174 



HORTICULTUKE 



August 10, 1912 



FRUIT AND VEGETABLES UNDER GLASS 



CONDUCTED BY 



i>thr\^. 



QnestloD8 by our readers In line with auy of the topics presented on this page will be cordially received and promptly answered 

 by Mr. Penson. Such communications sbould Invariably be addressed to the office of HORTICDLTDRH. 



Remove Shade From Early Vinery 



Rains and the weather generally will have consider- 

 ably diminished the amount of shade originally applied 

 to the early vinery. If the shade has worn down to 

 less than half of the original this will be sufficient for 

 a time; if not it should be reduced by rubbing it off. 

 From now on the idea must be to ripen the wood thor- 

 oughly, but precaution must be taken not to remove too 

 much of the shading at one time and subject the foliage 

 to the full extent of the sun's powers or a quantity of it 

 will burn. Healthy foliage will still play its part for 

 some time to come in aiding to develop the bud and 

 cannot be replaced if once ruined. 



Strawberries 



Strawberries that were potted up two weeks ago will 

 now be rooting through and should be "spaced." Ar- 

 range them in blocks so that it is easy to get in between 

 them to water and syringe. At the same time remove 

 any runners, useless foliage and weeds. Should the 

 surface be hard and smooth now is the time to prick it 

 up, using a pointed stick to do so. The whole business 

 can be got through at the same time. The need of 

 periodically repeating this will be plain to all. Do not 

 commence feeding until the pots are well filled with 

 roots. Should a little fly come around in spite of the 

 syringing, a spray with some approved insecticide will 

 soon rid the plants of them. 



Prepare for Mushrooms 



As soon as the temperature recedes far enough to al- 

 low of curing stable manure, make a start at preparing 

 for the first mushroom bed. Location will determine 

 the date, cooler states having an advantage over the 

 warmer ones. The one thing necessary for this prepara- 

 tory work is a cool, dry and airy shed. Let me say at 

 the outset that the preparing of the manure for growing 

 mushrooms is the key to success. Much has been written 

 on this subject and yet there still remains much to be 

 known. The uncertainty is as great as ever, but start 

 right and be thorough in all details — turning, mixing 

 and ramming, and spawn at the right temperature. Get 

 the sufScient quantity of manure required to make up 

 your bed in the shortest possible time, which will make 

 the bed even. By this I mean, being of one age the bed 

 will be constituted of ingredients which, if divided, 

 would all furnish about the same amount of heat. This 

 makes things uniform, right from the start. Collect 

 manure from stables having horses in good health; 

 chemicals given to sick horses have been known to kill 

 the mycelium of mushrooms. From the beginning the 

 heap of manure must be turned twice daily, taking out 

 any long straw or corn cobs. The object in this repeated 

 turning is to keep the manure from overheating or burn- 

 ing and yet retain sufficient ammonia to cause it to heat 

 gradually when the bed is made up. This will also help 

 to dry the manure out, which is a point often lost sight 

 of. Have it in a 'liappy medium" condition at the time 

 of making up. The thickness of the heaps as they are 



spread out on the drying shed floor will affect the man- 

 ure materially. Experience is the only teacher in this 

 line and never forget the old proverb, "If at first you 

 don't succeed, try again." Making the beds and spawn- 

 ing will be dealt with later. 



Winter Vegetables 



Covering such a wide territory as Horticulture and 

 its readers do, it is no easy matter to approximate the 

 dates for handling vegetables in spring and fall. We 

 hope any extremists will make due allowance for all 

 this. From now on the vegetable houses and frames 

 will be filling up. Probably one of the first subjects to 

 come under the hammer is lettuce. The first good frost 

 renders this excellent salad useless. As a first defense 

 make a planting in some cold frames which can easily 

 be closed at night on the approach of frost. This will 

 augment the supply from the vegetable house consider- 

 ably as these latter can be brought along as a second 

 batch to those in the frames. Periodical sowings can be 

 made from now on. Have the main crop of good size 

 before the cold, short days come as they will move 

 along very slowly then. 



Tomatoes 



Tomatoes are relished at all times and with facilities 

 for their production at hand they can be had all the 

 year round. To grow tomatoes to their best advantage 

 and profit to the grower they should be given a house to 

 themselves. Whether large or small it will pay, sooner 

 than mixing them up with all sorts of vegetation. They 

 can be successfully grown in pots or boxes when only a 

 few are required, but when giving up a house to them 

 use benches. If the bouse is large enough plant them 

 in the benches, two feet apart in the rows and eighteen 

 inches between the rows, the wider distance being from 

 east to west to allow the sun free access to the plants on 

 the back of the bench. Using this method the plants 

 can be staked like roses. If a small lean-to house is 

 used the plants can be trained to wires near the glass as 

 a vine is done. Winter tomatoes vnW be found a profit- 

 able crop. A^Hiere a succession of fruit is required a 

 first batch can be sown now and grown on in pots out- 

 side, until inclement weather forces them under glass 

 protection. Ten-inch pots are most suitable for the 

 final pots. Eights will produce four good trusses. Leave 

 sufficient room for top dressings when potting up and 

 make moderately firm in the finals up to which time a 

 light hand can be used. Tomatoes require a "step lively" 

 gait right from the seed pan for once starved out the 

 chances of success are considerably diminished. 



Dwarf Beans 



Late sowings of these made in the garden can be pro- 

 tected from early frosts by means of sash being put over 

 them. A two weeks' longer season is thus ensured from 

 outside sources. Figure on this and get the supply from 

 outside as late as possible. It's a long time until spring 

 again. 



