The Kitchen Garden.

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 144, 1 April 1909, Page 4

The Kitchen Garden.

All exhausted crops should be cleared from the ground, and either burnt or wheeled to the rubbish heap. To allow beans, peas, and other crops to remain on the ground a day after they i have served their purpose is a mistake j for they extract nourishment from the soil to no purpose. The Chinese gardener seldom rests his land; immediately he harvests a crop he manures and digs his ground, puts in his seeds and plants, and by the aid of plenty of water and liberal use of manures he obtains good returns for his outlay. The French gardener works on the same principle, but the Colonial gardener does not, as a rule, adopt the same system of intense culture. He believes in the value of allowing his land to lie fallow for a litte while, and where there is plenty of space this system may be adopted with advantage. As soon as the ground is cleared it should, if necessary, be manured, and dug deeply; the surface may be left quite rough, and thus prepared at any moment, it may be raked down ready to receive seeds or plants. If not already done, make sowings of early carrot, endive, lettuce, parsley, onions, turnip, radish, beet, spinach, and peas. Many kinds of herbs may be readily raised from seeds sown at this period; sage, thyme, and marjoram, both pot and sweet, are those mostly in demand. But, unless large supplies are wanted, it is better to put in plants than to sow seeds. The plants divide very readily, and cuttings strike root easily. As the recent rains, combined with a high temperature have caused crops of weeds to appear, the hoe must be kept going on dry days, and not allow the useless vegetation to do harm.