GARDENS IN TAUPO

Taupo Times, Volume II, Issue 96, 20 November 1953, Page 7

GARDENS IN TAUPO

SALAD PLANTS

(By

Flora).

As summer days advance our diet seems to change automatically. We demand a lighter menu and salads Play an important part in the daily fare. Every year, although we have not yet learnt the art of making the complicated salads found on American tables, more and more salad plants are being grown and used. Every garden, however small should provide a supply of these plants, at least throughout the summer. Many plants are used raw in salads, the great advantage of eating them thus being the high vitamin content, a large amount of which is lost if they are cooked. Lettuce. Pride of place goes, of course, to the doughty lettuce, the most popular of salad crops. Unless you have glass frames of some sort it is practically impossible to grow this crop in Taupo through the winter months, and it is thus doubly enjoyed when it finally appears. In the early part of the season seedlings may be bought and planted out. But as the season ad- ' vances it is as well to sow the seed where you wish the crop to grow. ; Scatter seed as thinly as possible, later pulling the seedlings that are too close. Transplanting during the hot dry weather often causes "bolting," the plant running to seed without hearting. * Preparation of Soil.

It is desirable to have the plant foods readily available for these quick growing salad plants. Therefore dig in quantities of compost about one spade deep, with the addition of some fertiliser, either fish manure or blood and bone. A small quantity of potash is also beneficial. When transplanting handle the wee plants carefully. It is an advantage to move them while they are very small, as they are tender and can easily be damaged. Avoid drying out of the roots and for this reason do not leave plants out ofj the soil longer than necessary. A constant supply of water is demanded so that the plants receive no check. Slightly loosen the top inch of soil after each watering. A side dressing of nitrate of soda or

sulphate of ammonia just before hearting 'hastens the process. Radish and Cucumber Not everyone appreciates the radish. But even if you don't care to eat it, it is useful as a decoration, adding colour to the salad bowl, Plant as thinly as possible, and be sure to pull when young else they will be too hot and woody. The cucumber is a rather tricky subject for Taupo, as it is extremely frost tender, but there is always the chance that we will miss the out-of-season frost. It requires a soil rich in organic matter. Dig a hole where the plant is to grow and fill with well-rotted vegetable refuse and farm-yard manure. Then replace the soil, but do not have too great a mound, because in Taupo's porous soil it will soon be too dry and the cucumber is a moisture loving plant. It is surfacej rooting and so will appreciate a mulch. Ij think the Apple Cucumber has outdistanced the long varieties in popularity. Mustard, Cress, Endive. At one time mustard and cress was to be found in every garden, but at present seem to have lost favour. Sow the seeds thickly on the surface of the soil, preferably in boxes that may be covered till germination takes place. In districts like Taupo, where the '

lettuce is somewhat late in maturing, endive is well worth growing. It will also carry on into later in the season, when the very dry weather makes the hearting of lettuce difficult. The seed may be sown, in February, or let one of your existing plants run to seed and thus resow itself.