FAILURES IN THE KITCHEN GARDEN

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 370, 2 June 1928, Page 28

FAILURES IN THE KITCHEN GARDEN

In these days when vegetables form i so large a part of our diet, it seems strange to reflect how modern their ! introduction is. Practically no branch of horticulture was known to the ancient Britons, but the Roman settlers began very soon to plant vineyards and orchards, and also corn of various ’kinds. But apart from fruits and herbs, little garden produce was available for food, even as late as Elizabethan times. Vegetables of all kinds are now grown to perfection in gardens, commercial and private, all over the country, and modern cooks would find it extremely difficult. to devise a palatable meal without their aid. It is still a fact, however, that many owners of small vegetable plots do not get the best from them. They grow a little, but it is often inferior in quality to that sold in shops, and in quantity it is by no means all that could be desired. This is due in many cases to hurried gardening. That is to say, the amateur gardener does not realise always the importance of autumn digging. He leaves the soil untouched until springtime, then forks it over and sows his seed. Soil so neglected is unfit to produce good crops.