Gardening Notes

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19721, 11 December 1926, Page 14 (Supplement)

Gardening Notes

(BY

ALKANET.

KITCHEN GARDEN

Keep the soil between lettuce well worked with the hoe to help them las much as possible. Eschalots will soon show signs of ripening off. As soon as they do the tops should be bent over to help them to ripen. Potato onions also should be treated in this way or there will be too many “stiff necks.” When either of these are ready to take up get them under cover as quickly as possible or they will begin to grow again, and onro they do that they do not keep so well. Earth up peas as soon as they need it. As long as the unsatisfactory weather continues tread on the ground as little as possible. Constant pressure nrtikes the soil hard and cold. The soil should be stirred very frequently to draw off as much moisture as possible. The first early beans may need staking. Attend to them as soon as they need it so that they can get a good start. One dan never tell what the season is going to be like. Plant cabbage for later use. Plant cauliflower and broccoli for earlv winter use.

Plant out a few green kale. This can always be depended on for winter green. Plant cucumbers and melons, hut in wa*m places only. Put out plants for a late crop of tomatoes. This should not be dellayed any longer or (unless the autumn is warm) a failure will be the result. * Plant out leeks and silver beet. Plant out celery. Planting may continue. right up until the new year, but this is the best time for good plants. Plant out mangolds and swede turnips. Peas should be sown at regular intervals. After the end of the month no main crop varieties should be sown. Such sorts as St. rati gin, etc., generally produce too much top for late planting, if the lautumn is wet the heavy tops have a tendency to rot. Dwarf or semi-dwarf varieties such as William Hurst are best for late planting. The tops and leaves are smh.ll, the joints arc short and they come to maturity quicker. »Altogether they are much more satisfactory for late sowing.

Sow radishes regularly. Sow turnips as often as required and ensure a constant supply. , Sow carrots if darlier sowings have been a failure.

Sow turnips, parsley, sage and thyme. ,Sow rhubarb, especially winter rhubarb for spring use. Sow asparagus. The conditions are such that any seed may be sown as long as the soil is not too wet. In raspberries all surplus suckers should be disposed of. Loganberries should be tied up. If goosberries are cropping too heavily some of the largest berries should be picked off. Keep the laterals picked off the tomatoes to get as earlv fruit as possible. ORNAMENTAL GARDEN Plant out dahlias. The planting season will locally be over at the end of this month. Plant out asters, zinnias, salvias, anti rrinums, Iceland poppies, phlox Drummondi, land marigolds. Sow seeds of annual gypsophila, annual chrysanthemums; nigella, and sweet sultan. At the end of this month, the first sowing of pansies for next season should be made. Anemones and nanunculi should be lifted and stored for next season’s planting. Tulips that have been in their present situation for more than two years should bp lifted and stored for next season’s planting. Hyacinths should be treated in the same way as soon as the tops have ripened off.

Narcissi may be lifted now if their tops have disappeared, but they must not be touched before the tops have ripened off. Prune outside grown grape vines. These should by now be sufficiently ad vanced to .show the blooms.

THE ORCHARD

In the orchard spraying should m>t be neglected on account of the bad weather. The moth may not be prevalent at present, as the weather has been unfavourable for it, but th? fun gus called black spot has had a fine time indeed, the weather being nil it could wish for. Unless the fruit ; s .sprayed it will take a lot of app’es. For this I light add some iim<? sulphur to the arsenate of lead used *o k< ep off the moth. This will go a leng way towards checking it. The cultivation in the orchard should not be neglected. It will have been difficult to find time for all the work in the few dry days we have had, but the weeds must be prevented from having it all their own way.

TREES AND SHRUBS RED OR BROWN FOLIAGE. There is quite an interesting group of these. They give a touch of colour to any garden. Some of these may be planted around the homestead as shade trees. They are all very useful, and many are very ornamental indeed. The most popular one at present is the Prunus Passardi. It is a fruit tree of no mean order and should be planted, as the fruit sets well and is ornamental as well as useful. A number of prunes have been introduced, and most of them are superior to Passardi.

Prunus Visuvius, with its large leaves and strong growth, is very suit able for avenue planting. It flowers very freely in spring; the flowers are almost white and make a very fine show. It does not fruit very freely and the fruit is very bitter and not at all nice to eat.

Prunus Purpurea is not such a strong grower as the preceding one, but it has very dark leaves and dainty slender branches. This also may be used for avenue planting. It flowers very profusely and the flowers are of a very pretty pale pink shade. For gardening purposes it is a fine tree. It does not as a rule carrv anv fruit.

Prunus Nigra is not as strong as the two last-mentioned and has finer leaves and more slender stems. It is very good for planting in gardens as except in very rich land, it does not grow to an excessive height. It flowers profusely in daily spring, the flowers being pale pink. The four prunes already mentioned are all single. The best known and probably the best of the double on<. r is Prunus Moseri Fl. Pl. Its flower are large and in the spring they male the tree just one mass of lovely pink It is a flairly strong grower and coul be used for avenue planting on gooland if the locality is not too expose to the wind. The foliage is of a verfine bronzy red and retains its colon, right through the season.

There is another double flowering prune—Prunus Blerianh. It is : stronger grower than Moseri, has : larger leaf and is of a slightly different colour. It has been in commerce only a short time and will soon become well known and popular. Its flower:are of a very beautiful shade of pink.

These trees are usually grafted on to cutting made stock, which means thathe roots are of the common cherry plum stock. Most cutting grown stock (not all) is surface rooted. The loots run ‘ight inches, twelve inches or i-ioi- 1 i.n-let the ground. These should not l.e planted in any ground covered with asphalt, as the roots will come to the surface unless they are planted at least 2 ft. deep. A couple of years after the planting the stem should be laid bare right down to the root and any fresh roots that have formed should be cut off close to the stem. Treated once or twice like this they will usually behave. unless the drainage is very poor, in which case they will not go down but will remain close to the surface. Another red-leaved ornamental tree is Pyrus Malus Plarkman, or Purpurea, as it is often sold for. The crab apple is also very ornamental, though its foliage loses its colour quite early in the season. The flower, is of a very fine wine red and the fruit is also a dark red colour just like a dark red cherry. It grows into a fair sized tree, but may he kept within bounds by pruning. It is a very good ornamental tree and is worthy of a place in most shrubberies. Like the prunes, it wi'.l grow anywhere except in poor sandy •oil, in which neither will flower nor fruit to anv satisfaction.