GARDEN CULTURE AND VEGETABLE MANURE
Sir,—l 6liould much ■ like to compare notes with any of your readers who, like riiystlf, have tried gardening without stable or animal manure,]and.'with.practically no artificial or chemical fertilisers cither. I have' had' my present plot of ground' in' use, 1 in whole or in part, for eight 'or ten years, and am getting good"n'esulfe,'' hS following few details will show. Peas, American Wonders, from one sixpenny packet, two bushels well filled pods, and a pint and a half of sepd; Stratagem, which I am now nicking, .promise, equally well, if not better; broad beans, Early Long Pod,.about,U bushels.from one.packet, p.ods .up, to .13. inches long. These developed a rust, and finding them covered in places'with the small black fly. I pulled them out for the sake of their neighbours before they' had' finished bearing. French, beans,. Canadian Wonder, first sowing yielded only three pickings, in spite of much' nursing, owing to inclement season in spring time; second sowing, made over two,months later, are now'shotting a very heavy crop. Potatoes;'Early'Rose;- Gfl'scts-'supplied family of five persons' from a fortnight before Christmas till- tho' end of January without stint; Gamekeepers have,proved patchy I could only obtain-small backward seed-and the ground wns cold and wet for over two months, just when they ought to have been, making a fair start,- • Onions, although retarded by the wea-. the'r'above alluded-to, are now a heavy crop and are maturing favourably. Cabbages and other bras'sica,, have all como along very rapidly and hearted well. Brussels sprouts have grown Tather too well, as they are nearly five feet and the'sprouts, have a tendency"'to-.burst before they , (ire" properly,- formed/Small stuff—lettuces and. radishes, ..etc.—have been good all'along. 1 Carrots;, parsnips, and beetroot have all turned out' strong and well grown. Artichokes, very strong growth, stalks eight feet high. Tomatoes,- only a few ripe yet,, owing to long spell of cold, wet, and,. ..windy weather-in latter spring and early summer; b'ut a-sound, heavy crop'in bearing. Crops 'following those- whicli have matured- are- all promising very well indeed. ' Marrows,''pumpkins, cucfimbers, etc., I grow in beds formed of cow manure mixed with pruß and'ma'crocarpa leaved gathered, from, under ■ the trees, where my three cows "roost" in' the winter time. I also use this compost in forming seed beds for lettuce and cabbage seeds. . That is the only animal ■manure..!' use at all, and that mainly because there is not always enough of the decomposed vegetable refuse described below to go,round. Of fertilisers I have this year used only one shilling's worth of boneduit, at twopence per 'pound.' ,
The refuse alluded to is gathered and collected during the spring summer, and autumn in a pit .four feet deep and about Bft. x. sft. in length and width. The pit is'dug ill-waterproof clay subsoil, is .quite open at. the top, and is kept filled with grass cuttings, leaves, garden refuse, rubbish, and weed's of'all sorts. It produces about a ton and a. half of. well-i-otted* manure ill the spring. 'Along-' sidtf it I dug a smaller hole, 2ft. x 2ft., eighteen inches depcr, boarded it up" on the inside and fitted a, lid. The boards lining it have a few augur holes on the side touching the refuse pit. Through, the?? : holes, the. water .which porcolates through the "rubbish whenever it rains is admitted, and'provides "a plentiful supply- of- liquid manure practically all ■through - the - summer.-' A ?closo 'fitting lid for this liquid, department was found ■ necessary,"both- 'in order to prevent evaporation and to keep the rich -effluvium which arises from'the-contents from manifesting itself too 'conspicuously. I have vßiven this wet refuss pit a' thorough trial, as I say, .for the last eight or ' ten' years.' It ig little trouble and no nuisance, as the ton is never' stale, - being; constantly ' kept'covered by ■freshly-cut '-grass,--etc.- Of-course,- where sufficient' deptli'of clay 'subsoil does 'not' exist the sides and-bottom of. the- pit would have to be concreted. The pit should be kept 'veil filled -with rubbish, which will keej> on sirtking down, giving loom on top for more day. .by day.. It should,- of course, be kept 'free -from sticks, etones, tins, and dirt. In the spring the manure can.be pulled out with a muck rake, ai.yl dug straight away into the ground iii the' ordinary manner..' Itshould prove lightish yellow in colour, turning quite blink [is soon as exposed to the light'.' When -empty the ' pit is ready for the next'twelve months' consignment of , vegetable, refuse, and the manure problem for the same period has been satisfactorily solved. I shall be pleased to give a more detailed description to- anyone interested or. to 'show visitors, how the scheme works, and its results.—l am, etc., H. M. B. MARSHALL. . • Mangatainoka, February !-7, 1919.
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Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 134, 1 March 1919, Page 3
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790GARDEN CULTURE AND VEGETABLE MANURE Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 134, 1 March 1919, Page 3
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