Gardening Notes

Hutt News, Volume 3, Issue 8, 17 July 1930, Page 9

Gardening Notes

MY VEGETABLE PATCH.

Pleasure Combined with Profit. Do you grow your home-Supply o£ vegetables1? If you do, I shall have your full sympathy when I say that I for my vegetable patch. I have a prideful affection which the finest roses ever grown would, I think, .scarcely give .me —never having grown roses. Of course, beautiful flowers are a joy, and no one appreciates them more t>han I doj nevertheless there is something aibout a welltended vegetable garden which appeals to ray deepest (ox is it lowest?) feelings. The firm succulence- of freshly gathered young carrots, or the juicy promise of tender cabbages and lettuces, the rich colour of ripening tomatoes and pumpkins- —these have an appeal all their own. The average man sniffs at vegetables. Either they are too much trouble to look' after, or they arcr not sufficiently soulful. .Perhaps he has tried to grow vegetables, and the results have been discouraging. Often the trouble is that he tries to do too much. "Vegetables'' he says. "Oh, yes,-we'll have a vegetable garden-^—rather," and full of enthusiasm he brings home a seed catalogue. Learning the Limits. ' Now/seed catalogues are demoralising things. Ho looks through one for a while, and becomes convinced that growing vegetables is the easiest thing in the worldj all ho has to do is plant the seeds, do a little watering, and # in due time the illustrations in the catalogue will 'be materialised in his garden. CaTrots and cabbages are too common for him. "We will have an asparagus bed," he announces, with a lordly wave of his hand, '' and I think a mushroom patch would be very nice— so unusual, you know. And we must have some cucumbers, tomatoes, and lettuces, and a few beetroot and some spinach and celery, and, of course, cab-■baa-o and cauliflowers and beans. Then with a few ordinary things, like carrots, parsnips, onions and a few rows of potatoes, we' ought to manage all right for a while. 13 So he goes blithely to work, and brings home armfuls of seedlings, garden topis and gardening books, his labours cheered, by wonderful visions of ti permanently stocked vegetable rack in the pantry--all out of the garden. Then*' his education begins, and, after a few weeks of disgusted disillusionment, often, ends. Directly his cabbages . and cauliflowers are in, slugs appear by magic and devour, them; the asparagus probably gets frost-bitten.; other things claim his attention, and presently he discovers, that the lettuces have ungratefully grown about three feet high, in most lt heartless "fashion, and are only fit for the fowls^ while other plants have probably succumbed to poor soil, dry weather, lack of-at-tention or other unfavourable conditions. And that is the end of his vegetable garden. I do not flatter myself that I am a heaven-born gardene?, or have more aptitude than my fellows. What little knowledge I have has been attained by painful experiences suet as V.>se described above. If one can only '< keep one's enthusiasm going long enough to profit by the first failures, due only to lack of knowledge, the reward is well worth while. The Practical Aspect. A well-eared for vegetable patch, far from being ugly, has a beauty of its own/ and moreover, is a profitable addition-^ th^nom^ B<iuipirient, no matter ho^ small. Some plants, of course, lend ! themselcves more than others to decorative effects, such a artichokes with their riot of golden blbasom, or beans and pumpkins wlrieh can be trained over a trellis.. ; • But beauty is not the primary consideration. The amount of time at one's disposal has to be considered, and one's choice of plants must be governed where possible by market conditions. When there is a glut of potatoes, for instance, it pays to grow something else. Not the least important point in the choice, of vegetables for, cultivation is their noi.tri'tive and culinary valiie. In the latter connection the onion comes first in importance, then celery, carrots and turnips. Tomatoes contain more vitamines than any other vegetable, and no method of cooking or

preparation can rob them of their ric&es, unlike cabbages and spinach and othor green vegetables, which lose much of their value in boiling. Beetroot lettuce, beans, peas, green corn and potatoes play an important part in the nourishment of man, as also do asparagus, endive, salsify and sea-kale. These latter are unfortunately little grown in New Zealand.

The-amount of ground available is an important factor,'1 but unlimited space does not necessarily mean unlimited vegetables. The size of the vegetable patch should be in. direct proportion to the amount of energy and spare time that the owner is disposed to give to its cultivation. The family table can b« kept fairly supplied frern. quite a small plot by exercising a little thought in regard to rotation of• crops. T-here are lots of books on gardening that are fairly 'bursting with information on honr to grow things. But the great question of the beginner without experience is haw to extract from them, enough information to start his little plot, and do the rigkt thing.-by .its humble occupants without incurring a nervous breakdown. Results Worth the Effort. -•■ To begin with, any odd corner will not, do-to grow vegetables. Aspect must be considered, eastern or southeastern being the best, the plants thereby getting the best of the sunshine. The boundary fence naturally suggests itself for raising tomatoes, vines, etc v whilo the border in front will house cabbages, lettuces, carrots, beetroot, sweet corn, celery, spinach, with due regard to their several requirements. Generally speaking, those vegetables which soonest lose their freshness after cutting should -have first place in the home garden. Their flavour and nutritive value is at their highest when freshly picked, and it is in the tender youth and glory of a. bunch of freshly picked vegetables that the home gardener finds his true Teward. .He has a thankless job on t&e whole. His friends pity him for the bright Saturday afternoons he spends "grubbing in the garden"; they proibably make jokes about his early failures; but when he surveys his lettuces just bursting into crisp and "hearty" perfection, his firm-fleshed, rosy tomatoes; his spring onions, delicate as a fairy's kiss, and as searching as a cocktail, and smacks his, lips at t&e thought of sueelent salads to come -'' all out of the garden —- why, he certainly does not need pitying. - Talking of salads, why do we; never have anything but lettuce? In fact, in. New Zealand, lettuce md salads have come to be regarded as practically synoy nious. . There really are others—endive, for instance, quite easy to grow, though it takes a little longer to mat•ure-^just as nice, and a very good winter substitute. Then there is-, mustard and cress, so delicious for sandwiches; salsify, the leaves of which make perfect salads, although, it can also be cooked as a vegetable; antl corn salad, from young cornflower leaves, a favourite with French chefs. ' Herbs are a great addition to the home , garden;.: They are not difficult to grow, and their use in the kitchen makes no small difference to the family j menu: Mint, parsley, thyme, sage and marjoram all thrive in my vegetable j patch, each in its own little plot. The aroma of the grooving heribs is delightful, and wihen finally dried and bottled, the neat' little row of jars on the pantry shelf, with their promise of appetising1 flavours to come, are a real reward for the small amount of labour involved. I