Work in the Garden.

Hutt News, Volume 1, Issue 2, 12 April 1927, Page 6

Work in the Garden.

By "OLD TIMER"

God Almighty first planted a garden, And indeed, it is the purest of human pleasures And the greatest refreshment to the spirit of man.—Lord Bacon. If the garden has a thorough clearing of now, and all decaying crops cleared off, it will have an orderly appearance for a long time. Nothing if possible should be allowed to remain decaying on the ground. All vegetable rubbish and weeds should be taken to the rubbish heap or trenched in. Small sowings of lettuce, carrots, turnips and onions may still be made. Continue to plant out cabbage, broccoli and lettuce plants. FLOWER GARDEN Continue to plant out spring flowering bulbs as advised in the last issue. Grape Hyacinths is an interesting dark blue flower and should be freely grown in mixed borders. Plant out all biennial and perennials available. Divide up clumps of Polyanthus and Primrose plants (preferable after rain). Sowings of hardy annuals and perennials can now be made. Sow Sweet Peas for spring flowering. LIMING THE SOIL IMPROVES ITS FERTILITY The Hutt soil is noted for its fertility, and evidence of this can be seen in the many beautiful gardens in the Valley, and in the fine exhibits put up by amateurs at the local Horticultural and Wellington Shows. Lower Hutt has been aptly named the garden suburb of New Zealand. One of our well known councillors, once on a time, went farther, and likened it to the Garden of Eden, and this at a time when the roads and footpaths were in a .deplorable state. If the said gardens, roads and footpaths were in no better order than the Hutt at that time, Adams job, apart from managing Eve, was certainly no sinecure. But with progress and town planning this favoured suburb may in time well merit the name. The great fertility of the Hutt soil probably led to its abuse in days gone by, when it was cropped year after year without manure, and later worked it out or soured it with artificial manures used without any system. The market gardeners of to-day are more up-to-date, and know the value of manures, and the benefit of keeping the soil in good health. Most of the Hutt land is deficient in lime, and lime is a very important ingredient in soils, but is seldom estimated at its true worth. Since the advent of so many chemical manures, the ancient practice of liming the soil has largely gone put of fashion. Lime is not only a cheap and excellent manure, but is a powerful check to club root in cabbages, and in keeping many pests away. Lime being alkali, is fatal to sourness and acidity in the soil. It makes stiff and clayey ground porous; it converts and liberates the nitrates, potash etc., from weeds, green manures or other organic matter in the soil. Liming the land is not necessarily an annual affair, a good dressing every second or third year will keep the soil sweet and in good heart. Lime was considered of such import-

ance to land that compulsory clauses used to be inserted in farm leases in England at one time, stating that the land must be limed at least every five years.