Asbury Park Press from Asbury Park, New Jersey • Page 56

56 ASBURY PARK SUNDAY PRESS, Apr. 7, 1968 4 ABOUT YOUR GARDEN Make New Flower, Vegetable Friends a i marigold, an intergeneric cross ever produced. It is a bit late to i tional mouth, these make spikes "Mini-Pink Thumbelina of bells and even flat-open between African and French start this from seed now, but selection of the mixed All-Amer bloom. types. It has nice standard you should be able to find plants growth, 10 to 12 inches tall, 1 in the better nurseries.

a1 time and space than we may think worth while, for their relatively short bloom period. Dwarf China Asters There is a new dwarf strain, though, that is well behaved, blooms early and has exceptionally long-lasting flowers. "Dwarf Blue" and 'Snow White' are only eight to ten inches tall, compact and bushy, and cover their plants with two and one-half inch flowers. You may want to try them in combination with the new zinnia ica Selections strain. This little cutie blooms all season long, with two-inch flowers on plants only four inches tall.

Dianthus deltoides "Zing" is a greatly improved breed. Instead of a single burst of bloom, the low mats of dense green fine foliage produce brilliant rose flowers all season until frost. This is a perennial but will Open-throated Snapdragons Zinnia 'Thumbelina Mini-Pink' about 15 inches across, strong, compact and bushy. Flowers are gold with very full petalage, freely produced all summer long. This was one of our favorites last year.

Another low grower, introduced just a few years ago, is the dwarf snapdragon "Floral Carpet." This is unquestionably one of the best edging plants Open-Throated Snaps Snapdragons are just about my favorite for the annual beds. They begin to bloom early, in May if started in February, and produce their spikes right through until hard freeze. In fact, they will often winter and give a second season of bloom. Last year we fell in love with the new open-throated snapdragons. Instead of having the tradi- This is a little fellow, one of the flower the first year from seed.

"Tiger" is a oanay awan patience to grow corn, you might try "Butterfingers." This is an introduction that can be planted in cold ground, giving a very early crop. Flavor is excellent. Be prepared, if you plant corn, to spray for borers and earworms, and to battle the blackbirds, determined to harvest the crop before you do. Our favorite lima bean is "Prize Taker," well named. It flavor, crispness and bearing quality.

You will get a fruit from each vine throughout the season every day. As its name suggests, it does not "repeat" like other cucumbers. For more About Your Garden, listen to Mrs. Crooks every Wednesday morning at 10:45 on WJLK, the Radio Voice of the Asbury Park Press. cherries.

It' stays low and bushy, unlike the ordinary cherry tomatoes, and bears very heavily. Being self-fruitful, this will ripen fruit in a pot on the windowsill. We can't leave the vegetable garden without mentioning the best new cucumber to come our way in years. This is "Burp-less," producing fruit a foot or more long. It is unsurpassed in "Bright Butterflies" makes nice, tall, full spikes of trumpet flowers in superior color range from white through shades of red, pink, gold, bronze and terra cotta.

This was the most admired snap in our garden last year. Another fine open snap is "Pink Starsnap" of soft pale pink with a very open flower. If you missed starting the new geraniums from seed earlier, they will be available from nurseries as started plants considerably less expensive than the standard vegetatively-produced strains. "Carefree" comes in the favorite shades, makes most old varieties look muddy. We do want to remind you of the other All-America Selections for this year, too.

Our favorites among them are "First Lady" marigold, one of the best we have ever grown, "Wild Cherry" zinnia in luscious cherry juice color and the magnificent plumed celosia "Golden Triumph." Best Vegetables We don' tfind as many vegetable introductions each year, but some recent varieties we have ff -ft By MARGARET C. CROOKS Press Garden Editor SEA GIRT Old friends are often most reliable, but this doesn't mean we shouldn't make new ones, whether people or flowers and vegetables for the garden. Make it a point to try at least one new introduction in your garden every year. You mav find it even better than your old standby. Every year we test preintro-ductory and new varieties of flowers and vegetables to see if they are as well suited to our Shore climate as they may be to the introducers' fields.

There seems to be a trend to low-growing varieties recently, whether because our gardens are smaller or just that gardeners have become tired of bigness and want a change. China asters seen in the late season shows are usually like big powder puffs, and take more County Parks Nature Tours Announced FREEHOLD The Monmouth County Park System has arranged an additional natural areas program at the Holmdel park designed specifically for children in grades one through six. The basic program is a nature walk geared to the age and grade level of the students. It is designed to complement classroom lessons in the natural sci Floral Art Day Slated BRONX, N.Y. Amateur floral and landscape painters are invited to enter their best paintings in a competition April 27 at the New York Botanical Garden.

This will be the first Floral Art Day at the Botainical Garden and in addition to the competition l.ere will be demonstrations on the grounds of the 230-acre national historic landmark. Two divisions will be conducted: young adults, 12 through 15 years of age, and any adult cAfiimi A GUt Above The Rest has captured a blue ribbon for us whenever we have shown it. This makes huge pods with great, tender, nutty-flavored seeds. Vines are rampant, bear very heavily. We had one last year that climbed all the way to the top of our apple tree after topping its eight-foot pole.

Long our favorite main crop tomato is "Big Boy," which has yet to be surpassed in meati-nss, flavor and size. We have no trouble with wilt since we grow our own plants from seed and put them in a different section of the garden every year. You may want to try "Tiny Tim" to edge your tomato bed. 'Popsicle' Carrot Dianthus 'Zing' Scale Insects Resist Detection lb years or over. First prize in the competition (both classes combined), will be Jose scale could be well over thirty million in a single year.

In severe infestations the 'feed FREEHOLD Of the vari- immature adults, 'n trees scale ous pests that feed on shade 1 insects may be found on the trees, scale insects are among1 smaller branches often high in the most difficult to delect be- the crown. In general during fore they cause serious damage this period, they lie flattened to the host plant. 1 against the bark and bear no Overwintering as eggs under resemblance to the usual forms the shell of an old scnle or as of insect life. Varying with the spscies, they are oval, circular or somewhat pear-shaped, and range in color Explains pH Scale And from erayish-white to dark ing of vast numbers of these tiny insects will drastically reduce the supply of sap needed by the tree for branch and leaf development. This loss of sap results in sparse foliage, yellowing of leaves, drying and shriveling of the bark, and die-back of branches.

There are two periods, according to the National Arborist Association, when scale insects can be controlled. The first is early spring before leaves appear, and the second is during the crawler stage of the insect. A contact Insecticide must be used in spraying, and the entire tree must be covered with the spray material. Jt Give Your i A frA harden the rTpJ Once-Over ljL--3C AU-Gr-Driv Super Tractor lirV Ro17 Plow Look at it this way a riding mower's a real investment, one you want to live with for several years. So why not invest in an Ariens, America's finest rider? Check these features: exclusive Flex-N-Float cutting; four speeds forward plus reverse; easy and quick one-lever height adjustment; meets ASA safety standards; rear-mounted engine and much more.

See us for the one riding mower that is truly a cut above the rest! Ariens. tested are unquestionably superior to older strains. Probably the most satisfactory lettuce for home gardens is the Bibb-type "Buttercrunch." This forms loose heads of lovely crisp flavorful leaves and will produce during all but the hottest weeks of July and August without bolting. You might want to try "Ruby" for color in your salads, too. Although it tends to be papery in hot weather it is a fine lettuce for spring and fall.

Home grown carrots far surpass "store boughten" ones in flavor, crispness and vitamins. A new variety, nearly coreless, of the Nantes type is "Popsicle," a good one for heavier soil. Instead of planting carrots in rows, we broadcast the seed in a strip about eight inches wide, scratch it in with a rake and tamp. We thin the fingerlings to avoid crowding. If you have never eaten fingerling carrots cooked just to tender crispness and dripping with melted butter, you haven't eaten carrots.

Early Corn If you have the space and a $b00 scholarship to the Famous Artists' School. Certificates and plants will be awarded the top three entries in each division. The paintings will be exhibited in a large tent on the lawn in front of the Museum Building from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Entries may be registered from 8 to 9 a.m.

and judging will be from 10 to 11 a.m. Four judges, including a representative of the Famous Artists' School, will also provide examples of their own work for a special exhibit. There is no entry fee and the exhibit will be open free of charge to the public. (Nonmem-bers are charged a $1 car fee on weekends). On the same day there will be a nature walk through the prounds beginning at 1:30 p.m.

and an illustrated lecture beginning at 3:15 p.m. in the Museum Building (25-cent admission, members and children free). ences. Children would have an opportunity to discover growth needs of plants and their relationships with animals and other plants that may live in a particular plant and animal community. Time durations of the walks are flexible depending upon the attention span of the youngsters involved; from 30 minutes to one hour.

County Parks director James Truncer has announced a partial schedule of Saturday walks and evening programs for the parks through June. They include walks to observe spring bird migrations, wild flowers, poisonous and edible plants, wet areas study and hiking sprees. Evening slide programs at Turkey Swamp will concentrate on Monmouth County ecology, spring flowers and a program on mushrooms and toadstools. Kenneth T. Kellers has joined the park system staff as its first full-time naturalist after serving on a part-time basis for the past Its Effects NEW BRUNSWICK A pH is a figure, a reading taken from a scale that measures the chemical reaction of soils or growth media.

The reading expresses the degree of acidity or basicity. The ph scale runs from 0 to 14; 7 is neutral, below 7 is acidic, above is basic. The pH condition of the soil is one of a number of environmental conditions that affect both yield and quality. Soil and plant scientists generally agree that a near neutral or slightly acid environment is ideal for most plants. The major effect of pH on plant growth seems to be its effect on the availability ol plant nutrients.

In highly acid soils, aluminum and manganese can concentrate and be toxic to plants. When pH drops below 6.0 (becomes more acid), phosphorus, calcium and magnesium brown. Some are about the size of a pinhead, while others may be nearly one-quarter inch in length. They are noticeable only on heavily infested branches: then they form a decidedly roughened incrustation on the bark. Some species, cottony maple scale for example, nre conspicuous during the egg-laying period due to the white masses of waxy material they secrete and in which they deposit their eges.

The young of the more common species appear shortly after spring leaf development, and may be found clustered on succulent twigs and, especially, along the midrib and veins of the leaves. During this crawler staftc scale insects have six well-developed legs and, viewed through a good hand lens, resemble yellowish, nearly transparent, plant lice. All scale insects have piercing mouth parts, somewhat like those of a mosquito, and feed on the sap of the inner cells in bark and leaves. Although a few scales would cause little damage to a tree, they are amazingly prolific; entomologists have said that the progeny of a single female San PERFECT SEEDBED Gravely'g high-torqu tractor and Rotary Plow team up to till a perfect seedbed in on operation ready to plant! One of 39 year-rotbid, quick-ehange tools-built to mak tough jobs easy, built to last Proof? Ask us: "Is the Gravely tally Indestructible?" EASTER Yews Killed By Wet Feet, Too Low pH MILLSTONE TOWNSHIP -When a high percentage of yews in a planting die within a short time, poor soil drainage may be the problem. Yews cannot survive in locations where is a high water table or where sur face water stands for hours after a heavy rain.

Drain lile or a change in the surface drainage will sometimes help. Yews are not acid loving plants as are azaleas or rhododendrons. They grow better in a soil with a pH range of about 5.5 to 6.5. In many New Jersey soils, this will mean that lime should be added around yews for best growth. A 5 10 10 'fertilizer applied in April about one foot from the hedge should help promote new growth this spring.

This fertilizer can be used at the rate of one pound for 30 feet AUTHORIZED DEALERS aVUm. SALES AND SERVICE ASBURY PARK HOLMDEL Rogers Mowers Cerllone Greenhouse inno Asbury Ave. ny. gj o. of Lily-Tulip Phone Thone CLARKSBURG LONG BRANCH V.

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With the county, ne will help expand the nature program for exploration of such things as nature photography, study hiking and canoeing. He will also be involved in planning to help insure that natural and ecological relationships are disturbed as little as possible. Included in expansion plans for the Holmdel park, which already has a fine nature program and an arboretum of plants suited to Monmouth County home landscapes, are a farm museum and children's t(0 and a na'ure education center. Groups or individuals interested in special walks or nature instruction in Holmdel, Turkey Swamp in Freehold Township or the Shark River Park in Wall Township may make arrangements by contacting the Park System office at the Hall of Records in Freehold. Avoid Aster Yellows If you had trouble in your last year's garden with the diseases called aster "yellows" or aster there are several things you can do to prevent trouble this year.

The first is to plant aster seeds where no asters have been grown before. The second is to buy seeds of a wilt-resistant variety (stated in catalog and on packet). The third is to spray the asters with Sevin once a week to kill the leaf hoppers which spread aster yellows from one plant to another. GREGORY'S FLORIST 8th Sea Girt Tel. 449-5876 Roll only when preparing seedbed for new lawn.

Rolling established turf is damaging. Kill chickweed and clover with (Silvex) before warm weather. Kill broadleafed weeds with 2.4-D when in active growth. Trees and Shrubs Finish planting bare root stock before buds break. Plant, balled and burlapped stock.

Allow only a Certified Tree Expert or established ai-borist with good local reputation to prune or spray. Beds and Borders Keep plants in cold frame well watered. This may mean misting seedlings two or three times on sunny, windy days. Begin planting tender annuals needing six week head-start indoors or in protected frame. Wait to plant beans and other seeds marked "when dan ger of frost is past" until the oak leaves are the size of a squirrel's ear.

Protect newly set seedlings from cutworms with a cardboard collar or a ring of chlordanc. Feed perennials; transplant summer-blooming species. Gradually remove protective mulch from tulips. There is still possibility of freeze that could injure unhardened buds. Clean pools in preparation for restocking and planting tender lilies.

Take care not to disturb frogs or snails. Continue planting, transplanting dormant roses. Feed and prune established plants without delay. Pince finished flowers from pansies, "minor bulbs. Protect tender plants from rabbits with dried blood or commercial repellent.

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