HUME GARDENS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 68, 23 March 1949, Page 6

HUME GARDENS

(By J. W. Goodwin, N.D.H. (N.Z.), F.R.H.S., Massey Agricultural College.)

ONIONS AND BROAD BEANS These two subjects, onions and broad beans, should be sown this month, to become available in early November. The thinnings from this sewing of onions may be lined out in the suring to provide the bestkeeping onions. This sowing should also provide a row of thinnings, to be used as “spring onions” for salads, etc. Broad beans sown at this time will produce small pods to be used as French beans in October, and the later flowers will have set a chop of pods before the black-aphis becomes troublesome in late November. Peas may also be sown to provide the first early crop in the spring. The time of maturity will vary a great deal with the district. The plants continue making rootgrowth over j winter and commence flowering the weather becomes warmer. The pea is quite hardy and is seldom damaged by cold; but the flowers and young pods may be damaged by hard frosts. The object, then, is to have a crop maturing just before hard frosts occur and another sown to make growth and be ready to flower when winter has passed. In our rotation, peas follow the cabbage tribe. The area was limed last winter and a liberal dressing of organic material dug in for the leaf crops. The residue of this organic material and a little lime in the soil is just what is required for peas. Shallow drills should be mdde four to six inches wide and 1\ to 2 inches deep. Rows should be 18 inches apart and the seed well covered. A few seed showing is sufficient to start searching by birds, particularly pigeons. If the soil is dry it should be packed firmly with the head of the rake. Hold the handle as with a rammer and tamp downwards with the teeth on a horizontal plane. ’Ware Birds And Slugs

It is- usual to broadcast along the drills with the seed two to three inches apart, but for the over-win-ter crop they are best spaced to 2 inches. The fairly-thickly planted seedlings shelter one another and there may also be some losses from slugs or birds. Slugs may be handpicked at night or in early morning or “Meta-baits” may be set. Wire pea-guards may be used to protect the young seedlings from birds, or the latter may be scared by stringing three or four strands of black cotton along the drill. Frequent cultivation is beneficial and it is also an advantage to draw the soil up around the plants a little. This will drain water away from the stems and keep the ground warmer. !

Beans As Autumn Crop

Broad beans' are closely related to the peas and have also been cultivated for centuries.

They are best treated as an autumn crop, to avoid the blackaphis and also because they do better in. the cooler weather. If a crop is required for use in the late summer the best method is to sow in the spring and cut the plants hard back to the base just before they flower. Growth from these' wellestablished roots will do much better during the summer months than late-sown seed

The usual method is to plant a double row and in most cases these will support themselves without staking. A wide drill is made and the seed set eight or nine inches apart along either side, giving a similar distance between the two rows. The scar-end should face downwards and the depth should be two inches, or perhaps three in light soils. Rows should be three feet apart. Where the soil is heavy it is advisable to sow both peas and beans on low ridges for the winter crop.

The onion is used for many purposes and is an easily-grown and useful change. Autumn-sown crops of the larger-growing varieties such as Ailsa Craig and Giant Rocca will produce quite large bulbs by early November. These may be used as required during the summer months, thus filling the gap between the last of the previous season’s main crop and the ripening of, spring-sown, or transplants, in February. Onions succeed best in a rich loam and an open situation, but may be grown in any well-cultivated soil which is well drained. The light loams and peaty soils, which dry out in the late summer, encourage thorough ripening, which means long-keep-ing. _