GARDEN NOTES

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21230, 28 September 1940, Page 14

GARDEN NOTES

SEASONABLE WORK

(By “Nikau”)

VEGETABLES AND FRUIT Have scrim and other covers ready in case of frost. Plant cabbage, cauliflower, rhubarb, asparagus, artichoke, onion, herbs, lettuce, silver beet, and perpetual spinach, potato, and a few early tomatoes. Sow peas for succession; Greenfeast is still one of the best for the main crop. Stake the early crops of peas; if tea-tree brush is not available, use netting. Pinch out the tips of broad beans after most of the flowers have appeared; this will help the pods to set, and will also check the attacks of black aphis, because this pest usually settles in the green tips of the plants. Scatter some general fertiliser around onions, peas, cabbage, cauliflower and other early crops. Then stir the surface soil lightly to help the manure to dissolve. Sow all the hardy vegetables, especially leek, carrot, parsnip, beetroot, lettuce and turnip. In a sheltered garden a row of butter beans may be sown, but they will have to be covered up on frosty nights in October and November.. There is still time to sow tomatoes for the main crop; some of the best kinds are Australian Large Smooth (a heavy cropper), Sutton’s Best of All, Carter’s Sunrise, and the various “beef” tomatoes (with thick red flesh and few seeds). The seeds should he sown in boxes to be kept on a sunny verandah or in a frame or greenhouse. Apple trees which have not yet come into flower should be sprayed with Bordeaux powder (lib to 10 gallons). If they ha\ 7 e flowered, wait another fortnight and spray with colloidal sulphur or limesulphur (l‘in 120). FLOWERS Remove unwanted seed-heads from anemones, Iceland poppy, pansy, viola, and calendula. In another month, however, seed from the best anemones and poppies should be saved. Sow aster seed in the open, preferably where the plants are to stay. Sow in boxes: lobelia, petunia, antirrhinum, dianthus, Sweet Wivelsfield, carnation, polyanthus and other primroses, verbena, delphinium and lupin. Make the main planting of gladioli in the next few weeks. Give a good watering once a week to roses, shrubs, and trees planted in the last two months. To keep in the moisture, scatter plenty of lawn trimmings over the soil just after the watering. Examine the cuttings of chrysanthemums put in during August and September. If there has been a failure, put in cuttings or rooted suckers now. Some of the lilies growing in exposed places may need a little protection from heavy frost; examples are L. regale, L. auratum and L. Henryi. Plant climbers for walls, fences, netting, trellises, pergolas, etc. Plant some of the many “balled” plants available such as pepper tree, dhododendron, lilac, azelea, ceanothus, etc.

DIVISION OF PERENNIALS | A great many perennials are now j at the right stage for dividing and ■ replanting; for example, helenium, rudbeckia, phlox, scarlet loberia, j various sunflowers including “Autumn Glory,” delphiniums, irises, Michaelmas and other daisies. Next month will be a good time for dividing and replanting violets, in addition to the above. In many cases a large clump of a perennial j may be divided into four or even i eight pieces. Usually it pays to I throw away the central piece, as it j is the weakest. Violets should be < pulled apart, and only strong young • crowns should be replanted. SLUGS AND SNAILS In many local gardens slugs are more numerous than for several ! seasons, and are doing unusual harm ; to delphiniums, lettuces, and the ; other favourite food of these pests, j The first line of defence is precaution—don’t leave breeding places for them. Weeds and long grass should be removed, and in the day time all likely hiding places of snails should be examined. Broad-leaved plants such as arums, agapanthus, watsonias, belladonnas, and native flax should be given special attention; Unfortunately, slugs are harder to find and deal with, as they can hide in thousands in grass or in rough soil, or under plants that keep closely to the surface—for example, Sweet William, aubrietia and other rocky plants, pinks and carnations. A good way to deal with slugs is to scatter lime over the soil in early spring. Later on a pink solution of Condy’s crystals (permanganate) should be sprinkled over the grass, plants and soil. This does not hurt the plants, but rather manures them. At present there are several rather new slug-killers on the market—mostly they are bran imbrued with a slugkilling chemical such as “Meta.” Torch-light hunting on a damp evening is helpful in getting rid of snails. Some people like to measure their catch by tinfuls or bucketfuls, but the ordinary gardener will be satisfied with putting his foot down firmly on the snails.

In connection with seed boxes it should be remarked that slugs and snails often hide in the cracks in the boxes or frame. A periodical dusting of quicklime or sprinkling of potassium permanganate on tho stand or frame will be an effective check on these and other pests.

GERBERA Now is the time to divide and transplant gerberas. These favourites need very good drainage, and planting with the crown level with or just above the surface of the garden. A sandy loam suits them best, but almost any soil will give fair results if the two points already mentioned are observed. Though they are usually given a sunny corner, gerberas will thrive splendidly in a really open section. In dividing the clumps, we must not make the pieces small. Another thing: unless more plants are wanted, a large clump need not be divided. For example, a clump known to the writer has had as many as 70 flowers open at the one time. After the plants are established, they may have some bonei flower or blood-and-bone stirred | into the soil around them. If rust | appears spray plants with colloidal | sulphur. | Of late there have been great ad- | vances in the types of gerberas. The J colours have been extended from | scarlet to crimson, various shades of I pink, yellow, lemon, white, etc. The j length of the petals has been greatly j increased, making the flowers even more attractive. Many doubles have been evolved, and the best of these are very popular now. Gerbera seed loses its germination powers in a few months, and should therefore be sown as soon as posi sible after gathering. The seed- ! heads are extremely variable; sometimes the one head may have two or three dozen plump seeds, but more often there is not one good seed in several heads. A help to germination is to plant the seeds slanting downwards slightly, just as they would fall when the wind failed to carry their parachutes further. If the parachutes have been taken off, the safe way is to lay the seeds flat, as with cosmos and similar seeds.