May Important Month In Vegetable Garden

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 109, 10 May 1941, Page 7 (Supplement)

May Important Month In Vegetable Garden

MAY is a busy month in the vegetable garden, as there is much to be done before the winter sets in, particularly when the soil is dry enough to work on. It is essential that as much trenching as possible should be done for such crops as onions, peas, beans, celery and leeks, as all these respond to good and deep cultivation. The same onion bed will do again next season if there was no disease amongst the crop, and the richer the bed is madethe_better. For heavy

soil there is nothing better than good farmyard manure containing plenty of litter. Trench the bed at least two spits deep. Break the second spit up and mix the manure well with this, then leave the surface as rough as possible. Peas and beans should always be grown on the same plot if possible. Trenches are often prepared separately for each row, but this is not the best method as, during wet seasons, such trenches collect the water and become sour, to the detriment of the plants. It is far better to trench the whole plot, commencing at one end and wheeling the top soil from the first trench to the other end for filling the last trench. All vacant ground that does not require trenching this season should be manured and dug, leaving the surface rough. This is beneficial to all kinds of soil, particularly when wire worms and other soil pests are present.