GARDEN NOTES.

Waikato Times, Volume 121, Issue 20278, 21 August 1937, Page 20 (Supplement)

GARDEN NOTES.

*•- : Seasonable Work.

VEGETABLES AND FRUIT. Dig plenty of ground while It is in good order. Work up some for sowing in the next week or two. Plant cabbage, cauliflower, onion, shallot, beetroot, silver beet, rhubarb, potato, lettuce, chives and other herbs. Only in well-drained soil sow peas, lettuce, onion, carrot, early turnip, radish, beetroot and silver beet. Plant asparagus in beds which have been dug deeply and manured heavily. Established beds should be dressed with farmyard manure, or given a generous sprinkling of blooct-and-bone and superphosphate, to be followed (by nitrate of soda in September. Finish pruning apple trees; cut out enough to leave the centre fairly open, and also remove dead or unhealthy wood. Spray deciduous trees not yet In bloom with Bordeaux (lib of powder to 5 gallons of water). Continue to plant fruit trees, especially apples, as they are the most useful of all fruits. Now is a good time to plant New Zealand grapefruit and lemons «uoh as Eureka and Lisbon. FLOWERS. Work the soil In the beds and borders and scatter a general fertiliser over them If they were not manured earlier with plenty of compost or farmyard manure. Plant stock, nemesla, antirrhinum, aquilegla, pansy, viola, primrose, and primula. Trim up old plants of fuchsia and geranium, and remove the parts damaged by frost. Piant ornamental trees and shrubs, roses, and hedge-plants before It Is too late. It Is now a good time to plant most kinds of ollmbers. Lists will appear In this oolumn shortly. Repot aspidistras; each division Should he allowed at least four or five healthy leaves and of course all unhealthy growth should be out away completely. Other pot plants may be repoted now. Allow for drainage by putting a bent crook over the hole. Within limits, the soil should be packed firmly after the planting, as this Induces sturdy growth, and plenty of flowers In the case of a flowering plant. Finish pruning roses and hydrangeas. Take cuttings of chrysanthemums and plant them in a mixture of sand and good loam. Plant lilies If they are still dormant. Most of the kinds in the soil are coining through now.

FULL STEAM AHEAD. After last week’s fine weather and the consequent drying of tjie soil, and the ooinlng of the end of August, the order Is: “Full steam ahead” with the ordinary garden operations of spring. Working the soil, planting and sowing are all possible now. There Is al'so a good opportunity to weed beds and borders, and to do a task whioh should be done only In dry weather: Spraying for insect and fungoid pests. A GARDEN FRAME. A garden frame Is a useful adjunct at all seasons, but especially In winter and early spring, when plants need protection from frost and heavy rain. Though frames can be bought, the ordinary person ought to be able to make one quite cheaply. A good makeshift for the cover is a pair of windows of the old-fashioned, prebungalow kind. It is a manifest advantage to have small panes In case of breakage, though this should be guarded against In any case by the fastening of small-mesh netting tightly | a few Inches above the glass. The frame is usually called a ‘cool frame,’ but only in contrast with a heated greenhouse. As a matter of fact, the frame is chiefly intended to keep plants in a temperature considerably above that of the outside soli ami that of the atmosphere. The fiame also serves the purpose of keeping away wind, and checking the transpiration of cuttingsThe frame may ho described as a bottomless box about six feet long by four wide, sloping from about fifteen inches at the back to nine or ten inches at the front. It is Important to have •be frame fairly shallow, so that the plants do not get drawn up In their •‘‘ltempts to reach the light. For the - s a no* reason it Is necessary to give !! 11 plants air, but without draughts. T 1 e h ages (and their props)* for gtvventilation must be strong and se•'ias a sudden fall would probably break every pane of glass. THE USES OF THE FRAME. Various uses may be found for the frame, but generally It will be merely a holder for seedlings and cuttings. For Instance, In the winter it may be used for housing boxes of cuttings of alternanthera, fuchsia, pelargonium (Including so-called ‘geranium,’ and begonia, and for raising plants of Iceland poppy, stock, neniesla. carnation, pansy and viola. In the next few weeks It will bo needed for raising tomato ami cucumber, and, after that, for raising celery, and summer bed-ding-plants such as petunia, salvia, zinnia, French ami African marigold, petunia and lobelia. Woodllse and other pests often give trouble in a frame. To check slugs, scatter some powdered alum around the sides and under the boxes. A sprinkling with a pink solution of (.ondys crystals after dark will kill all the slugs It touches, and snails can bo caught In a daylight search under the boxes. If woodllce' aro troublesome, take out nil the boxes ami pour plenty of boiling water around the eilsea and all ovnr the bottom of the frame (If It Is covered with coke). Another good thins Is to scatter flowers of sulphur around the odors to trv to keep down .lampins-off diseases, if these appear tn the boxes, some sulphur can he scattered In between the plants. A further point: A mouse-Iran should be halted and set In the frame because mice often cause great trouble by eat In.a seedlings (Sehiranthus f ,„. txample), and the seeds of sweet’pea pumpkin, marrow and cucumber. BED OIL. The following directions Issued by the leading makers of red oil can bo regarded as authoritative. t. All utensils used In oil sprtuJng should be washed out with a strong Solution of washing soda in water, as the presence of lime or other foreiki substance such as nicotine will cause a separation of the emulsion. (Uomember that there Is lime in both lime-sulphur and Bordeaux, two of J « .nest sprays). tiiy. say one pint, of spraying oil and f water. It Is ts pi emulsion.

8. Agitate the oil and water vigorously until It becomes milky white. This mixture Is the “ primary emulsion.” 4. Measure out the necessary amount of water for strength required. Now add primary emulsion to the water. 5. The diluted emulsion will he milky white, and no free oil or scum will be present. 6. spray kills Insects by suffocation and is not poisonous or caustio in its aotlon. 7. ‘Hard water* (ice water in which soap will not lather) may prevent the making of the emulsion, or cause it to break up after it Is made, and then free oil or scum will rise to the surface. To remedy this, add to the hard water a little washing soda, say one tablespoonful to four gallons of w r ater. 8. The washing soda should be added to the water before, not after, the oil Is poured into it. REQUIRED STRENGTH OP OIL. For apple-trees, pear trees, vines, eto., in a dormant condition, the j strength Is 1 in 15. This will check scales and aphis on fruit-trees and shrubs such as hydrangeas and roses. When the foliage has appeared, the strength is 1 in 30 or 40. For orange and lemon trees in summer the strength is lin 60. For evergreen shrubs (with scales and aphides) the strength varies from 1 in 30 (for tough follaged) and to 1 In 50 (for tender-follaged). For roses with foliage 1 In 60 is a safe strength. Scales on palms and aspidistras may be killed by a 1 in 40 solution. This may he sponged on the plants, or the pots may be held upside down so that all the foliage can be dipped into the solution. (It Is well to hold the Angers over top of the pot to prevent the plant and soil from falling out). It should be noted that the addition of soap makes for ease in spreading the spray. A good hard soap, properly dissolved, using iib. to 20 gallons, considerably enhances the usefulness of the spray. In spring and summer white oil Is generally used. The strengths are as follows:—» For apples and pears, 2 gals, of primary emulsion to 60 gals, of water. Peaches and nectarines: In January, February and March, 2 gals, of primary emulsion to 80 gals, of water. Cherry: In January, February and March, 2 gals, of primary emulsion to 80 gals, of water. Citrus: In December, January, February and March, 2 gals, of primary emulsion to 40 gals, of water. Do not spray citrus trees unless they are making a decided vigorous growth. Avoid intense heat of day when spraying. PRUNUS TREES. Since the first week in June some of the local trees of Prunus mume have been in flower, and the end is not yetAll through July they were in full ilower, lending beauty to otherwise dull gardens. This month two other kinds of Primus are In full bloom. The first Is the pink, double-flowered form of red-leaved plum generally called P. Moesri, though its full name would bo something like this: Prunus cerasifera 'ar. Plssardil Moseri (lore pleno. That is to say, Moser’s variety of Pissard’s variety of a cherry-plum. Tlie ' ti;':' is the red-leaved plum with single white flowers, used a good 'I- «1 ns a street tree in some parts of Hamilton, notably River Road. It is Prunus Pissardii, and, as already explained, It is a red-leaved form of cherry-plum. it bears rcd-t!eshed f 1 L;: " ; eh Is quite useful for cookth >ugn not palatable as dessert.