THE VEGETABLE PLOT

Evening Star, Issue 24482, 17 April 1943, Page 3

THE VEGETABLE PLOT

The most important work should be in the vegetable garden. No plots should be allowed to remain idle. "Where the summer crops have been taken out the ground should be immediately forked back and a green crop such as mustard, lupines, or mustard spinach sown for digging in in the early spring months If the soil is troubled with wireworms mustard or mustard spineh should be sown, as this is a sure remedy to get rid of these pests. Before sowing down the seed a,good dressing of shell lime should be applied and do not allow it to lie on the surface for any length of time. Fork it into the surface at once, or else it will become useless to a great extent. There are several varieties of vegetables which should be sown at this stage to supply the table in the early spring months, such as broad beans (Early Longpod), onions (Pukekohe Longkeeper), turnips (Orange Jelly), cabbage (Jersey Wakefield), parsley, potato onions, lettuce and endive, peas (Early Crop or Greenfeast). For beans and peas lay soft rags in the bottom of the trench, covering them with compost from the compost heap. All potatoes should be lifted, and after being dried off should then be placed into a dry but cool store. Care must be taken to see that no diseased tubers are gathered with them. These should be destroyed at once. Onions should be lifted and allowed to remain until they are ripened. Then the tubers can either be bunched and hung up or can be placed on a dry but cool floor in the shed. Dwarf french beans which have been drying off on the ground should now be gathered and placed on a shelf in the store to thoroughly ripen off, when they then can be shelled and used for table' purposes. These beans are far superior in flavour to the haricot beans. , Spinach (prickly) may still be sown. This crop will be found valuable for early spring cutting. "Where plants are available cabbage and lettuce should be planted out into warm positions, where the cold winds will not affect them. Celery and leeks will require earthing up at this stage. Do not allow the soil to penetrate into the heart of the celery plants. To prevent this the loose foliage should be tied together before the earth is pulled up.around them, or brown paper may bo placed about the plants. The latter will blanch the celery or leeks much quicker than when soil is used. A dressing of lime will be found beneficial if applied before the plants are earthed up. This will not only keep slugs, etc., under, but also improve the flavour and crispness. Keep the surface open between air growing crops by using the ipush hoe.