SEEDLINGS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 6 November 1940, Page 9

SEEDLINGS

AVOID CHECK.. Dry conditions have always to be guarded against, but it is in the late spring and early summer that most damage is caused. See that your seedings do not suffer from want of moisture. Young seedlings have only a few roots close to the surface of the soil and any check now will affect the size and quality of the crop. All newly planted seedlings and young plants should receive attention before established crops. An important point about watering is to saturate the soil thoroughly. Repeated sprinklings fail to reach the roots and they keep the soil permanently cold. To divide the garden into parts and give each part a good soaking in rotation is a better plan than trying to do the whole each day. The best time to water is toward evening and the watei- should be applied to the roots by the spout of a watering-can. Stir the soil around the plants with a hoe or weeding fork before watering. Water poured on hard ground merely runs off the surface, but if the surface soil is loose it will go straight down to the roots of the plant.