IN THE GARDEN.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 October 1922, Page 11

IN THE GARDEN.

I „ THE VEGETABLE PLOT. WORK TO DO NOW. (By “Agricola/’) As a result of the favorable weather conditions generally, growth among all kinds of vegetation is rampant, and energy and resolution will be needed to prevent work from accumulating in the garden. Plant the mid-season crop of potatoes and earth up the early crop when the haulms have made five or six inches of growth. An approved concentrated potato manure may, be applied on each side of the rows before earthing up is done; also, keep the soil between the drills well hoed. Cabbage and cauliflower should be put in to supplement earlier plantings. Tomatoes may Ibe planted in warm and sheltered positions, in soil that is free from recent manuring. Sow beans of all kinds, beet, broccoli, Brussells sprouts, cabbage (including Savoy), cauliflower, carrots, , Cape gooseberry, capsicum, celery, sweet corn arid maize, cucumber, herbs, kohlrabi, lettuce, leeks, melons, mustard and cress, parsnip, parsley, peas for succession should be sown every three weeks, pumpkins and squashes, radishes, rhubarb, spinach, turnips and vegetable marrows. Keep the ground well disturbed by hoeing to destroy weeds and conserve moisture in the soil, and give frequent attention to thinning and regulating seedling drops. • ) LETTUCE. Lettuces form a popular and healthful article of diet, and are valued at as long a season as it is possible to grow them. It is during the hottest months of the year that they are most appreciated, and the demand for them correspondingly increases with the advent of warmer 'weather. Unfortunately, the difficulty of securing a good crop increases as the season progresses, for unless the conditions essential to quick and unretarded growth can be given the results from sowing in dry weather are invariably disappointing. Lettuces are partial at any season, and summer in particular, to a deep and well cultivated, loam that is rich in absorbent material, such as rotted stable or farmyard manures, that will retain moisture and nourish the plants when during a period of drought they are inclined to languish. Where further sowings are intended, and the soil is deficient in either of the substances referred to, good solid hearted and crisp lettuce may, with proper management, be grown ‘by the following method:—Dig out a trench, evenly, one foot deep and about fifteen inches wide, to the length of row required. On the bottom of this deposit a six-inch layer of decayed stable or cow manure that has been well broken up. If neither of these are available, a mixture of about equal parts of well-seasoned fowl manure and rotted leaves, or decayed grass cuttings, may be employed, adding also a good sprinkling of soot if it is handy. Break up finely and return about a four-inch layer of' the soil that was taken out, and make the surface firm and even. Form a drill half-an-inch deep along the centre of the bed by laying a straight rake or hoe handle horizontally on the soil and pressing it lightly and evenly, repeating this until the length of drill required is formed. The garden line, however, should be stretched along the bed first of all so as to ensure straightness of drill. Sow the seed thinly, cover with fine soil and “pat” the drill over lightly with the back of the flat hoe or spade. If the birds are troublesome, stretch and secure three strands of black cotton about an inch apart and the same space above the row. Thinning must be promptly attended to when the seedlings are through the ground, continuing the operation as growth proceeds until the plants stand four inches apart. They should then have attained suitable dimensions for using in salads, but in any case every alternate one should be removed as a final thinning, so that eight inches is allowed between those remaining. When cos varieties are about half grown, the : leaves should be gently brought together ■ and tied with yvorsted or raffia, to ensure crispness. Copious waterings in : dry weather must ibe given throughout i the whole period of growth, and liquid < manure, preferably that which is made ; by dissolving one ounce of nitrate of j soda in each gallon of water, should be i applied at least once each week after < tfie plants have commenced to heart. < Use the hoe frequently and draw the soil about the plants as they develop. < Keep a sharp look-out for slugs and ! snails at all. times, as these marauders ; are extremely partial to lettuce, espec- < ially while the plants are small. Dressings of soot and lime will keep the pests at bay, taking care to keep these agents i at a reasonable distance from the j plants. TURNIPS.

Turnips, for succession, may be sown when the first sowings are well above ground. It is better to sow small quantities and procure them young than to have a lot at once, as the turnip is apt to become hot and strong in flavor, in which condition it is not nearly so nice as when grown quickly and used young. The finest turnips are obtained by sowing in highly cultivated, deep sandy loam. Draw the drills fifteen inches apart, three inches deep and the same in width, and fill them almost to the top with a mixture of fine soil and superphosphate, or wood ashes and soil. Sow the seed thinly and cover evenly and firmly with fine earth and employ some means of affording protection from the birds. Thinning must be done as soon as the seed leaves have unfolded, repeating the operation as the plants enlarge. When the growths have been thinned to about five inches apart, the bulbs may be allowed to swell, then every other one can Ibe pulled from the row, leaving the remainder to fully develop. The young turnips that have been withdrawn may be converted into a veiy acceptable dish, especially when vegetables are scarce, by preparing them, with the leaves attached, in the same ‘way as cabbage. Turnips, as a crop, often fail through insufficient moisture at the roots. A good soaking of water should, therefore, be given twice weeki '.y in dry weather. The practice must i not be carried to extremes, however, as t.oo much moisture will encourage an excessive leaf growth, at the expense of the bulbs, or cause them to split and decay. PARSNIPS. The very appearance, of a wellgrown parsnip, with its large crown and j long tapering root, is suggestive of the . obvious need for preparing the ground i well beyond the limits of ordinary dig- ■ ging for the crop. The surface soil j should be thrown out to its full depth, j and the subsoil thoroughly broken up 1 to the depth of at least a foot. If the

soil is mclified'td ’be’poor" the best time to trench it is in autumn, as crude manures may then be applied without risk of causing the subsequent crop to become fanged or otherwise malformed, which is certain to occur when rank dung has been applied to the ground too previous to the t seed being sown The manure should be well mixed, with the sub-soil after it has been broken up, so ,< that the penetrating roots may feed nvith a zest in comparative coolness even when the surface soil is under the blazing heat of the summer sun. When the soil is treated as described, it is rendered sweet friable by'the action of the winter weather, and a fine tilth is' thereby ensured at sowing time. A capital site foi’ -parsnips is one that was heavily manured for celery or cauliflowers last season, especially if it has since been deeply trenched. Another cause of failure is by sowing the seed too deeply. Parsnip seed is very slow in germinating, and should never be covered with more than half an inch of soil. If sown at a greater depth than this, the necessary air is excluded, particularly when the soil is inclined to “bake,” and the seed therefore perishes. Eighteen inches should be allowed between the rows, and the plants thinned out, gradually, to nine or ten inches apart. RADISHES. It is probably by reason of their comparative ease of culture that radishes receive such rough and ready treatment when grown by the average cultivator. Quite often the seed is sown too thickly and under adverse soil conditions, thereby encouraging a loitering growth, with the result that the roots are found to be tough, pungent and indigestible. Radishes require to be grown well if tender and crisp roots of handsome shape are to be secured. The seed must be sown in well worked, deep, rich soil in drills half an inch deep and eight inches apart. If the soil is naturally poor, work a six-inch layer of rotted manure into the ground to a depth of about twelve inches before sowing the seed, or else a dressing of superphosphate, at the rate of a handful to the yard. In any case, whether the ground is poor or otherwise, the superphosphate may be applied so as to encourage the desired quickness of growth. Thin the seedlings out severely in order that each plant will have ample room to develop. Keep the ground moist and well stirred with the hoe, so as to hasten an early maturity.

THE FLOWER GARDEN.

i THE ART OF BEDDING. i WHAT TO PLANT NOW. L The most important work in this department is the sowing or planting out of flowering or ornamental leaved plants. It can scarcely be supposed that the grouping or massing of flowering plants i has yet attained the -perfection of which it is capable. The bedding out enthusiast eaters more for general than individual effort, and quite often he -will sac- . rifice the choicest morsels of vegetation to make way for his bedders, by removing every atom of herbaceous plant life that stood in the way of a red or yellow line. Such methods, however, are fast dying out, as these stiff ideas of arranging plants in rank and file are foreign to all true taste. The most general mode of massing is to form beds of one thing only, but this is not always wholly satisfactory; if it is effective as regards color it may prove unpleasing in point of figure outline. For instance, how rich a bed of scarlet geraniums is in color, but in general form or figure how defective. The question then arises in the mind whether elegance of outline cannot be joined to richness of coloring so as to heighten the effect. It is the practice in some places to fill whole beds with annuals, or have lines extending the whole length of a walk in which the most gorgeous of popular annuals alternate. This produces a very strong impression at first sight. Whatever mixture of species may be introduced in a bed it seems desirable that identity of character should, in some degree, distinguish it. Identity of habit of flowering, however, is not all; the style of the foliage should, as much as possible, be taken into account. Relief of coloring is equally necessary; a bed of scarlet geraniums is a gorgeous affair, but the eye would not love to dwell upon it for any length of time, although it contributes usefully to the general effect at a distance. When it is desired to make a mass of any given color, say red, the more shades of that color that can be introduced the richer will be the effect, and relief will also be afforded. In such a case the scarlets might rise up to genuine crimsons and descend almost to orange tints. Too often the three primary colors are considered all in all by the amateur planter. Red, white and blue seems to furnish all that he considers needful for display of any kind, whereas some of the neutral colors become most effective when associated with the colder opes. White and blue are telling, whether mixed together or placed as an edging to the other. Then every lover of Nature knows how pleasing to the senses is a deep peach blossom. and might act with great gain by noting this simple fact. Pink and blue, pink and white, or pink and yellow, are all effective, and they haw flot the staring tendency that scarlet has when the sun shines at its brightest. They are more pleasing, too, in the evening, when the shades.of dusky night come calmly over the face of Nature, and seem to seek repose more in unison with the senses than the gaudy scarlets which first assume the color that philosophers tell us all Nature assumes after dark, which is black. GENERAL WORK. Sow half hardy annuals, such as asters, zinnias, French and African marigolds, and continue planting out bedding ( plants. Hardy annuals may be sown, i preferably where they are to flower. Asters can be planted in warm and sheltered positions, to supply an early display of bloom. To secure a long-con-tinued display, the seed should be sown , now, and again in November and Dec- • ember. Autumn sown sweet peas that have ( reached the flowering stage should be afforded bi-weekly doses of liquid manure. The plants should be gone over at least twice each week, and all faded blooms removed. This timely attention will greatly prolong the -flowering per- { ion, by reason that when the energy of ’ ’ the plants is devoted to forming pods 1 j and seeds, the strain is too great, and f the season of flowering is soon over. Spring sown sweet peas, when about x three inches high, should be provided s with small twiggy supports. Owners 1 of sandy soils should grow sweet peas on a fresh site each year. , ‘ An annual for a sunny spot is portu- j laca grandiflora, which is commonly call- | s ed the sun-plant. Sow it in the hottest p place in the garden and it will do well. [1

The seed bed should be shaded until the seedlings are above ground. It is a lowgrowing flower, and does best in a welldrained, rather sandy soil. There are single and double forms, and both may be purchased in mixed colors. The seed should be sown where they are to flower. Make a good planting of snapdragon seedlings for a summer display. Slugs and snails have no liking for these plants. Larkspurs are another safe and seasonable subject to use in quantity. There is little danger of losing this annual through slugs, as the foliage is said to be poisonous even to the locust. .Lawns which have a tendency to dampness, and encourage moss, may have a sharp-toothed rake drawn along the surface to scarify the ground. Give a dressing of ground lime or powdered charcoal, and afterwards another dressing of sand and fine soil, spreading it evenly over the surface. Lawns growing coarse grass will be greatly improved by having the rake drawn through them occasionally. •