VEGETABLE GARDEN

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 255, 24 July 1936, Page 18

VEGETABLE GARDEN

Work for August The main crop of parsnips should now be sown, ag they require a long season of growth; also melons and cucumbers under glass for planting outside later. Sow also, outside, early carrots, turnip-rooted beet, broad beans, main-crop cabbage and cauliflower, lettuce, early peas, parsley, spinach and turnips. Sow thinly, and so reduce the work of thinning the young plants later. An amount of loz. or 2oz. of superphosphate per square yard before sowing, and a light dressing of nitrate of soda after thinning, will suit most of these crops. Where it is intended to plant out permanent beds of asparagus and rhubarb this should be done now if the land is rich-, clean and deeply cultivated. Without this preparation it is best to defer the planting for another season. For asparagus plantings good selected one-year-old plants are best. They should be set deeply 18in. to 241 n. apart, with 4 feet between the rows, when planting large areas. For commercial cropping a moist, sandy, welldrained loam is required. Where small areas are being dealt with the best spacing generally is 18in. between plants, and between the rows 18in. and 4ft. alternately, thus making beds about 3 feet wide with alleys between. Early potatoes and artichokes may also be planted.