally last to about seven years, if carefully attended to. When the plants begin to grow, see to the tying of them, and keep them to one shoot, removing all side-shoots until they reach the first wire, when they can be stopped. Select two shoots to train each side of the post, and then run a single shoot up to the top wire, when that can be stopped and two more shoots trained each side as before. Pinch out the tips occasionally to induce them to send out the side shoots on which the fruit will form. Allow these to hang down from the wire, as they will then commence to fruit. Give the ground a good mulching, round the roots of the vines, and always be careful near the stems, as they send out a lot of surface roots, which are easily damaged by digging with a spade. Abundance of thorough soakings of water must be given; light sprinklings only induce surface rootiDg, and the roots are often destroyed by the hot sun. When in full bearing, sulphate of ammonia and potash can be used, often and little. After fruiting, work in some good stable manure, or better still, cow manure, if procurable; cut away all spent wood, and see that the new growths are not crowded.

BEET FOR SHOW PURPGS~

F.R H.S.,

This vegetable, like the majority < root crops, does not require fresh!} manured ground; in fact, it is injurec by such. The ideal spot is a bee which was well manured and carried another crop the year previous. The soil must be deeply worked, and if it is on the light, friable side, so much the better for the development of the roots. Sow regularly, thin out when the young plants have three or four leaves, to 8 or lOin apart: 10 to 12in where exhibition roots are required. Keep the hoe busy, and when plants

are gaining strength, give an occasional dusting of reliable artificial manure on a damp evening. Lift the roots which are required for storing on the very first hints of frost, and place in finely-sifted clean road sand (or cinder ash), in an upright position in a cool, open shed, damping occasionally to keep at point of freshness. Very good roots are produced if above recommended treatment is well done, but on heavy, tenacious soil, holes should be bored as recommended for parsnips, and filled with fine sifted soil. In the centre cf each hole sow three seeds and thin out to two good plants when seedlings are two inches tall; a little later, when a little stronger, thin to one plant. This must be done with care, placing the fingers of the left hand on the surface of the soil, and gently drawing out the plant which is to be removed. A slight "watering after will settle the soil. Roots for show should be carefully lifted, washed with pure water, and all side hair-growths removed with a penknife, taking care not to injure the skin. The darkest coloured roots nearly always get most points. Only about an inch of the base of the leaves should be left.

SUMMER TREATMENT OF ROSES

The value of a rose in a garden depends largely upon the length of its flowering. A rose that blooms profusely for a short while and then fades away to be seen no more that year has limited charms except to the exhibitor. Too often dead blooms are merely nipped off close and a piece of leafless stalk is left. The better plan is to cut off with the faded bloom about sin to 7in of stalk. Immediately the beauty of a flower is over, it should he cut away in this fashion. The next point is to encourage fresh growth. The first essential is moisture. If the soil is really dry each bush or tree can be given a half bucketful to each root. It is remarkable how roses are benefited by hoeing the soil. It is bad practice to bring the hoe out only when weeds are about. The hoe is the most useftil tool in the garden for ensuring the moisture.

Feeding is the other fill-up for maintained bloom production. Fertilisers are splendid. For those folk who like to concoct their own, the following is a good manure:—One and a-half parts of superphosphate and one of ammonium sulphate. The rate is two ounces scattered well round each rose bush, preferably after rain.

BEANS

GROW THEM NOW ! Mo vegetable works better to keep down the household bill than do j beans. They are so simple to grow j that the merest novice in gardening ! has no trouble in producing profitable crops. Grown in succession, they will I cover the whole of the spring, sum- ! mer and autumn months. | Before putting in the crop dig the ] land over, enriching it with manure, I or, if this is not obtainable, with rubj bish from the compost heap, combined ; with bonedust, sulphate of potash and j nitrate of soda. If plenty of compost ! is available blood and bone manure ! alone with it will give excellent re- [ turns. I For the early crop make your rows j far apart, at least three feet. This j allows the sun to warm the ground I and stimulate growth. Have your first I crop in the ground as soon as possible after reading this, or if you live in a locality where frosts still linger, sow the seed as soon as all danger from this is over. Every four weeks a sowing should be made, so as to 7 keep up the supply, and if the first crop is sown the 'distance apart suggested, the second sowing may be made between the rows of the first, which can be removed when they cease to produce pods. Hilling of the rows when the plants are in second leaf will be found necessary, particularly -where any wind is experienced. Watering, too, must at all times be attended to, for beans will not grow if they suffer from drought conditions. Canadian Wonder and White Wax, the latter belonging to the butter bean type, are our choice. Butter beans are al-ways attractive and need less trouble to prepare them for the table than the French type, as they are stringless. They like a warmer spot than do the French sorts.

Climbers are planted early enough if they go underground the first/ week in October. They may be grown to take up a minimum space by using framework or wire or laced string near a paling fence. Special care must be taken to Keep down slugs and snails, which shelter under the leaves and eat the flowers and the young beans at night. Treatment with slaked lime or tobacco dust will kill off the pest. Kentucky Wonder and Epicure are the best of the economical. Snake Beans and Scarlet Runner are also worth a place. Lima Beans like a great deal of manure; indeed, you cannot give them too much manure. These can be kept back till November, however. Th’e chief enemy the gardener has to wage war against in bean growing is rust. At its first appearance pick off the affected leaves and spray with lime sulphur, being particular to treat the underside of the leaves well. Red Spiders, too, are frequent, but a few sprayings of Blackleaf 40 (niccotine sulphate) soon fix these chaps.