WORK IN THE GARDEN

Southland Times, Issue 24227, 10 September 1940, Page 12

WORK IN THE GARDEN

VEGETABLE GARDEN PLANNING

’ By RIWHI Careful planning is as necessary in the vegetable garden as it is in the building of a house. An efficiently managed garden will produce much more in quantity and in quality than one that is sown haphazard. Yet there are still a great many gardeners who begin sowing with the first packet that comes to hand and continue till the last available space is sown down, when, with a sigh of relief one can imagine their saying: “Thank goodness- that’s over for another season.” In no sphere is the reward so certain to be commensurate with the effort and skill of the worker as in gardening and kindred pursuits. The position may be summarized under the following heads: 1, Crop rotations; 2, successional sowings; 3, supply and demand; 4, soil improvement. CROP ROTATIONS Crop rotations are not as essential in the vegetable garden as on the farm, but they are convenient and often expedient. Crops of similar nature maturing in similar periods of time will naturally be grouped together, and this gives advantages in orderly planning. A simple rotation would begin with potatoes, followed by tap-rooted crops such as carrots and parsnips, followed by peas and beans, followed by cabbage, cauliflower and other greens. In fact if you make certain that your potato crop and your area set aside for peas and beans move regularly from one end of the garden to the other the rest ’will readily fall into place. It is wise to keep all cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, sprouts and kale in one plot, and to rest that plot from such crops for at least the two succeeding years. It is very difficult to plan a strict rotation and then keep rigidly to it as the proportions of the various types of crop grown are not the same in any two gardens or for that matter in any one garden in two succeeding years. SUCCESSIONAL SOWINGS Successional sowings and inter-crop-ping are most important factors in planning, especially in; small town gardens where -space -is limited. Crops that occupy the ground for short periods , should be sown or planted together so that the soil will then become available for later plantings. This successional cropping is possible with peas, potatoes, soft turnips, spinach, lettuce and other minor crops. Inter-crop-ping can also be practised, radish or spinach for instance being sown between rows of peas, or lettuce or spinach between rows of parsnips. In these cases both crops would be sown at the one time, and the lettuce, spinach or radish would be . harvested before they interfered with the development of the other crop. There are two kinds of inter-planting that are unwise; first, as is often done, to inter-plant potatoes with autumn and winter cabbage, broccoli or sprouts, and second, to sow in the one row, as has often been recommended, both parsnips and lettuce, trusting that the lettuces will mature before the parsnips overshadow them. If inter-planted crops are not Utilized by the time the space is required by the more permanent crop the temporary inter-planting should be sacrificed to admit of inter-cultivation for the benefit of the main crop. SUPPLY AND DEMAND It is always necessary in planning for the season’s cropping to take into account the preferences of the household for this vegetable or that. To grow crops that will not be required is a waste of good space, good soil and good time. Crops such as soft turnips, cabbage, cauliflowers, radish, beetroot, peas and beans which do not keep well after coming to maturity should be sown a short row now, another in three weeks’ time throughout the season, so that none will be wasted and fresh | supplies will always be maturing. With regard to the more common crops such as cabbage, silver beet and spinach it is also necessary to limit or omit sowings that will come to maturity at such times as peas, runner beans and cauliflower are in abundant supply. SOIL IMPROVEMENT This phase of garden work is of the utmost importance and should be taken cognizance of when the lay-out for the season is being formulated. The growing of green manure crops, manuring with seaweed, compost and animal manures and liming may necessitate the .following of certain areas. This essential work must all be provided for, and will well repay careful and energetic attention. SEED SOWING

The sowing of seeds should always be carried out when the soil is in good' condition for working. The drills should be carefully laid down with a line. The drill itself can be made in a variety of ways, one of the best of which is to use the garden trowel. Into the open drill sprinkle a very light dressing of superphosphate; stir this into the soil with a further backward and forward movement of the hoe or trowel. Seed should be sown thinly and evenly along the drills using the palm of the left hand to hold seed and sprinkling it in with the fingers of the right. Depths of planting are usually printed on packets and it is better to sow a little shallow than to sow .too deeply. The spacing between rows is. most. important and the usual tendency to sow rows too closely, one upon another, should always be .resisted. Tall-grow-ing crops should be widely spaced and the intervening spaces used for lowgrowing or temporary crops. Some typical depths and spacings are listed below:

■s $ o W ft <u Q <u <u £ rS M C as MW Beetroot Jin 15in Cabbage (spring) Jin 24in Carrots Jin 15in Lettuce Jin 15in Parsnip Jin 18in Peas (dwarf) 2in 24in Peas (intermediate) . 2in 36in Peas (tall) 2in 48in Spinach Jin 15in Turnips Jin 15in