WINTER PLANTING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 180, 2 August 1938, Page 7

WINTER PLANTING.

FARMS AND GARDENS.

OPERATIONS DELAYED.

AWAITING A FINE BFEIIL,

"Queer climate," ruminated the farmer, as he surveyed sodden fields and pastures. "Can't plough. Can't plant. Farm's like a bog."

"No flowers. Bulbe late. Can't dig," echoed the townsman. "Gardening is all behind."

So in town and country, the ordinary! activities of winter have been held up. Usually a month of preparation for the spring. July is the time when fanners, market gardeners, orchardists, nurserymen ami owners of suburban gardens forget aJbout the seaeon juet past and begin to*look ahead. It is a month of many tardea for those who like to have the home or the farm looking its best in the spring. But this winter all plans have been upset. The. long summer and late autumn either postponed operations which might have been carried out before'the wet spell began, or encouraged farmers and others to plant while there was etill last eeason's warmth in the ground. Then the wet spell put a stopj to young growth or brought planting to a standstill. Winter Unusually Late. "Winter conditions have come later than usual, and are having a disturbingj effect in the nurseries as well as on, the farms or in suburban gardens," eaid; a prominent Auckland nurseryman and Med merchant to-day. "Trees for plant!ng out cannot be lifted out and boled up, and, as all other outdoor oj»erations are being delayed in the eaine way, the position for nurserymen will be difficult when the first spring rush of buying sets in." It w«s learned that farmers in part* of the Auckland province had suffered [heavily from the effects of the recent

floods. Considerable areas of early planted young grass on slopes in hilly country had been washed out, the erosion in some cases having removed large quantities of top soil and exposed the clay. There had also been numerous slips, which had reduced the productive capacity of farms in the districts affected. Aβ many dairy farmers were relying largely upon the development of

new pastures to meet the increased

needs of the coining production season, they would probably be compelled to reduce the size of their herds. Another effect was that agricultural crops, particularly early potatoes, bad suffered. In the Pukekohe district the continuous rains had caused much scouring out between the rows of young potato crops, and on the lower 'levels the excessive wet had resulted in loss through rotting. Replacement costs were heavier than in previous years, and this combined with the delays which in some instances would mean * the loss of the profitable early market was a matter of concern to growers. Hopes of Sunny August. Where planting has been postponed until conditions improve hopes arc hijrli for a sunny August. A fine spell, with warmer days, it is stated, would do much to compensate for the severe July. Mail order business in seeds for country requirements has been below the average of recent years, said a representative of a firm engaged in supplying the needs of the fanner. The drop in sales in and around the city, however, lias been much less marked. He explained : that the orchardists were behind with i|their pruning and spraying, and that • I this work was becoming urgent, as the learliest trees, such as plums and other stone fruits, should be bursting their buds within two or three weeks. The ■ apples could be left a little longer, per- , haps up to the end of August. |l On every hand it was apparent that |lthose who cater for the seasonal demand ijfor trees, seeds and plants were anticijpating a phenomenal rush of orders jiwhen planting operations began in ear- ' nest. It was expected that the quantity ' of hedge plants flowering and ornamental ! trees and shrubs and citrus trees re- *• quired would be greater than for a nmn ? ber of years, as mure new homes wen being developed, and people with in e creased leisure were beginning to taki 4 a keener interest in gardening and th< t improvement of their surroundings.