Evening star., 1952-04-20

NOW is Cne Time TO sow the SeedS
|of zinnias, marigolds, petunias
|and saliva in cold frame or seed
flats.
The list Of vegetable seeds that
may be soWn out-of-doors is
enough to keep the gardener
busy. Radish. leaf lettuce, spinach,
mustard, turnip, carrot, collards,
beets. chard. satisfy, endive, pars-
ley, parsnip and kohlrabi, all can
|go into the ground now.
If the soil is heavy and tends
to crust, the stand can be greatly
increased by covering the seed
rows with compost, sand, vermi-
Iculite. sawdust or any other ma
lterial which will prevent the rain
from striking the soil.
Contour planting ds great help
in reducing soil erosion, but it is
the long straight rows that are
easiest to cultivate.
Several small paintings of vege-
table seeds are preferable to one
major planting, because they in
sure a continuous supply of the
crop while it is tender and nu-
ltritious. Most kinds of vegetables
do not have a long harvest sea-
son. Over-planting usually results
in harvesting when the edible
product is overripe. woody, or
lacking in flavor.
In the spring cleanup. avoid
cultivating around such shallow
rooted plants as lockwood, laurel,
azaleas, dogwood, etc. To disturb
the soil is to injure the surface
feeding roots. A mulch is the best
treatment for such plants.
| The lockwood leaf minor is a
common pest in this area, dis
figuring the foliage by tunneling.
1t can be controlled to a limited
extent through the use of "SyS-
temic poiSons" but they are rather
toxic to human beings, are not
fully tested and might we'll be
avoided until perfected. However,
we can spray our lockwood with
DDT now and at three week inter-
walls until the first of June and
secure a very good control of the
minor" The same is true with
the holly leaf minor.
Benzine hexachloride is an un-
pleasant poison to handle. but is
effective in controlling the iris
borer. A 5-pound package of dust
will treat 100 square feet Of bed.
Cultivate the dust into the soil
and then give a good soaking.
Many of our plants are showing
signs of winter injury. Most of
this injury results from the sharp
freeze last November. which came
before the wood had begun to
ripen. However, we had many days
of very mild temperatures which
kept some plants from becoming
dormant. Such conditions usually
result in heaving and breaking Of
roots. This year it resulted in dead
twigs and branches.
Daffodil clumps that are shy of
bloom should be marked for
digging. Usually such clumps are
lovercrowded and the soil is i'm
lpoverished. Generally, daffodils
should be dug every 4 or years.
the soil reworked. and the bulbs
Ireplanted. This will vary somewhat
with the variety. A few need
digging after 3 years, while others
may go as long as 10 years. The
proportion of bloom to foliage
is the best indicator of when to
dig.
Now is a good time to give the
Grape myrtle hard pruning and a
generous application of fertilizer.
The Grape myrtle blooms come on
the new growth (this season's)
and by pruning heavily strong
new growth is obtained. Feeding
also helps to increase the amount
Of new growth as we'll as the size
of the bloom trusses.
This is the season in which to
feed azaleas. camellias, rhodo-
dendrons and other broad-leaved
evergreens. Early spring feeding is