Vegetables Grown In District With Very Low Rainfall

Lake County Mail, Issue 48, 5 May 1948, Page 3

Vegetables Grown In District With Very Low Rainfall

To the surprise of agricultural officers, a young West Australian farmer has for some years been successfully growing vegetables on a commercial scale in an area with a 13-inch annual rainfall and where during the growing period only seven to nine inches of rain fall. This is a departure from usually accepted principles of vegetable growing in Australia, and the first known success with normal production under such rigorous conditions. The vegetables marketed compare more than favourably with those from rainier areas and generally are sweeter-tasting even than those from home gardens. • The experiment is being made by Mr T. E. Brown, Wyalkatchem, on part of his father’s 1000-acre wheat and sheep farm.. Mr Brown had no previous experience of vegetable growing, but relied for advice and suggestions from the West Australian Department of Agriculture. Cabbages, beetroot, swede turnips and peas have been the main crops cultivated on an area varying from 10 acres to 25 acres. Once Mr Brown harvested nearly 100 tons of cabbages from 12 acres. Timing in every phase of growing seems to be the key to success. Tabulated records of rainfall, planting times, harvesting and costs of production enable the farmer to adhere to a programme that eliminates frosts and other risks and to take advantage of good markets. Because of the weed problem, artificial fertilisers are used in place of animal manure, Mr Brown worked out his own method of getting cabbage seed when his plants refused to seed in the ordinary way. After the heads were removed the clumps were loft in the ground until they sprouted. Then they weredug up and transplanted to fresh soil, and at once shot up seed stalks. This seed when sown gave excellent results, with germination about 98 per cent.