

HORTICULTURE 



December 9, 1911 



Fruit and Vegetables Under Glass 



mi old adage which says, "There are always 

 two ways to '1" a job, viz., the right and i he wrong." This 

 sank' rule applies to making a vine border; years of 

 study have taught us a great deal relative to this. In 

 days the houses were built and the soil which hap- 

 pened to be I here was used lo plant the vines in. In 

 some instances no doubt this answered and for a time 



SOIL 





tot/cK^re Ft-ooii 



s&c*A, i f /a r 



A 



L 



L 



l/V-tvo. 



Sketch showing end view of vino border, with space left for 

 more soil to be added later. 



fairly good crops were produced, but no one could fore- 

 cast how a crop would finish or how long the vines would 

 last. In those days, as old garden books have it, dead 

 animals were buried in the borders to furnish the vines 

 with food. Up-to-date methods differ vastly from all 

 this and we see vines producing a uniform crop year 

 after year of finely finished and delicious fruit. 



To commence making a border means to provide for 

 it when accepting the plans for a new house, in the form 

 of excavating the soil to a depth of four feet, having the 

 sidewalks go down below this. A concrete floor should 

 be laid on the bottom having a fall to the center, where 

 a drain should carry away the water into a sewer. This 

 is the first great step. Some may wonder what makes 

 it necessary to have a floor beneath the roots. (1) 

 This keeps the roots under absolute control and you 

 know exactly how much soil the roots are growing in. 

 (2) You are assured of good drainage which carries so 

 many good points with it. Penning the foregoing re- 

 minds me of some renovating I was working on some 

 years ago. We had torn an old border down in the 

 endeavor to trace a strong root of a Muscat-Hamburgh ; 

 after much work we ran it to the wall where it had gone 

 underneath the foundations — the border having no con- 

 crete bottom — and must have been growing under a 

 near-by road. The health of the vine was not satis- 

 factory and in a "death or glory" effort we were told 

 to cut it off which we did and we got the first mentioned 

 result as the vine never recovered from this amputa- 

 tion. This goes to show the necessity of perfect con- 

 trol. Coming to the drainage — four-inch land draining 

 pipes should be placed at intervals of about six feet 

 running with the grade to the drain. Broken bricks 

 should now be thrown loosely over the whole bottom to 

 a depth of from nine inches to a foot, using a few smaller 

 ones for the top. Place a good sod grass downwards 

 over all the broken brick and it is ready to receive the 

 soil. Here I would say it is not advisable to make up 

 the whole border at once; better make it three to four 

 feet wide and add more soil as the roots need more room. 

 Chop down the loam — already stacked — and to every 

 ten loads of soil add one bag of large bones (2 inch), 

 one of half-inch bone, and two bags of charcoal and mix 

 well together. This mixture is given for a soil of 



medium texture. Heavy soil might need more opening 

 material, while light soil would want less charcoal. 

 Just linn the border as the soil is brought in but do not 

 iikiI e it real hard. When planting vines from pots, 

 e the roots out and spread them evenly over the 

 surface not more than three inches deep. This gives 

 more feeding surface and encourages surface roots from 

 the commencement. Providing the soil is stacked in 

 time and protected from frost and rain this work can 

 be done any time during the winter months. 



PRUNING PEACH TKEES 



Peaches growing in pots are easily pruned. Keep 

 the center of the tree open to admit air and light, leave 

 all new wood possible and balance the tree by reducing 

 any shoots of great length. Trees growing on a trellis 

 are somewhat different. If properly disbudded there 

 will be very little wood to cut away. Any old wood 

 which can be replaced by new should be discarded. 

 Take enough wood out so that the tree is not crowded 

 when tied in again. A space in the center is best left 

 open, as young growths will always fill in this especially 

 if the trees are disbudded on the top side. Always en- 

 deavor to furnish the bottoms with as much growing 

 wood as possible. 



FIO HOUSES 



All fig trees will now be resting and pruning and win- 

 ter cleaning and renovation of borders can be proceeded 

 with as time allows. Prune similar to a peach tree, 

 leaving as much young wood as possible. When the tree 

 is tied in again each shoot should have a space of at 

 least six inches as its massive foliage requires plenty 

 of room and light to develop. When washing the young 

 wood great care must be exercised, so that the small 

 fruit which form the first crop are not rubbed off. As 

 with other trees the cleanliness of a fig must determine 

 the nature of the winter wash. A fig requires plenty of 

 water while growing and thrives best in a good reten- 

 tive soil. Do not allow the trees to become dust dry 

 while dormant. Figs are very rapid growers and do 

 best where the trees can have plenty of trellis room with- 

 out having to prune them too much each year. The 

 house can be dropped to 28 degrees — more frost is 

 liable to injure the young growths. 



PEAS 



This delicious vegetable can be grown successfully un- 

 der glass and from now on seeds can be sown which 

 will furnish a supply of green peas long before they are 

 obtainable outside. With the turn of the year and an 

 increase of sun growth will be better and crops will 

 come in quicker. A pea likes a good rich, moderately 

 heavy soil and should be given a deep bench. Raised 

 benches are preferable to solid at this time of year. They 

 dry out quicker, the soil is warmer and the roots get 

 more air. The small growing varieties recommend 

 themselves for side benches with a limited head room; 

 taller ones can be employed more profitably if head 

 room permits. Give a liberal supply of water during 

 the whole growing period. A night temperature of 55 

 to 60 with the usual advances by day will suit them. 

 Such varieties as Nott's Excelsior, Harbinger, Little 

 Marvel and American Wonder will be found satisfac- 

 tory on side benches while Gradus has stood the test 

 as one of the most reliable of the taller growing peas. 



db^^yft 



~4hr^ 



