RAISE VEGETABLES FROM SEED

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 4, 29 September 1939, Page 14

RAISE VEGETABLES FROM SEED

Good Results Not Hard To Obtain ’Tire temperature of the soil is ideal now for seed-raising, and seeds of beetroot. celery, cress, cucumber, lettuce, mustard, radish and tomato may be put iu. If good seed is bought, the growing of them should present little difficulty. The saving to the pocket is considerable, and the gain in good health is worth any trouble involved.. The seed beds should be well drained and dug over' and the top soil thoroughly sifted and mixed with sand, leaf mould and wood ashes.

The permanent beds should be workable plots about four ifeel wide for each class of vegetable, mud sufficient pathway should be left between the beds to provide easy access for cultivation.

Good drainage is the first necessity. Very sandy soil should have plenty of decomposed vegetable matter and animal manure dug in to provide humus, for this helps to retain moisture (which so easily dries out in sandy areas). ’Clayey soil needs deep digging, plenty of stable manure, and decayed vegetable matter to bring it to the desired tilth, and soil that is worked, out will benefit by "green manuring”—that is. a crop of annual lupins or field peas sown broadcast and dug into the soil when about one foot high. Beetroot, radishes, mustard ami cress require moderately rich soil for quick growth. An occasional dressing of liquid manure during growth ami plenty of water will ensure good, healthy crops. . Lettuce need deeply-dug. light, rich, soil, and should be encouraged to grow quickly, as their crispness depends ou rapid, maturity. Plenty of water during growth will bring the plants on successfully.

Celery should be grown in trenches 18 inches wide and the same depth, and the soil should be stacked up on either side to be' replaced in the trenches as growth proceeds. Welldecayed stable manure to the depth of six inches should he forked into the soil at the bottom of the trench.. Place the plants in this, not less than a foot apart, aud water them well. .Shade till they are established. Plenty of liquid manure will bring them on-.

When the plants are large enough, lie the branches firmly together, and close in the plants with, the soil qn the sides of the trench as growth proceeds. leaving only the tops exposed. This blanches the stalks. Quick growth is necessary to ensure the crispness associated with good celery.