PERENNIAL VEGETABLES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 10 May 1940, Page 8

PERENNIAL VEGETABLES

THEIR PROPER TREATMENT. During the present conflict it is the duty of all gardeners to make full use of their plots and to grow vegetables of high nutritive value. These notes are chiefly concerned with permanent food plants, and those of a more or less perennial habit. Although a few will not give full returns next spring and summer, they will be in excellent condition the following season, when they may be of even greater value. Rhubarb is an important crop which is in season for the greater portion of the year. The crowns of established plants will soon be ripening off, and the earlier these are lifted and divided the better will be the results. It is not wise to lift all the stock —say half or two thirds —in order that the undisturbed roots may produce an early supply. Select roots for division that have not been disturbed for several years. As a rule, the roots are divided into single crowns, each piece with a few roots attached. Where it is not possible to carry this out, no harm will be done if there are two crowns. Rhubarb appreciates good cultivation, and an open site. The plants should be three feet apart. If possible, trench or double-dig the ground, and give a dressing of decayed manure or material from the compost heap. Until the rhubarb is again growing freely, the space between can be cropped with lettuce or spinach. Herbs, especially mint, should receive attention. The latter can be replanted directly the tops have died down. Do not lift all the stock, but leave some to produce fresh growth for early use. Under the heading of herbs is included chives, a mild substitute for onions. This herb will thrive in ordinary soil and can be replanted either in spring or autumn. Any . plants which have been in their station for a period of four years should be dealt with now.

Parsley should be relieved of any decaying foliage, also a few cuttings of the non-flowering sage inserted. Thyme, both common and lemon thyme, completes the list of important herbs at this period. The former is raised by seeds sown either now, or in spring, but the latter is increased by division. Horse-radish is often so badly grown as to be almost a weed. Take from its neglected corner and place it in a good position. Lift the roots and grade them. The large roots can be stored for winter use and those little thicker than a lead pencil selected for planting out. Plant one foot apart, and one foot below the surface. POLYANTHUS CULTURE RICH SOIL NEEDED. The polyanthus is a gross feeder, and yet too often the plants are consigned to an ordinary soil. Here thej may do moderately well, but most definitely do not produce that great effort of which they are capable. The site should be well dug and generously manured, quite irrespective of whether or not the bed was well manured for its previous occupants. Well decayed old manure is the best. Bury the manure well, so that the roots will find it when active and in a condition to assimilate plenty of food. A generous sprinkling of old soot and some ashes from the bonfires will also prove very beneficial to the plants. The beds should be dug a few days prior to planting, so that the soil may settle down into a moderately firm state. If the soil is at all hollow or lumpy, it will be a good plan to tread and rake the surface, as polyanthus do not root readily in hollow, loose ground. If the plants are to be lifted from the reserve garden, they should be given a thorough soaking of water a day or two before they are disturbed, unless, of course, the weather is wet and there has been sufficient rain to soak the ground. Under dry conditions, too, it will pay to give the .beds a good watering before planting. This will make all the difference between a good and an indifferent start. Careful lifting is imperative. Each plant should be transferred from the reserve border with a nice ball of soil adhering to the roots, so that a check to growth is negligible. Firm planting is important, but deep planting should be avoided. The collar of each plant should rest on the surface of the soil and not be covered, for. if carelessly moulded up with soil, a spell of wet weather may cause decay. When planting is completed, a light mulch of old manure, or leaf soil, may be placed on the beds. Those who have not tried this, will be amazed at the heartiness of the plants next spring, the size of their leaves, the strength of the flower stems and the spread of the trusses of bloom. This is only another item of evidence as to the truth of the previous statement that the polyanthus is a gross feeder. In spring, commence to use the hoe .between the plants as early as possible, and if the weather proves dry, do not omit copius supplies of water. These conditions will ensure the production of all that is best in the modern polyanthus.