IN THE GARDEN

Wairarapa Times-Age, 26 December 1941, Page 6

IN THE GARDEN

HINTS FOR THE AMATEUR WORK FOR THE WEEK i VEGETABLE GARDEN. Pinch back marrows, pumpkins and cucumbers from time to time. Sow salad plants for later crops; make a small sowing each time at regular intervals. Keep the hoe going among the seedling crops to create a good surface tilth. Early maturing onions can have the tcps bent over. Sow cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and other winter greens and ,plant out cabbage and cauliflower in showery weather. Celery and leeks should be planted in well-manured ground. Spray the tomatoes with bordeaux as a precaution against blight; add arsenate of lead to the spray to combat the caterpillar. ■ FRUIT GARDEN. Summer prune the apples and pears as soon as the laterals commence to become smooth and woody at the base. Only the most forward shoots should be pruned; others may be dealt with later as they progress. Peg down the best of the strawberry runners if new beds are required for next season. For new strawberry beds it is advisable to trench the soil deeply well in advance so that the soil will have time to settle before planting. FLOWER GARDEN. Sow Iceland poppies, Brompton stocks, wallflowers, hollyhocks and hardy annuals for late autumn blooming. Insert cuttings of pansies and violas in a shaded place. Cut down marguerites to induce fresh growth for blooming in autumn and winter. Stake and tie the gladioli, as these soon become top-heavy and are damaged. Mulch the plants in herbaceous borders with lawn cuttings. Dahjias making good progress will need attention to disbudding and training. Caterpillars will make their appearance this month, so spray the dahlias with arsenate of lead. Lawns should not be mown quite so closely during hot, dry weather; raise the cutting cylinder of the machine a notch or two.

YOUNG SWEET PEAS USE OF STIMULANT. Some growers give young sweet pea plants which have been retarded owing to weather conditions, a stimulant in the form of sulphate of ammonia. This should be used carefully at the rate ,of half an ounce to each gallon of water. Excessive use of sulphate of ammonia oi’ any of the other nitrates often results in disease. If the plants appear healthy and are growing normally do not flush the growth with nitrogenous fertilisers, especially in the early stages. LAWN CLIPPINGS LEAVE THEM ON GROUND IN HOT WEATHER. The problem of whether to leave grass mowings on the lawn after cutting, or to collect them in the grass catcher, often arises. If the grass is thin and the weather hot, it is better to leave the mowing on the surface; they will provide the grass roots with muchneeded food material. On the other hand, lawn mowings are useful for mulching and a quantity should be saved for this purpose. It is a good plan therefore to detach the .grass catcher when cutting the lawn on some occasions and at other times to collect the mowings for mulching.

WEEDS IN THE LAWN USE SULPHURIC ACID. The task of digging out all those deep-rooted weeds seems a formidable one and there is always the risk of part of the root being left to grow again. The problem can be solved by the use of a 5 per cent solution of sulphuric acid. An old mowing machine oil can is a useful tool for the job, but any sort of small syringe will do.

Lines are stretched across the lawn about three feet apart and the area gone over systematically. Where the weeds grow singly five or six drops of the solution are dropped in the heart of the weed; where groups occur the tops are slashed off with a knife and acid dropped on the exposed root stump.

On account of the localised application no damage is done to the surrounding grass and within a few days the weeds are killed out. Leave the lawn for a few months for the residual acid to be washed out' of the soil and in the autumn the bare patches can be re-sown with grass seed. Any chemist will mix a 5 per cent solution of sulphuric acid, using the commercial grade. But if anyone should undertake to do it for themselves it should be remembered to add the acid to the water and not vice versa, as there is danger from the heat generated in mixing the two liq r uids. Further, the solution should not be allowed to come into contact with clothing, for unless removed at once with ammonia it will rot the cloth.