THE GARDEN.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVI, Issue 4906, 23 November 1925, Page 4

THE GARDEN.

VEGETABLE GROWING. (By W. U. Hyde, in the Journal of Agriculture.) In the cooler districts, the sowing of French and runner beans may now be made, also marrows and pumpkins. Sow lettuce thinly in drills where it may be allowed to complete its growth. Towards the middle of the month, in the warmer' area's, sow broccoli and Brussels sprouts, and savoy cabbage a little later. The half-hardy plants mentioned in last month’s notes may now be set out in the cooler districts. Handle the young plants carefully, disturbing the roots as little as possible. Avoid fts much as possible stunted plants whose growth has been checked by crowding or being allowed to remain-too long in'the seed boxes. Discard also plants that are “blind,” or that in any way differ from the true type. Do not waste land and labour; on putting out cull plants; such cannot be made to 'give a satisfactory crop. Neither be tempted to plant on land that is unprepared; much better is i.t to complete the preparation and plant a later crop.

During fine weather the hoeing and cultivating of the growing crops is of first importance. Too often weeds are allowed to grow large before they are dealt with ; the successful grower destroys them before they are visible - to the casual glance. These, remarks apply to the potato crop, which should be harrowed, if necessary, before the plants are through the ground. As soon as ,the rows can be seen put the horse or hand hoes through them ; a clean crop is -not only bigger, but more easily handled and harvested. Avoid deep cultivation near the plants ; to disturb the tuber-bearing growths is to diminish the crop. Defer the final moulding till the-plants commence to flower or begin ,to spread. RHUBARB AND ASPARAGUS. With the commencement of the summer fruit and vegetable crops the cutting of rhubarb and asparagus should be stopped ; and too often these beds arc then forgotten. The former is allowed ,to be overrun with weeds, 1 and the latter, closely planted on land moulded up (a method copied from a country of higher rainfall and heavy, stiff land), with a number of weak shoots only remaining, is allowed to dry out. On the lighter, friable soils of this warmer country this method is uncommercial, and even in private gardens is disappointing. If the asparagus beds are weak, cease cutting early and Ibave a limited number of strong shoots to each crown. , Apply a guod dressing of chemical fertilisers. If in doubt what to apply, make it 2oz blood-and-bone ■manure and loz nitrate of soda per square yard, and do not allow the

beds to dry put during the summer. This should produce a strong growth that must be carefully protected, for it is only by allowing ,the plant to make a vigorous recovery that a full crop of young shoots of quality may be harvested in the next spring. Areas in rhubarb should receive somewhat similar ..attention as soon as pulling ecases for the season. Hoe them well in bright, dry weather, and afterwards apply a dressing of fertilisers and encourage good stout growth,, removing all flower spikes as soon as they appear. TOMATOES.

Under glass) the tomato crop is setting fruit, and every care is needed to avoid anything likely to check the plants, such as houses allowed to become overheated of a morning before the ventilators are opened up, or overventilated on cold nights. Plants treated to extremes of moisture or drought are seriously checked, and show it by drooping their flowers or slow development of .the fruit. Worse still, under the conditions of a lowered vitality leaf-mould fungusj and other diseases find an opportunity of becoming established in .the absence of that best of all preventives—the natural vigour of the plant. Towards the end of the mon,th the bottom bunches .will be approaching maturity. It is customary then to. strip the lower leaves surrounding the ripening bunch and spread .a mulch over the surface of the ground, should the crop promise to be of exceptional merit carefully 'select a few of the best plants and mark them down for seed-bearing. For this purpose, of first importance is it that the plant be of good type and constitution ; next, that it carry a reasonably large crop ; and, further, that .the fruit be of satisfactory shape, colour, and texture. Allow such fruit to become fully ripe on the plant, extract the seed, dry it, and store the seed from each plant in separate envelopes. As stated above, the best preventive of disease is a sturdy, normal plant. Where fungus spraying has td be resorted to bordeaux mixture, 3—4 —50, is the best remedy. Some growers are having trouble with white fly with crops under glass. If taken in the early stages, tobacco spraying or fumigation will meet the case, but if the .trouble is extensive sodium-cyan-ide fumigation may have to be applied. This.trouble would be avoided if the house, when empty, was thoroughly cleaned up. Such an opportunity should never be missed after blights or disease of any kind have been present. WEED KILLING. The drainage of yards atnd roadis about the homestead is often interfered with by-the growth of grass and weeds blocking water-tables and culverts. A liquid weed-killer sprayed bn with a watering-can now while the growth is short will make an effective clearance. A well-tried recipe is as follows.: Place 11b arsenic and 21b caustic soda in a kerosene tin nearly full of water. Leave it to stand for a few days, and .the arsenic will be dissolved, when the mixture may be diluted to 20 or 40 gallons, according to the nature of the weeds to be destroyed. Needless to say, thisi mixture is poisonous and . should be kept in a safe place, as also the utensils used, as they can never be satisfactorily washed and made safe for other purposes again.