YOUR GARDEN AND MINE

New Zealand Listener, Volume 1, Issue 19, 3 November 1939, Page 45

YOUR GARDEN AND MINE

By

Anne Earncliffe

Brown

— No. 9

AGE war unremittingly against weeds. Thin garden crops, and hoe; stake dahlias, chrysanthemums and all herbaceous perennials that require support — and hoe to conserve moisture. If the weather is persistently dry, keep sweet peas and roses well watered, and whatever the weather, both benefit greatly in size and intensity of colour in blooms by 8 fortnightly application of liquid manure. Rhododendrons and azaleas like a cool root run, so mulch with lawn clippings beneath these bushes. Remove all seeds and if the ground is really dry, wate: well. Do not just damp surface soil. Constant hoeing, besides keeping weeds down, prevents soil-cracking following rain or hosing, and the loose soil retards evaporation. Where sweet corn ripens well, fortnightly sowings should be made. Sweet corn, eaten from the cob, is a delightful dish, especially when the cob is garden fresh and served with plenty of butter. Melon, cucumber, tomato, pumpkin and marrow plants can still be set out. Cape gooseberries and egg plants are very well worth growing. However, except in exceptionally favoured parts of the South Island, these are grown mainly north of- Cook Strait. Looking Ahead November is the month for looking ahead. If you raise your own seedlings,

sow in well prepared seed beds all those biennials which you will want to plant out in the autumn. Your choice is naturally your own affair, but the old favourites, Canterbury Bells, Sweet Williams, wallflowers and stocks are all wonderfully improved, both in colour and form -and the old-fashioned perfume is an asset to any garden. Salad Greeks Keep on replacing salad greens, spinnach, peas, broad and dwarf beans as required. Runner beans should be carefully trained, and watched for aphis. Spray if necessary with a nicotine spray. To Destroy Caterpillars Some of you may have suffered « plague of caterpillars on your runner beans last year. A friend of mine enlisted his Leghorn pullets in the battle against these destructive pests. After a day or two he had only to open his fowl run door and walk towards the bean fence, and those pullets literally fiew in their eagerness to help. A gentle shaking of the vines dislodged a_ succulent feast of grubs. Few, if any, escaped the keen eyes and nimble beaks of the hens. Egg basket and beans alike filled quickly. An arsenate spray also deals death to pests, but all beans gathered must be well washed.