December 7, 1912 



HORTICULTUEE 



775 



FRUIT AND VEGETABLES UNDER GLASS 



CONDUCTED BY 



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Questions by our readers in line witli any "t the topics presented on tliis page will be cordially received and promtply answered 

 by Mr. Penson. Such communications sliould invariably be addressed to tbe office of HORTICULTDHE. 



Strawberries 



Strawberries can be started any time. now. Seldom 

 do we see a house given up entirely to growing them; 

 if a small one can be given up to them, labor will be 

 saved, as it takes time to shift them around. If it is 

 convenient to have shelves in either vineries or peach 

 houses that are being started into growth, strawberries 

 will come along here without a shift as the rising tem- 

 perature will suit them. It may be desirable to move 

 them to more airy and drier quarters, as the fruit begins 

 to color. Until then they will be all right. Have the 

 pots washed clean soon after the leaves appear. If 

 allowed to dry they are harder to clean. At the time of 

 housing they may be too wet to handle; leave them 

 until nearly dry, when the drainage of all should Ije 

 examined and the soil rammed down, making it firm, 

 after the frosts and rain have loosened the surface. Soon 

 after the roots have become active an application of weak 

 soot water will help to sweeten the soil. Not until after 

 the fruit is set should any form of feed be given to 

 them, as it only produces heavy foliage at the expense 

 of the fruit. 



Peach Buds Dropping 



Now that the foliage is off peach and nectarine trees, 

 a careful watch should be kept on the border, so that it 

 does not dry out. A general impression would be that 

 with no foliage on the trees, little or no water is needed, 

 but if a peach tree is allowed to get dry at the root, the 

 flower buds will fall later. It is not just now that the 

 damage will be seen, but as the trees commence to grow 

 or — in other words — immediately the sap commences to 

 flow. Some have been heard to call it "bud jumping." 

 A syringe twice a week along through the winter is a 

 help to the buds, especially to trees that were root 

 pruned. Care must be taken when syringing these cold 

 houses to see that the water does not freeze on the trees, 

 or the results will be fatal to the flower buds. It may 

 l)e necessarj' to nearly close the house for an hour after 

 syringing to raise the temperature. 



Pruning Vines 



This was only dealt with briefly in an earlier issue, 

 yet is of such importance as to warrant a space of its 

 own. There are two distinct systems of pruning vines 

 under glass, known as the ^ho l si^it and tlic long-spur 

 systems. A vine is different from a peach, nectarine or 

 apricot inasmuch as the fruit is borne on wood of the 

 present season's growth; the other subjects mentioned 

 form flower buds on young wood which develop to ma- 

 turity the following season. When pruning peaches, for 

 instance, all the young wood (that is, last summer's 

 growth) that can be left in the tree without overcrowd- 

 ing is retained to produce the flowers and fruit the suc- 

 ceeding season. This is all dispensed with in a vine. 

 It is a good plump bud we are after. Some carr}' this 

 idea of a large bud to extreme, which develops the long- 

 spur system. The lateral growths are just looked over, 

 and the largest and plumpest bud selected as that to form 

 the lateral the coming year, pruning back to this, irre- 



spective of length left on the vine. A few years of this 

 usually brings spurs of considerable length — weird, un- 

 sightly things. Some growers are able to produce a lit- 

 tle larger bunches this way, but the percentage is small 

 and when one considers the vast majority of growers- 

 who ignore it the conclusion must be one of indifference 

 to it. In addition to the unsightly appearance of the- 

 long spurs, they form shelters for many pests. It is seen 

 by tlie foregoing that the writer is no "boomer" of the 

 long-spur system. I would only use it on vines doomed 

 to be pulled out at the end of another season; then you, 

 are getting all that is coming. 



The short-spur system is the shortening of each lateral, 

 back to one, two or three eyes, which builds up a short 

 compact spur. Some say "two eyes and keep to it as a 

 fixture." I say there are no positive fixtures in this 

 business. The very base bud may be all you are look- 

 ing for and is so placed that there will be no danger of 

 its being rubbed out. This being the case, shorten back 

 to one eye. The same conditions may exist, yet with an 

 even chance of the bud being damaged; then leave tw& 

 eyes, one to be rubbed out after growth commences. The 

 three eyes may have to be left where the two base ones 

 are poor or in such a position as to make it unwise to 

 try to train them where they are needed. 



After referring to strong and weak eyes some readers 

 may remember an article last summer where I said the 

 strongest growths do not produce the largest bunches. 

 I still maintain that this is so ; that is, those exception- 

 ally strong growths. This is not inferring that a real 

 weak growth is best. Get the eyes good and solid, the 

 breaks evenly strong, and the bunches should be good. 

 Prune the vines as early as possible no matter when they 

 are being started. This not only helps to plump the 

 eyes, but is the greatest safeguard against bleeding. Save 

 a few of the best laterals if young stock is to be raised 

 in the coming spring. Heel them in underneath a bench 

 in a cool house or outside with some straw thrown over 

 them. This will keep the eyes in good shape until 

 needed and they will be accessible at any date. 

 Cauliflowers 



Cauliflowers now developing will need plenty of water, 

 but no feed. If growing in raised benches with the heat- 

 ing pipes underneath see that they do not dry out from 

 the bottom. The hearts are best kept from the sun at 

 all times. This can be accomplished by breaking two 

 or three of the outer leaves over it. Green fly will often 

 secrete itself amongst the tender foliage. When dis- 

 covered fumigate the house at once. 



Peas 



Culinary peas are gross feeders and they also like a 

 good supply of water. A thorough drying out will give 

 the plants a check, oftentimes never forgotten. Peas 

 coming in for Christmas can have some manure water 

 as they go out of flower. Mildew is liable to put in an 

 appearance with any neglectful ventilating. Take steps 

 to check it before any serious damage is done. 



"Fungine," advertised in Horticulture from time to 

 time, will be found a valuable assistant. 



