IN THE GARDEN

Wairarapa Times-Age, 15 September 1939, Page 2

IN THE GARDEN

HINTS FOR THE AMATEUR FRUIT, FLOWERS AND VEGETABLES WORK FOR THE WEEK VEGETABLE GARDEN. All growing crops benefit by a hoeing of the soil whenever the soil is dry enough. Plant out cabbage, cauliflower and lettuce and make plentiful sowings of lettuce for planting out later. Kohlrabi is a useful vegetable in hot weather;lsow now in lines 18 inches apart and thin to eight inches. Sow mustard and cress in quantity for salads. The onion bed must be kept clear; and if there is any sign of mildew or the tips going yellow, spray with a white oil spray. Brussels sprouts must have a long season of growth and the seed should be sown at once. They are an outstanding winter green if sown early, transplanted twice and planted in firm, wellmanured soil. Parsnips need early sowing, and avoid using a soil in which there are coal ashes, as these cause scab at the crown of the root. Carrots, beet, turnips, spinach all need sowing to suit requirements. Some of these quickly maturing crops can be sown between other crops that take rather a long time to mature. Planting of potatoes will require attention, but provided the earlies are in the ground there is no immediate hurry for the main crop. Sow the main crop of carrots in deeply-dug ground. Mould up and stake the early-sown peas before they fall along the ground. - FLOWER GARDEN. Sow phlox Drummondii thinly in boxes of moist, sandy soil. Shade and keep moist. Stock plants of lobelia can be divided and planted out. Dahlia tubers can be divided and if early flowers are required the pieces planted out. Cuttings ,of dahlias taken now root quite readily and will be quite early for autumn flowering. Sow hardy annuals such as clarkia ,godetia‘, larkspurs, Shirley poppies, mignonette, night-scented stock and candytuft in the open ground. Continue the sowing of half-hardy subjects under glass for bedding out later. Keep a watch for greenfly on the young, tender shoots of roses and spray on its first appearance. Sweet peas should be kept tied to their supports and the side shoots removed frequently if good blooms are desired. Prune spring-flowering shrubs as soon as the flower is past. Many perennial plants divide better in the spring than in the autumn; these should be,seen to when forking oyer the borders. FRUIT GARDEN. The strawberries will need the weeds picked out from the crown. The hoe must not be used close to the Crowns to cut or disturb the roots. Apply a dressing lof blood and bone to the strawberries, also a sprayJngtwith Bordeaux or lime sulphur. Spray stone fruits as the buds buret and directly after petals fall, It is at these times when the fungus spores are germinating and entering the tissues thatsthe disease can be controlled. The pruning of apples and pears will be under way, if not finished, and a spray should be applied. Spray as near 'to the actual bursting of the buds as possible. Finish the fruit tree planting at the earliest opportunity. Many early plums are in blossom and shy fruiters should be pollinated by other varieties. Spray fhe raspberries and loganberries with Bordeaux when the buds are starting, to control anthracnose. Top the raspberry canes so that about three-fourths of the original length is left.

THE KITCHEN GARDEN

SOME USEFUL HINTS. THE ROTATION SYSTEM. A new vegetable garden should be trenched if possible, and well manured with farmyard manure or compost heap. Paths should be well formed and the plots well drained. This can be done effectively if the plot is not too wet by excavating the site of the paths to a depth of two feet, throwing the soil over the adjoining plots, laying an agricultural drain and filling up with rubble, or rough clinkers, topping off with fine ashes. or fine screenings. A site sloping gently to the north is the most desirable, but in towns the best has to be made of the site available. This should be divided into four plots with a border round the margin to be used for flowers, herbs, or as nursery borders. One of the plots should be devoted to perennials such as asparagus, rhubarb, seakale, and strawberries. In the other three plots a system of rotation of crops should be followed, for it is found that best results are to be obtained by changing the various crops round, so that the same kind of plant will not occupy the same position twice in succession. The only exception to this rule i ; s the onion, and it can be grown in the same place for several

years, provided the ground is well manured. 4 /■ By following the rotation system—(l). the most economical use for the plant foods is'obtained; (2) the most economical working of the soil, provided one of the three plots is trenched and all spare compost heap, grass, or other organic matter buried in every year;. (3-) the most’ economical use of manures. Each vegetable can be given the foods most suited to its needs, and the soil kept in good heart with the minimum addition of expensive fertilisers. Another important reason for keep-, ing up a regular rotation of crops is that certain plants have diseases which are peculiar to them. For instance, potatoes are often affected by the disease known as potato blight. This is a fungoid disease which breeds in the gi-ound, and if potatoes are in the same plot the following year they would most likely be affected by it. Cabbages, cauliflower, and all members of the brassica family, including turnips, are readily affected by clubroot, a destructive fungoid disease. If the brassicas are followed by potatoes or some other crop which is not affected, the spores may have disappeared from the ground before another crop to its liking comes along. Rotation of crops, however, has little effect in controlling insect pests which are more able to move about.

The following are suggestions for a three-course rotation: Plot No 1 can be cropped with brassicas, beginning with cabbage, cauliflower, turnips, and following on with Brussels sprouts, autumn cauliflower, and later cabbage. No 2 can be cropped with early and second early potatoes. Unless the garden is a large one it does not pay to utilise the space with maincrop varieties, which can usually be bought quite cheaply, though this is not the case this year. No 3 plot can be devoted to root crops such as carrots, beet, parsnips, also onions, leeks, celery, and dwarf beans. I have not mentioned broad beans, peas arid runner beans, for I consider they are more satisfactory when distributed among the other dwarf crops. They then get more light and air than when planted together, and they also serve to shelter the other dwarf crops from cold winds. Intercropping with such quick-mat-uring crops as lettuce, radish, and spinach is also recommended, and if these are sown alongside rows of peas or beans they are fit for use and removed before these crops are fit to pick, and thus utilise space which would otherwise be wasted. The tops of celery ridges can also be cropped with lettuce or radish, or sown with mustard and cress. The margins of the. paths can be sown with parsley, which is always in demand, and chives or shallots can be. used to border paths. One of the main? principles in cropping a vegetable garden is to make small sowings at regu- / lar intervals, arranging the various - varieties to secure a regular succession over as long a period as possible. A well-cropped garden of reasonable size should provide some kind of vegetable for the table right throughout the whole year. At the present time the soil is rather wet in most districts for successful sowing or planting, but it soon dries up and at the end of last week was in quite good working order. It is time, however, that we had some sowing and planting of early varieties carried out, and if the soil is wet special precautions can be taken. For example, instead of tramping over the ground when planting cabbage, cauliflower, shallots, and early potatoes, this can be done from boards laid down alongside the even spring rows. This will prevent puddling the surface and carrying off quantities of the soil on your feet When sowing seeds the drills can be filled in with dry soil obtained from some other part of the garden, or old potting soil which has been stored in a dry shed. Preparation for Sowing and Planting.—Assuming that the soil is in good working condition, it is first forked " over, all lumps being broken up and the fine soil which has been formed by the disintegrating influences of frost kept on the surface. If necessary, rea- ' sonable levelling should be done and a dressing of lime and superphosphate worked in. It is next made fine with a, steel rake, and any clods which will not break and stones raked off. One or two rows. of an early variety of potato, such as Jersey Bennes, Epicure, or Sharp’s Express can be planted, the rows being 20 inches apart arid the sets put at 12 inches apart. As they should be sprouted, they are better planted with. a trowel, there being less danger of breaking off the young shoots. Next to the early potatoes sow a row of early peas, such as English Wonder, William Hurst, or . Reading Gem.

In the plot set aside for brassicas plant a row of Early . York cabbage and Early London cauliflower, followed; by a row of broad beans, ' / The cabbage and cauliflower ;are planted with a trowel at 18 inches apart, allowing 20 inches between the rows, in drills drawn with the hoe, about three inches deep. The beans are planted in broad drills six inches wide and two inches deep, the seeds being placed six inches apart on the outside of the drill. Dust with superphospate and lime and cover with fine soil. In the root crop section, first sow a row of parsley triple curled, and follow this with a row of shorthorn carrots, Early Horn or Scarlet Horn, 12 inches from the parsley. At another 14 inches sow a rotv of beet, Egyptian turnip rooted or Globe, to be followed by a row of turnips, Early Snowball or Early White Milan. At two feet from the turnips sow a row of peas, such as Little Marvel, Blue Bantam, or Greenfeast, and between the peas andturnips sow a, row of radish, French Breakfast. On the other side of the peas and 15 inches away sow a row of lettuce or transplant a row from a. box, All the Year Round and Luxury beingsuitable varieties. The small seeds arc sown in drills an inch deep, and peas in a flat drill six inches wide.