YOUR GARDEN AND MINE

New Zealand Listener, Volume 3, Issue 59, 9 August 1940, Page 15

YOUR GARDEN AND MINE

By

Ann Earncliff

Brown

No. (40)

Seedtime And Saving HEN it advised allotment owners in search of garden seed to "Buy the best, sow thinly, and order early," the Ministry of Agriculture in Britain gave very sound advice. Good seed cannot be sold cheaply, as the work of breeding from the best strains, selecting for high germination and keeping seed true to type‘is exacting and costly. But with the use of the best seed, sowings can and should be made with the minimum rather than the maximum quantity of seed per row. Apart from the resultant saving in seed, the advantage of sowing thinly is twofold-the labour involved in thinning is reduced, and the seedlings being less crowded in their early stages are more robust, So when you buy your garden seeds be sure to ask for the branded produce of reputable seedsmen. However, in these days many of us aided by a specially suitable climate, can carry wise economy even further, and by careful and observant selection, save much of the seed which we shall require next season-e.g., the pumpkin and marrow should still be available for present planting. A week or two ago a neighbour of mine gave me some particularly nice beetroot — tender of flesh, lacking the earthy flavour of some varieties, and retaining in the cooking the deep rich crimson that all good kitchen artists desire. " Raised them from my own seed by accident, as you might say, and not

from a special root either! A chap just took root haphazard like where he fell, so seeing him off- the mark so bright and early I left him and saved the seed. I tell you I’m doing a lot more in that line, now I see my own stuff raised from my own seed as good as the bought any day." Most of us can "do a lot more" too. Seed of radish, silver beet, spinach, beet, turnips, carrots, parsnip, onion and parsley; all kinds of beans, peas; not to mention every member of the cabbage family, can be harvested successfully. The seed must however be allowed to mature thoroughly, be well dried out and stored carefully to protect it from damp, vermin, or insect ravage. There is still time to select seed from a particularly good pumpkin, marrow, or Turk’s Cap. Go over your stored roots (save of course potatoes) selecting sound well-shaped ones, try setting them in a not too rich, rather light soil, and gather the seed in due season. Commercial onion growers secure excellent results from home saved seed, so why not add a few of your favourite onions-the good keeping Brown Spanish, or perhaps a big mild white or two? Women gardeners generally save odd little stores of flower seeds-either taking a gambler’s chance on the effect of natural pollination or, im rare cases, going to some trouble to secure a special fertilisation. But whether you save vegetable or flower seed, it is a wise precaution to label it clearly, and immediately. Last autumn’s crop, however familiar, is apt to become a mystery packet, T