GROWING VEGETABLES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 10 July 1940, Page 9

GROWING VEGETABLES

■ SOME PRACTICAL HINTS. The most difficult problem for the beginner in the matter of ordering seeds, is in estimating the quantity of each kind to order. In the case of the bulkier seeds, like peas and beans, much depends on the space available for making successional sowings to cover the season. ,One pint of peas will sow a row 30 yards long and beans will go just as far, because those with larger seeds are spaced further apart. Runners may be sown in groups of two or three seeds to be thinned out finally to one foot apart. Dwarf beans should be sown for succession every three weeks from September until January. Bearing these points in mind may help when jnaking out the seed order. Thejiext group to consider is that which’includes vegetables such as turnip. radish, spinach and lettuce, of which several sowings are made during the season. All the foregoing should be sown in small quantities every two or three weeks from September until March. Even so, one ounce of each will make many sowings, and this amount may be further divided by ordering smaller packets of two or three different kinds. The third group of seeds comprises all those vegetables which are usually sown in beds to be transplanted later, such as leek, cauliflower, broccoli, kales, savoys and cabbage. Of most of these a small packet will usually produce more than enough plants for the average small garden. For all these subjects, except the cabbage and cauliflower for the summer sowing. a sheltered piece of ground should be well cultivated as soon as possible now. It should not be richly manured but will benefit from a dressing of superphosphate and lime before sowing time. For the present, leave the surface rough. Leeks should be sown in early September. At the same time sow a pinch of early cauliflower and lettuce. Toward the end of September, and during October, the Brussels sprouts, savoys, cabbage and succession of broccoli and cauliflowers should be sown at fortnightly intervals, leaving the latest varieties for a December sowing. Small sowing of each variety made in this way will provide a good supply of plants to fill the ground as it is cleared of early and mid-season potatoes, early peas and other crops which mature in December and January. One of the most important groups of seeds include onions, parsnips, carrot and beetroot of which usually only one or two sowings are made. With the poss&le exception of parsnips, two or threl more sowings St later dates will often' give better results for a small household. This is especially true of carrots and beet. In addition to onion seed for the main crop, a packet of Giant Rocca type should be ordered for a spring sowing. Among the less common vegetables worth inclusion in the seed order is the brown Dutch haricot bean, the harvested seeds of which constitute a valuable food for winter supply. Another valuable winter vegetable is salsify. A small packet of salsify will sow a couple of rows across the garden, but the soil should be worked fine for this crop. Lumpy soil will result in thin and crooked roots.