BULB PLANTING

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 910, 1 March 1930, Page 30

BULB PLANTING

The happy time has arrived for planting bulbs for welcome blooms in the spring. The list includes daffodils, hyacinths, scillas, tulips, freesias. anemones, ranunculus, ixias, sparaxis, snow flakes, lachenalias. Select a sunny, well-drained situation, remembering that the plants have to withstand the cold and wet winter (water-logged soil is fatal), and that sunshine is necessary to ripen the growths to produce the desired blooms. Ordinary free, well-drained soil suits most hardy bulbs, the ideal being the turfy loam with a slight admixture of sand. The addition of crushed wood ashes is of advantage, as this supplies the ground with a certain amount of potash. Bulbs must not be planted too deeply nor too shallow. The accepted practice is to plant the bulbs at twice the depth of the bulb itself, measuring the bulb from the top to the base. In heavy soil the bulbs should be set nearer the surface than when planting in light, sandy soil. Before planting, the ground should be thoroughly broken up, incorporating old stable or cow manure in the lower layers. On no account allow any fresh manure to come into contact with the newly-planted bulbs, as this causes them to decay. Bulbs should be hard and firm. Those that feel soft on pressure are useless. A valuable suggestion is to plant them in clumps, leaving six inches between each plant. By a succession of plantings of the several kinds of bulbs, blooms may be secured from June to November. WINTER HINTS Weeds in the Garden. —A real effort is advisable to get weeds down or their seedlings will mean much more work next season. At every opportunity the hoe should be used. Crops of small weeds can be left to shrivel, but matured weeds are better cleared away. Cabbages For Winter. —When the first plants are ready depends upon when the seed was sown, but as soon as some plants are large enough, transplant them to a permanent place. The site should have been generously prepared with a fairly fine top tilth, to encourage young roots. There Is no need to allow too much space between plants or rows. Sow Prickly Spinach.—A sowing of this vegetable may be made on a warm border, not too thickly, so that thinning will be unnecessary. This type of spinach will mature more quickly than spinach beet recommended in previous notes for winter use. Sow in drills 1G inches apart. Dust with soot if slugs prove troublesome.