EARLY TURNIPS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 786, 5 October 1929, Page 34

EARLY TURNIPS

THE WAY TO SUCCEED Turnips tliat come in early are most, i ■welcome, and a sowing should be made j at once. Most soils will grow turnips, but on poor ground the crop is never satisfactory. Provide a well prepared seed bed, and secure a fine surface tilth, which is possible only when the soil is comparatively dry. Lime is a necessary constituent of the. soil in 1 which turnips are grown, and super- j phosphate is a good artificial manure, j Two to three ounces a square yard is j a suitable dressing. Draw the drills about three inches deep, and place j fine sandy soil with which the super- j phosphate has been mixed in tlie bottom, to the depth of nearly two inches. On the top of this, spread evenly a layer of fine soil only, so that when sown the seed is covered half an inch deep. Thin sowing is imperative, and seedlings should be thinned sufficiently at the earliest possible stage of development. Of course, early sowings should be made on a warm, sheltered border, but summer crops are best suited by cooler quarters, where moisture is less likely to fail. For early varieties, the final distance between the plants may be about four inches, but before this stage is reached the roots will be large enough for use, and those removed will allow the others space to develop fully. Later kinds should have two to three inches of trace more. White Stone and Golden Ball are ! two varieties recommended for the ! kitchen garden.