IN THE GARDEN

Wairarapa Times-Age, 17 March 1939, Page 9

IN THE GARDEN

NECESSARY FOR PLANTS. GOOD POTTING COMPOST. Where pot plants are grown, a good supply of potting compost is an absolute necessity. Old rotted turf forms the finest base for a compost that it is possible to get. It is a good plan to obtain some rough turf in the autumn and stack it to rot down during the winter. Any tap-rooted weeds should be removed. The turf will provide excellent material for use in spring. The best kind of turf is from an old pasture. Sometimes a good supply can be obtained from building sections.

Stack the turf with the grass side downwards and make a sloping top so that the rain will run off. The compost can be made richer if some old cow manure is placed between the layers of turf. Then, with the addition of sand, when required for use, the compost will contain most of what is required by the pot plants. HUMUS FORMING MATTER. MUST BE PUT INTO SOIL.

Do you realise that the soil deteriorates unless it is replenished with humus-forming matter? Use of chemical manures alone will not check this deterioration. Humus helps light soil to overcome drought periods and prevents fine soil from being washed away by heavy rains. Humus lightens clay soil and en- '*■' "tables the roots to penetrate the soil .more easily and gather food and moisture further afield. Failing stable, manure —a fast disappearing commodity—you have in your own garden rubbish the materials for providing the humus your garden needs. By proper treatment it can be made to equal stable

manure. To burn rubbish is wasteful. To leave it to decay naturally is unpleasant and wasteful. When burried unrotted it takes a long time to become available as plant food.

Adding sulphate of ammonia and superphosphate to layers of this rubbish is the simplest and best way of turning garden rubbish, straw and other waste vegetation into a valuable plant food. Rubbish can be treated in either a pit or heap. The pit is often preferred, as the rubbish is sheltered from drying winds and so requires less watering. Dig a pit—shallow, but not more than 3ft deep. Build the excavated soil up round the pit. If possible, choose a part sheltered from the sun. Spread a 6in layer of rubbish at the bottom of the pit. Thoroughly wet the layer of rubbish. Watering may be omitted. Sprinkle a mixture of two» parts super and one part sulphate of ammonia, and sprinkle this on the rubbish, allowing about two pounds to each barrowload of rubbish. Spread another layer of rubbish on this, and repeat the process above. The rubbish must be kept moist. The manure will be ready in two to six months, the period depending upon whether you require it well-decayed for spring use or only partially rotted for autumn or clay soils. During the period of rotting the treated rubbish should be turned at least once and preferably twice.

HINTS FOR THE AMATEUR FRUIT, FLOWERS AND VEGETABLES WORK FOR THE WEEK VEGETABLE GARDEN. Keep soil hoed between drills as soon as seedlings' are visible. Keep tomatoes sprayed as a precaution against caterpillars. Pick fruit as soon as it is partly coloured. This will prevent cracking by wet weather. Sow early varieties of cabbage and cauliflower for spring cutting. Clean away caterpillar and grub-eaten leaves of cabbage, etc. The principal >work at present is in keeping the surface soil loose by means of the hoe. Regular attention will be needed to combat the attentions of diamondback moth and caterpillars. Keep late crops of beans well supplied with water in dry spells. Lettuce should be sown for winter use. Sow endive; it makes a welcome change from lettuce. A few potatoes may be planted in favoured positions for a second crop. / Sowings of shorthorn carrots, white turnips and beetroot'can be made. Clear away spent crops and sow down empty plots with lupins, etc. Harvest onions. Do not allow them to lie about on the ground longer than possible. Thin out the winter spinach as soon as the .plants are large enough; those remaining will make good plants for winter. FLOWER GARDEN. Continue the planting of bulbs, anemones and ranunculus for spring flowering. Plant out the carnations from layers if they are well rooted; raise the beds a few inches if the position is not well drained. Keep a daily watch on the buds of chrysanthemums and remove the side growths as necessary. Phepare plenty of ground for the sowing of hardy annuals; these are indispensable as cut flowers in spring. Plant out Iceland poppies for the earliest flowers, and sow more for later supplies. Place a mulch of manure round chrysanthemums. Attend to staking and tying of dahlias and other tall plants. Leaf-rolling caterpillars are active. Hand-picking will destroy Many, but spray with arsenate as a precaution. Prepare ground to be sown in lawn. Chrysanthemums must be disbudded and surplus lateral growths removed. Give applications of liquid manure to dahlias and chrysanthemums. FRUIT GARDEN. Branches of stone fruits showing signs of silver blight should be cut out while they are easily seen. There is, so far, no cure for silver blight. Summer pruning should be finished. If there are useless trees now is the time to cut them out and get the ground ready for better sorts. Pick up and destroy all fallen diseased fruit at the earliest opportunity. Where buds have not taken on fruit trees, there is still time to make these good. Late peaches should have another spray with lime sulphur as a precaution against brown rot.' Now is a good time to thin out the branches of stone fruits; the overcrowded condition is seen better when the leaf is on. Apples and pears should be gathered as they are required for use and as they mature.. .Late sorts should be allowed to hang on the tree as long as possible. Prune raspberries and black currants when fruit is removed. Leave five or six canes to the raspberries and cut out the older wood of black currants.

whether in a pit or heap. Turning ensures uniform decomposition of all the rubbish. It is recommended, but can be omitted if you are willing to lose manurial value in the top or sides, which will not have been brought under the fermenting process and will therefore dry out and remain unrotted. If you have not sufficient rubbish to supply your needs you can buy straw cheaply, or you can usually get ample supplies of feeds and grass for the trouble of carting. YOUR TOMATOES.

DO THEY CRACK? At ttis season of the year cracks often appear in the skin of tomatoes, usually forming a ring near the stalk. The trouble is very prevalent this year, and often occurs near the ripening stage. Occasionally the cracks are no more than seams in the skin and do little harm; Frequently, however, they develop into deep fissures, leaving a wide circular wound in the fruit. Water lodges in the cracks causing mould and subsequent rot. Cracking is usually caused by the vagaries of climate, such as rapid fluctuations of high and low temperatures, or a wet period following a very dry one. Checks from insufficient water supply retard swelling and toughen the skin. A sudden soaking will cause a resumption of swelling with consequent splitting of the skin. A CHEAP PATH. CLINKERS AND ASHES. The cheapest paths are those made with clinkers and ashes. Remove the turf or the top soil to a depth of about six inches, then fill up with rough scoria or clinkers, and on top of this put a couple of inches of fine ashes or scoria. Ram and roll the material, using water to pack it. When thoroughly firm, scatter on enough sand to give a level and smooth surface. Apply a coat of tar and smother the tar with sand. This will give a path that will stand any amount of wear and tear —one that is far easier on the eyes than concrete.

GRASSING UNDER TREES. A USEFUL MIXTURE. The appearance of a lawn is often marred by bare patches under trees where the ordinary lawn mixture refuses to thrive. This state of affairs is quite unnecessary, for grass will grow under trees if the right mixture is chosen. A useful mixture for such places (including fairly open positions under trees of the pine family), would be the following:—Agrostis tenius. 10 percent; festuca ovina tenuifolia, 25 per cent; poa pratensis, 20 per cent, and cyno-surus cristatus, 25 per cent. This balanced mixture of grasses contains kinds which prefer, and thrive in shade and others that will withstand drought.

GARDEN SHRUBS

BEAUTIFUL RHODODENDRONS.

MANY ATTRACTIVE FEATURES.

There is no question but that we have a beautiful climate in New Zealand, especially suitable for the cultivation of plants. Of course, we occasionally have had spells, drought, frosts, wet and cold winds, etc., but on the average its most severe critics must admit it is not so bad. There are few flowering shrubs that we cannot grow outside, and-yet our gardens taken as a whole have a strange sameness and a poor selection of flowering shrubs. Among flowering shrubs there is no section equal to the rhododendrons and azaleas. Probably there is no section so poorly represented. It cannot be because they will not grow for there are a few fine specimens to be seen here and there. They are expensive to buy, perhaps, but a couple of good plants will give more display than a whole dozen of the cheap common sorts of shrubs we so often fill our gardens with, and the majority of gardens have about three time as many shrubs in them as they should have. Certainly the rhododendron has its little idiosyncrasies, but with a little care the plants can be established the first year or so and are then quite safe. The conditions afforded by an insular climate and soil are peculiarly adapted to the requirements of a group of plants which, in nature, inhabit moist or swampy situations on high mountain ranges, and are rarely found m places where extremes of sunshine or cold are experienced. Rhododendrons love moisture, both at their roots and overhead; and they dislike excessive sunshine. Their objection to lime limits their general cultivation to those parts of these islands, where the soil is noncalcareous. Fortunately such parts are plentiful and rhododendrons and other lime-hating plants can be made quite happy in them. Rhododendrons contribute largely to the pleasure of the garden in -‘God’s own greenhouse.” They are presentable at all times, far more so than many of the leafy evergreens which are so commonly planted as garden furniture, and which never look different from years end. to year’s end. Take as an example the common R. ponticum. We have no shrub to equal it either as a hardy evergreen, which stands town smoke; as a park shrub for planting in masses to serve as a screen or to furnish a pleasing object in the landscape; to provide shelter and cover for game; to clothe large areas with evergreen foliage; or, to help to fill a shrubbery. The habit of the plant, the healthy green of its shapely foliage, and its hardy constitution are all very good qualities in an evergreen. The azalea -section of hardy rhododendrons has a garden history not unlike that of other evergreens. The species were in cultivation for many years —only, however, in the gardens of the “curious”—before they were turned to account and brought forward as ornamental shrubs for every garden. They have not got to the position they deserve even yet, although they have every right to it, always providing the makers of gardens and parks and pleasure grounds —of any kinds of place, where plants and flowers are to form permanent objects of interest—would make more use of these azaleas than they do now, there would be less astonishment evinced by our people when they see them in flower in the few places where their merits have been recognised and their attractions are displayed. Rhododendrons, as grown by the nurserymen who specialise in them, are the perfection of flowering shrubs. There is more to be said in favour of collections of these than of any other hardy shrubs, except perhaps roses; and for some reasons one might even omit that exception. When it is understood that for its size the rhododendron is satisfied with less attention and yields a great deal more pleasure than any othei’ shrub grown, tender as well as hardy, we have a right to expect more attention to be paid to it.

PROPAGATING HEATHS

LAYERING QUITE SUCCESSFUL

An easy and quick methods of propagating the popular winter heath (Erica carnea) and its varieties, is by layering. Being of a low dwarf habit the growths often root naturally as they spr.ead. This natural habit may be encouraged by covering the bases of the growths with a mound of soil. A compost of lime free soil and peat or leafmould, passed through a half inch sieve is suitable. The compost should be packed among the growths and made firm to form a small hummock. By early next spring, all the growths will have rooted and may be detached to plant out as separate plants.