February is rewarding for vegetable growers

Press, 7 February 1986, Page 15

February is rewarding for vegetable growers

GARDENING

by

Mike Lusty

February is a rewarding month for vegetable growers because many crops can be harvested during this period. It is also a time for consolidation of the bulk of overwinter vegetables which benefit from a good start. Sowings can be made of beetroot, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, endive, lettuce, kohlrabi, peas, radish, spinach, silver beet, sprouting broccoli, swedes and turnips. Plantings of broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, celery, curly kale, endive, leeks, lettuce, spinach, and silver beet and sprouting broccoli can also be continued. If you are growing celery, perhaps for the first time, ensure that it does not suffer any form of check. It is one of the most difficult vegetables to grow well and only by giving it every attention can you achieve a tall, crisp, and succulent product Adequate moisture, absence of weeds and above all freedom from the ravages of leaf spot are all vital.

Celery leaf spot can also attack the plants at any stage of their development and can become a most persistent disease. It can be carried in the soil, and on crop refuse, so that not only is it well worth spraying in good time, but close atten-

tion to garden hygiene will help significantly to keep it in check. Copper oxychloride is still the recommended treatment during the early stages of growth and chlorothanial or zineb can be used thereafter.

All the brassica crops similarly benefit from a good start. Well formed plants, with good root systems and growing points are essential. Planting should be firm, almost up to the lowest leaves, which can be cut back by one third under very hot conditions to reduce transpiration loss. Brassicas also need protection against aphids and caterpillars. Periodic application of acephate will control both very well. In the good old days the planting of leeks and celery was carried out with almost religiously observed procedure. Today, it is rare to see the

elaborate trenching, moulding up, shielding etc, that used to be regarded as imperative to the success of raising these crops. Leeks are gross feeders and respond well to ample organic matter in the soil as well as to nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. A one-three-one ratio by weight of these elements at IOOg per square metre is most beneficial when worked into the soil prior to planting. The tops can be trimmed to reduce wilting when planting, which can be done by dibbling the plants into 50mm holes. Firming them is not essential providing the roots are covered.

As harvesting progresses there may be a few vacant areas which would most beneficially be sown to a green crop such as one of the legumes (e.g. lupins or vetches) which fix their own nitrogen, mustard, or a cereal. This will supply valuable organic matter when dug in while still green in late autumn. Brown rot continues to plague stone fruit crops and the incredible rapidity of its development under warm, moist and humid conditions is amazing - &

Fruit which has not been thinned is particularly vulnerable. Infection can spread to other parts of the tree and become persistent, especially once cankers have formed. There are no immune kinds of cultivars, and the disease can occur even after the fruit has been picked. The application of captan or triforine is recommended on all remaining crops. Pip fruit remains vulnerable to various caterpillars and powdery mildew, in particular. A variety of insecticides and fungicides will provide varying degrees of control with the combination of acephate and triforine a good choice. Grapes are showing, rather more suspectibility to powdery mildew this season, and they could be dusted with sulphur when damp or sprayed with dinocap.