GARDENING NOTES

Greymouth Evening Star, 4 February 1939, Page 3

GARDENING NOTES

By “Wellwisher.” During dry sunny days the main routine of work that would claim our attention is the eradication of all weeds, and the fostering of growth in regard to all growing crops. The continued wet weather lias even discouraged some of ‘the weejtls from growing so this should cause ns to refrain from looking so glum, when we are reviewing the poor strike of carrots and parsnips, beetroot and other vegetable crops. The weather will come in for more blame this season than the poor seedsman who sells the seeds. 1 wonder how some of us would get on if we had none to blame, and our crop was still a failure. Well some have made a success this year of this gardening business, and I hear some readers saying that it is all luck and that they were never born under a lucky star, and that some people have all the luck.

That is not so, as. gardening or the art of husbandry is an art that requires much practice, forethought, and doing things at the right time and in the right way. Solomon, the wise man had been - through the mill himself when he wrote, “He that observeth the wind, shall not sow, and lie that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.” So if we are going to look sour because of the adverse elements and magnify the mole hills until they look like mountains of hindrances, I’m afraid our garden plots will be blowing over into John Willie’s plot. On fine days the hoe should never be idle, as this is the quickest method of eradicating weeds and hoeing around growing crops will certainly encourage growth.

The sowing of vegetables during the present time should consist mainly of those crops that will mature before the really cold weather sets in. These include a few root crops, such as, early shorthorn carrots, round beet and turnips. Providing, the soil is in good heart and condition a general planting out of cabbage, cauliflowers and Brussel sprouts may be made; to have the goods produced by the winter, plant them now. Vegetables are going to be dear this winter, not because of Mr. Savage’s hush-hush policy but because less vegetables are under cultivation tliis, year than last. Spinach or silver beet.' do not rcccivt the consideration they, deserve at the hand" of the umateurj

gardener. They are extremely hardy and are not a prey to white butterfly and green caterpillar. All plants grown as spinach thrive best in a rich soil; in fact the richer the better, because, they, like other plants need encouragement to produce plenty of leaf growth for use an rapidly as possible in order to have them tender and palatenble. There are three essentials necessary t.o induce this rapidity of growth and" all are within our reach, rich soil, moisture and warmth. There may be many easy ways of making money but no easy ways of growing spinach apart, from putting in the cultivation and manuring, that is so necessary to foster speedy growth. The bed should be finished off with a fine surface that will favour germination of seed that is sown half an inch deep in drills 15 inches apart. If good stocky plants can bo bought so much the better, as they root easily when transplanted.

LETTUCE AND RHUBARB

Sowings of lettuce, radish and cress can still be made as these mature quickly if given a little extra care and consideration. Get the cook to have mercy on the rhubarb bed when jam making and not pul] it too bare, in fact, no rhubarb should be pulled from now on. To let the last crop die down on the plants will help to build up the. fruiting system for next year with the result that it will come eway earlier and stronger next Spring. The tops of onions that have matured bulbs may now be bent over to cheek growth, this bending, down is often done too soon with loss of weight to the crop. As the tops commence to dry the bulbs may be pulled up and left in the sun to dry and when fully ripe they should be strung together and hung up in a dry. cool shed.

Celery and leeks can still be planted out into trenches that have been prepared. Choose a dull or damp day for the operation, and keep them Shaded from full sun until growth has commenced. Transplants that are allowed to flag are checked in growth and rarely catch up to those that receive good treatment. The beans from scarlet runners should be picked as they mature and not be allowed to remain on the vines and so the vines will lie encouraged to produce more pods. Peas should be staked and not allowed to spread over the ground as this is often the cause, o" disease: give a dusting of phosphate near the routs

and then earth up after rain so that the moisture will be retained. The haulms or tops of early sown peas that have finished their course should be allowed to remain in the ground as they are valuable, having, supplied the soil with nitrates. Any spare plots, not required for current crops should be dug over and sown in lupins or some green crop that can be dug in later to supply nitrogen to the soil. The process by which non-available nitrogenous matters are converted - into- compounds that can be taken up by the roots of plants is called nitrification. The process is performed by bacteria, which multiply the most freely in moist warm, well drained soil. The object of the gardener should therefore be to improve the mechanical condition cf the soil. Free nitrogen is not available for plants and cannot benefit them until combined with a mineral to form a nitrate. Nitrate of soda is a popular form. Sulphate of ammonia and nitrate of potash also yield nitrogen which make them so valuable as a plant food.