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By John Waters
There is not much that can be done in the case of soft fruits. One can sometimes get rid of serious weeds by using one of the hormones. These, however, must be applied with care and the safest way of doing the work is to actually paint the tips of the affected weeds with a proprietary hormone and so ensure that the substance is taken right the way down to the roots by the plant which is then killed out altogether. Neglected strawberries are best dug in or rotovated in.
In the case of soft fruits things perhaps are not so difficult because the grower, or gardener, can usually tell when the strawberry, raspberry, or blackcurrant, is really ripe for picking. When harvesting for the home, it is a good plan to gather early in the morning while the dew is still on the fruits and then to bring them into a cool room like a larder.
They can then go into a refrigerator for an hour or so before serving if it is a hot day. They then may be served with crushed ice plus the usual sugar and cream!
Redcurrants should, of course, be bright red or crimson in colour before they are picked, but don't expect a yellow variety of redcurrant to produce crimson berries, as one friend of mine did. He waited and waited, and of course the berries never turned.
With redcurrants and gooseberries, the main soil deficiency is likely to be potash, and here wood ashes should be given at 1/2 / lb. to the sq. yard all round the bushes as far as the branches spread. With blackcurrants the deficiency is likely to be nitrogen, and in this case fish guano can be applied at 3 oz. to the sq. yard for 3 or 4 feet around each bush.
These bushes will need spraying with a tar-oil wash in December, using a 5 per cent emulsion.
In the case of soft fruits things perhaps are not so difficult because the grower, or gardener, can usually tell when the strawberry, raspberry, or blackcurrant, is really ripe for picking. When harvesting for the home, it is a good plan to gather early in the morning while the dew is still on the fruits and then to bring them into a cool room like a larder.
They can then go into a refrigerator for an hour or so before serving if it is a hot day. They then may be served with crushed ice plus the usual sugar and cream!
Redcurrants should, of course, be bright red or crimson in colour before they are picked, but don't expect a yellow variety of redcurrant to produce crimson berries, as one friend of mine did. He waited and waited, and of course the berries never turned.
With redcurrants and gooseberries, the main soil deficiency is likely to be potash, and here wood ashes should be given at 1/2 / lb. to the sq. yard all round the bushes as far as the branches spread. With blackcurrants the deficiency is likely to be nitrogen, and in this case fish guano can be applied at 3 oz. to the sq. yard for 3 or 4 feet around each bush.
These bushes will need spraying with a tar-oil wash in December, using a 5 per cent emulsion.
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To shield a young fruit tree that you have just planted in your garden from rodents, encircle it with high collar of wire mesh called hardware cloth.
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