400 



n O T? T T r n T, T FT? E 



March 2G. 1916 



ROSE GROWING UNDER GLASS 



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Cleaning Up 



Altliou-h iiie weailier lias lutii very cold all along 

 with i)lL'iity of snow to niakc it look like winter, it can- 

 not last nnicli longer now and spring weather will soon 

 be here. Tlu' late wiiitir will make a good deal of work 

 and with the rush of work inside there will be little 

 time left to clean up outside. However, a day or two 

 can always be devoted to cleaning, at least the worst of 

 it, letting the rest go until later. The cleaning inside 

 should receive prompt attention, however, and if the 

 houses arc not brushed up regularly every week sec that 

 all tiie old leaves, dirt, etc., are cleaned out now for the 

 spring. There will be a great diircrencc in the air of 

 the house and the plants will be just that much better off. 

 It need not take long. If the earth walks have become 

 wet and green, dig them up a little with a pick and give 

 them some screened coal ashes, with a little sand over 

 this if the sand is cheap. Old propagating sand can be 

 used if it is not needed for concrete. It is best to rake 

 the ashes off smooth and then put the sand on after they 

 have been trod down a little so that the sand will re- 

 main on top instead of working down into the ashes. If 

 there are any pipes close to or right on the ground in 

 the walks, care should be taken to lift tliese up for if 

 the ashes came in contact with them they would not last 

 very long. Ashes seem to eat right through the pipes, 

 whether "they are galvanized or not. Lime is not very 

 expensive so it will be of great benefit to the plants to 

 scatter a little under the benches after all the old leaves 

 and dirt have been raked out. As fast as the old leaves 

 are raked out and carried outside see that they are 

 spread on the fields and plowed in at once, instead of 

 letting them lie around all summer. Also see that the 

 heaps of leaves that have been picked off the plants in 

 the winter are all hauled away and disposed of. Not 

 only do they make a place unsightly, but these heaps 

 will breed insects w^hieh are injurious to roses, as well 

 as fungi which are even more dangerous. Keep the 

 place clean, inside and out, and it will look much more 

 prosperous and will become more so through order, 

 which is absolutely necessary to make any business pay, 

 no matter how small. 



Liquid Manure 

 If no manure is on hand which can be made into 

 liquid, see that some is ordered as early as possible, for 

 it will be necessary to feed the plants quite heavily as 

 soon as the sun comes out to stay. Even with the few- 

 sunny days we have had the plants are already showing 

 more vigor and if they are given all the liquid manure 

 they will take the roses that will be cut during May and 

 June will fully pay for the extra trouble. Liquid ma- 

 nure can be mixed as strong as the pumps will take it. 

 We get best results by mixing it a day or two in advance 

 and then letting it stand. With this way we have never 

 had any trouble with stopped pipes or pumps as any 

 coarse material that may have passed through the 

 screens will settle to the bottom and will not be floating 



■civ.d nn>l promptly aniwered 



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aruuiiil 111 tlie tanks ready to gL'l iiiiu ui>.- suriiini ihik's. 

 When a]ii)iying it to the benches see that the soil is 

 (ilenty wet enough, for should it be dry tlie plants are 

 likely to take tiie litjuid uj) too quick and some of the 

 leaves are liable to get burned, to say nothing of the 

 roots which will sulfer even more. The best way we 

 have found is to water well with clear water first and 

 then follow with liquid applying enough to saturate tiie 

 soil in the benches without running through too inueh. 

 This will mean more time taken in doing the work but 

 it will be well done and the saving of liquid manure will 

 amount to something too, as the bill for fertilizers runs 

 up fast enough. 



Scratching Around the Plants 



Many growers will still insist on scratching around 

 the plants, much the same as they would hoe out in the 

 garden. Now this may be all to the good in the sum- 

 mer before the plants have had a chance to root into all 

 the soil, but as soon as they are of any size, with the soil 

 in the benches pretty well filled with roots, this scratch- 

 ing should be discontinued as it will do far more harm 

 than good. It is all right in the garden where the roots- 

 seldom come into the top layer of soil as this is always 

 too dry and hot unless protected by a good mulch, but 

 in the greenhouse where the roots are all confined in a 

 small space this scratching will tear a great many roots 

 all to pieces. ^lost of the tiny rootlets that supply so 

 much of the food to the plant are right near the sur- 

 face; in fact they stick right out into the air if the 

 plants are real vigorous. If manure is kept on the 

 benches for*these roots to work into the plants will grow 

 much better and they will receive a bad check if the soil 

 around is all scratched up and these little rootlets torn. 

 Even when applying bone meal or tankage see that it is 

 merely rubbed into the surface and not scratched in. 

 Tliere is nothing to be gained by this method, as the 

 soil is soon settled again after the benches are watered 

 once or twice and then the roots will start once more 

 only to be torn up again. Keep mulch on the benches 

 to protect these roots, and stop the scratching. Even 

 when watering see that the water is put on very gently 

 so that all the mulch is not washed away to the center 

 of the benches, leaving the front row with roots all 

 exposed. 



Watering 



The foregoing reminds us of the haltit some growers 

 have of watering from one side only, watering across the 

 whole bencli. Wliat can be gained we cannot see. It may 

 be all right to water this way a week before a house is 

 torn out, as by using plenty of pressure the water can 

 be applied quicker, but in growing houses which should 

 have the best of care we can only call this method of 

 watering the lazy man's way. It surely is not very much 

 extra work to water from all walks and have it done 

 right. The top roots will not suffer and the mulch will 

 not be piled high on one side of the benches leaving the 

 other side all bare. It will also save mulch to water 



