Pinoy Entrep

Plants from a heated frame or greenhouse will have to be hardened off before being planted out, and it is usual to do this in cold frames, although an unheated greenhouse will serve.

pot tubers are miniature tubers grown under semi-starved conditions, usually in small pots, mainly to serve as an insurance policy against loss during the winter as they generally keep much better than the large open ground tubers. This is particularly helpful when using varieties which are difficult to keep. They have a very considerable commercial value as they can be sent out during the winter, and will safely travel long distances without risk of deterioration.

The frame lights should not exceed 4 ft by 3 ft as larger lights are difficult to handle-quite apart from the wcight, the pressure of a strong wind on a 6 ft by 4 ft frame light has to be experienced to be believed–and should fit closely to the frame so that there is little danger of draughts when the lights are closed right down.

Towards the end of the propagating season, just before planting time, pressure on frame space often becomes serious, owing to both the quantity and the size of the plants, particularly if these have been put into large pots. Fortunately at this time the most forward plants can he easily and safely accommodated in makeshift frames. All that is required is some side protection to break the full force of the wind, and some form of overhead cover in case of frost. Such emergency frames can he constructed from a multitude of materials, odd bricks, asbestos sheeting or even sods of grass. I have even seen corrugated iron used quite effectively to give protection.

The fact that they are not matter a great deal, as the plants at this stage are almost ready for planting. If spare frame lights are available these are, of course, ideal for putting over at night, but failing this, hurdles made from withies or wattles can be used. Sacking can also be utilised, but in this case it is best to first lay wire netting over the frames, supported by stout canes or plant stakes, over which the sacking or similar material is laid.

The sacking must be tied down in some way to prevent it being blown off. The fact that the material used for covering is opaque is of little importance as it will only be necessary to cover at night at this late stage.

Cinnamon suffers from comparatively few serious diseases. Stripe canker, Phytophthora cinnamomi Rands, is found on the trunks and branches, particularly of young trees of Cinnamomum verutn or more generally on C. burmannii in Indonesia, particularly under badly drained conditions. Vertical strips of dead bark occur, particularly near ground level.

The main centre of cultivation is the west coast of Sumatra in the Padang area between 550 m and 1300 m, at which altitudes the tree grows best. It is also grown at lower altitudes in Sumatra. A form in which the young leaves are red grows at the higher altitudes mainly in the region of Mount Korintji and is known as Korintji cassia; it is of better quality. A form with green young leaves, growing at lower altitudes, produces Padang cassia, also known as Batavia cassia or cassia vera.

A large number of insects have been recorded on cinnamon, but they usually represent single records in the early years of the century and none appear to have caused serious widespread damage.

The best quality cinnamon is obtained from thin bark from shoots in the centre of the bush and from the middle portion of the shoots. The procedures employed for the preparation of compound cinnamon quills in Sri Lanka. The yield in Sri Lanka from the first crop after 3 to 4 years of 56-67 kg of quills per hectare, subsequently increasing to 168-224 kg of quills per hectare. Yields usually decline after 10 years. About 63 kg of cinnamon chips and approximately 2.5 tonnes per hectare of undried leaves are also obtained.

The best spacing in the field is a compromise between a higher yield of thin bark by planting closely and a lower yield of thick high quality bark which is obtained from more widely spaced trees. They should, however, be planted close enough to encourage the formation of a tall straight trunk with as few branches as possible. The best spacing is about 1 m between plants.

Some cinnamon quills and quillings arc also produced in the Seychelles, but this has also suffered from the competition for labour with the rough-grade bark industry. The leaf oil is produced by steam distillation of the freshly picked leaves. The yield of cinnamon bark per tree varies greatly. Large trees, reaching 60 cm in diameter, have been known to yield 45 kg of dry bark, while younger and smaller trees yield 4.5 kg or even less. Lionnet states that an average yield of about 0.6 tonnes per hectare can be expected every five years. He gives the yield of leaves of about 1.9 tonnes per hectare per annum, which yields 0.6-0.8 per cent of oil. The oil is extracted by cohobation, in which the watery layer of the steam distillate is poured back repeatedly and the oily fraction is d raw n ‘off . The Malagasy Republic also exports unscraped cinnamon bark.

The foregoing will apply whether the greenhouse is large or small. In a small greenhouse it is essential to provide some method of shading the cuttings and newly potted plants from the direct rays of the sun, and as a great deal of ventilation has to be given in order to lower temperatures it is at the same time necessary to keep draughts from them.

It may sound strange that so much stress is placed on keeping temperatures down, but whereas it is not difficult to maintain a reasonable temperature even on a cold clay by a variety of means, it is most difficult to prevent the temperature soaring on a sunny clay in a small house. Cuttings soon flag if exposed to excessive dry heat, and, once having flagged, are not only slow in recovering, but arc also more likely to damp off and much more likely to take a long while to strike. So the maxim is-shade!

Any light material can be used for this, scrim, the remains of old sheets, or even old, light curtains-these last may not look very well in the greenhouse, but they will serve a useful purpose. Newspaper also can be used quite effectively. To carry the shading, wires should be stretched along the length of the greenhouse, at the height of the shelving on a line just above the outside edge of the propagating bench, so that the shading material can be hung from these wires as and when required.

The bench on the south side, which will receive most light, should be reserved for the tubers when benching up, and part of the other side bench used as the propagating space. This part can either be covered with dampened peat into which the pots or boxes of cuttings will go into position, or covered with the chosen propagating compost into which the cuttings will be inserted.

Whether the greenhouse is big or small, when buying a new house, remember that it is better to have a wide house than a long house, as the extra width makes it much easier to handle the plants on the benches.

It is also better to have a house which has solid walls up to bench height as these are easier to heat and easier to shade. The all glass type are very useful during the summer and autumn for chrysanthemums and tomatoes, but are not so well suited for use as a propagating house for dahlias.

Dahlia potting composts consist of John Innes No. 1:7 parts sterilised loam; 3 parts horticultural peat; 2 parts coarse, sharp sand (all parts by bulk) plus 4 lb. John Innes base fertiliser and 4 ounce chalk per bushel.

To make the No. 2 compost double the amounts of base fertiliser and chalk, and to make the No. 3 compost treble the the amounts. Unsterilised loam may he used, but the balance of the compost will not be quite so good, and is not recommended by the John Innes Institute.

This tip is particularly useful with varieties with rather soft footstalks as these often bend beneath the weight of the developing bloom, although the stem usually stiffens once the bloom reaches maturity. In this case it is best to cut with the cane still tied to the stern, and to leave the cane in position until the bloom has been vased up and has had opportunity to become fully charged with water.

If blooms have to be carried out of water for several hours, it is an advantage to fill the hollow stem with water and to seal the end with a plug of cotton wool, wrap a little more round the stem and seal with sticking plaster. Alternatively a pad of clamp moss covered with thin cloth can be tied to the base of the stem. If canes are used for supporting the dahlias the open ends should be plugged with putty or clay to prevent earwigs congregating inside. If the ends are left open, a thin rod should be thrust inside to kill any that have taken advantage of the cosy quarters offered. This may not be too easy on a queasy stomach but it is effective.

Varieties with heavy foliage often benefit if some of the leaves are removed from the stem while still growing. Cut from the inside of the plant, rather than the outside, so that there is a free circulation of air through the plant. Blooms borne on short footstalks are often damaged by the movement of leaves in high winds. With such short stemmed varieties it is best to remove the leaves from the first joint before the bloom starts to open.

Incidentally, if rooted cuttings have been bought and do arrive in rather poor condition, they can be best revived by potting up into a reasonably moist, very sandy soil compost. The soil should be very lightly watered, but the foliage should be kept perfectly dry. If treated in this fashion and then stood in a shady spot in the greenhouse or frame, even very sad looking plants will usually recover reasonably quickly. The important thing to remember is that the soil must never be over-watered, nor must the foliage be sprayed, until the plants have had time to recover and to get their roots well into the new soil. Even if some part of the root system has collapsed it is often possible to save the plant. In this case it is best to trim away the obviously damaged roots, to pot up into a propagating mixture (perhaps peat and sand in equal parts), and to treat as a cutting for a few days, except that the leaves must not be sprayed until these take on their normal green hue. Once fairly strong root growth has commenced, which should be within a week, the plants can be repotted into a normal soil compost. It will be as well to give such plants a feed with a medium strength quick acting liquid fertiliser, say about a week after potting up, to help them recover from the check to growth that has been experienced.