SEASONABLE WORK

Evening Star, Issue 22026, 11 May 1935, Page 3

SEASONABLE WORK

THE VEGETABLE GARDEN Very little sowing can be done in the vegetable garden Ironi now on, except early peas or broad beans, and these should be sown only in well prepared .trenches, taking care that the drainage is complete.

Now is the season of the year when plans should be made for next season’s cropping. All ground that is vacant sfioutd be well dug and allowed to lie as rough as possible, leaving all lumps .unbroken, and presenting as much surface to the air as possible. 13y this means the frost will penetrate through the soil and break down the lumps to a fine tilth; also by a period of rest and exposure to the frost and sun decomposition of the soil particles is accelerated, and the fertilising constituents made available for the following crops Lime and Its Action on the Soil.— Lime performs many functions in the soil, chief among them being the liberation of potash, and keeping the land in a sweet state due to the neutralising and removal of the vegetable acids formed during the decay of h'unius. It also forms that basic condition so necessary for the development of nitrifying bacteria. If good crops are required lime must be added to the soil in one form or another, and especially if the soil has been heavily manured (animal) for a number of years. Limo must be applied in a fresh state—what is commonly called shell or lump lime. It should be slaked on the ground and dug in at once. If allowed to, remain on tho surface for any length of time it becomes carbonated; then it no longer has.a caustic action on organic matter, and no longer directly neutralises tho acids in the soil. Thus the two great qualities which make the value of tho lime will be lost. Again, the liner tho lime the more will it be carbonated, as a greater surface will be exposed to the influence.of the carbonic anhydride, and in ground lime which has been stored a. long time tho carbonisation will bo almost complete. Lime should be slaked on the ground where it is to lie used, and dug in at once. Some soils may contain too[ much lime, and a test can be made |as fol-

lows Place loz of soil into a tumbler half filled with rain water; mix the soil with water thoroughly; then add »oz of hydrochloric acid (spirits ot salts), and if a strong' effervescence takes place it shows there is plenty or lime present; if little it proves the sou needs an application of lime. Lime should only be used just prior to sowing or cropping. At this season of the year lime would be wasted, as alt bacteria would be- somewhat dormant. One pound of lime to the square yard is ample when applying it.