The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1921-08-18
Field and
1Orchard

o,vrer of one OF the prettiest
= i the Kennewick territoy has
f'l ...., an interesting article to this
WV INV regarding his remarkable sue
, .sss with his flowers
~ The letter follows:
Ins neople have asked how we
MANY - grow such healthy dahlias
are aD.s Some claim that they have
'n0 I0 and failed, while others report
s s1st their heir flowers are small and sick
tha' l Asain some believe that l use
~ later for my flowers than they
more no afford to use. Water is not the
can recessity for plants, especially
ony rs in soil which has not been
h is;,;,ed or filled with plant food.
y one example of this is the =, success
on I'D couple have had with their
:. a, u,r trees, and small vegetable
foss crown on their desert home
salu come five miles west of the Vista
s,e' p I. pumphouse. There is no
~ ...rre here, with the exception OF
us ssw spring and winter rains. Twice
-. ,..t the old gentleman hauls two
s.ss.gallon barrels of water from the
~. .,nbouse which serves for household
r we'll as for the horses, cattle
= - other livestock about the place.
- ss.r there is any left it may be used
- ,he garden, which visiting friends
,.ve always admired.
Once asked the same question that
.arle now ask me, elbow do you do
Nv and this is the answer, "My boy,
,o,l YOU water is no feed for my
,,,,es and pigs, or for myself and
~. / have to forage real food to
,.eu us in the desert. Just SO the
n,yers have to have real food to
t..n them healthy with little water
: wash it down. If you people in the
;,,;oated valley would slack down a
,Hle from chasing the almighty, fast
,ol,ino dollar and make your front
and back yards a harbor for flowers,
~, would be content, at least in the
evenings when you sit on your door
items or shaded porch and your flow
~ show at their best. The dollar
Won were chasing was meant for the
other fellow, unless you are a born
miser or mammon worshipper, but the
flowers are really yours, and what is
more YOU have the satisfaction of
moving that you helped them from a
seed or bulb to the lovely blossom.
There is not much work to raising
flowers and you lose that tired
feeling which we old folks call lazi-
ness. Study plant life little. There
are many, many books in our large
country on different climates and
soils for different plants"
will now describe my experience
IN raising flowers in our Columbia
valley. We can have just as good If
not better dahlias and roses here as
they have in Portland, the so-called
aRose City" All we need is to ac-
quire the habit of preparing next sea-
sons flower-bed in the fall or early
spring. If your flowers look scrawny
now make ditch along side of them
about foot deep and then clean your
COW barn, it is only fly breeder any
way at this season, and fill your ditch
Fill in with water and cover with soil
Watch your flowers change appear
,nce in few days.
For people living in town who have
garages instead of COW barns, any OF
the following commercial fertilizers
will serve as flower food if well spaded
in around them. Calcium nitrate
Calcium sulphate; and bone meal fert
l1er mixed with Stacked lime, water
SACKED preferred to air Stacked
Avoid nitrate of soda for plant roots
fyou want to use this it should be il
ne fall or very early spring, wei
mixed with other fertilizer.
Some of you will say, ooh, dom
want to bother with the flowers RICH
now, ! will do it next week-or mex
year." Do it now and you will b.
atlsfied with the results. Keep you
0ahllas and rose beds covered witt
mulch in case you have insufficient
water. Mulch keeps the ground in
more even tempature, and one water
ing will last from ten to fifteen days
pont sprinkle your flowers, for j
nardens the ground about them, bu
make little bitches six or eight inche
ifom the plants and then soak tn
ground well. Cultivate little whel
Wy and cover with lawn clippings o
Saer mulch. Don't forget to cut OF
ue faded flowers. for they absorb tn