BEANS AND PEAS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 18 August 1939, Page 3

BEANS AND PEAS

CULTIVATION HINTS.

The first sowing of peas is generally about this time of the year. The peas are perhaps the most popular of all vegetables, and with careful selection of suitable varieties there should not be much difficulty in keeping up the supply from the beginning of November to the end of April. There are so many good varieties now on the market that it is almost impossible to give a selection, and unfortunately there are many inferior varieties.

There are varieties which, while growing well in some districts, will not do well in another. The best thing with new varieties is to give them a trial before going in for them extensively. The best thing for a new grower to do when making a selection for a certain district is to consult someone who has grown peas extensively and to be guided by his advice. Cultivation and preparation of the ground is an important factor in peagrowing, and if possible should be prepared some time beforehand. There Is no doubt that trenched land is the best, especially if the subsoil can be plentifully supplied with farmyard manure as the work proceeds.

It is often said by old gardeners that land which has grown peas successfully one year can be made to grow any crop the next. There is a certain amount-of truth in this, and experiments made with land after peas have shown that instead of taking nourishment out of the soil they have added to it.

The first sowing of peas can be made a little thicker than the later sowings, but on no occasion does it pay to sow, too thickly. If, however, they are too thick when they first come up. they can easily be thinned out, but if they are too thin, resowing does not always act to advantage, especially in small gardens whore another crop is waiting to take the place of the first that is over.

Staking is an important item in their well being, and the plants should be supported with nice twiggy sticks as soon as there is any danger of their being blown about by the wind. For this purpose there is nothing better than ti-tree branches.

Mulching is beneficial in hot. dry weather, but if a proper system of cultivation is kept up, mulching can be left as a last resort, when the material, after it is put down, should have a thorough soaking with water. When growing specially large pods for show purposes, liquid manure can be given freely where the pods are beginning to swell, beginning witli a weak mixture and increasing the strength slowly. Broad beans are said to be one of the most nutritious of our garden vegetables. and this fact should be kept in mind when arranging the crops for the coming season. Lately, perhaps on account of the bean rust this plant has been rather badly neglected. To grow it well it should be given the same good treatment as for peas. The great trouble is that, not being

’as popular as the pea. it is generally ’ looked upon as a side issue, but as an article of food it should be quite equal, if not an advance, on that vegetable. It is a deep-rooting plant, and if we were to dig down to see how far the roots went we would be surprised to find them two and sometimes three inches below the surface. Successional planting will keep up a supply for a long time. When planting the seed it is a good plan to set them out in double rows nine inches apart and leave three feet between each of the double rows. One of its worst enemies is rust, but if this is taken in time it can easily be controlled by bordeaux or potassium sulphide at the rate of half an ounce to a gallon of water, which must be first sprayed on to the plants when they are about nine inches high.