THE HOME GARDEN

Hawera Star, Volume LIV, 25 July 1935, Page 10

THE HOME GARDEN

BEEP CULTIVATION NECESSARY PREPARATION OF THE SOIL IMPORTANCE OF ROTATING CROPS. (By “Salvia.”) SOIL CULTIVATION. Every opportunity . should already have been taken to dig all vacant plots and turn in green crops planted to supply the necessary humus to the soil. The garden .should be left in a rough state of cultivation until a. few days before planting the seeds or plants in position. As often stressed in this column deep cultivation of the soil is a very necessary part of productive gardening and the digging should be carried out carefully and methodically. It is useless to just turn over the top spit of .soil to a depth of some six or eight inches year after year and expect fruitful crops. -Much mere good will be achieved if cultivation to a depth of eighteen, rather than eight inches, is aimed at. Ihis does not mean that the sub-soil should be brought to the surface, but that, in trenching, the top spit having been turned up, it is wise to loosen the soil another spit deep by simply, turning over the soil in the trench. In this way it is surprising how quickly a deep, rich loam is acquired. FINING THE SOIL.

The very, necessary work of fining is usually carried out with the garden rake and is only of secondary importance to deep digging. Whatever implements are used do not forget the importance of making .the soil thoroughly fine, not only at the surface but as far as possible below. One cannot too strongly emphasise the benefits derived by this thorough pulverisation. The four chief points are, first, it adds materially in making the plant foods in the soil available for use; secondly, it induces growing plants to root deeply and thus to a greater extent escape the drying influence of the sun during the heat of summer; thirdly, it enables the soil to absorb rain evenly, where it falls, which would otherwise run off and he lost altogether, or collect in the lower parts of the garden; and lastly and most important, it enables the soil to retain the moisture thus stored, as though in a storage tank, where the plant can draw upon it long after carelessly prepared and shallow soils are burning up in. the long protracted droughts we seem to be increasingly certain of experiencing every summer.

Prepare your garden deeply, thoroughly and carefully, in addition to making it rich and you may have the well founded assurance that your thought and labour will be rewarded with a garden so much more successful than the average garden is and that your extra, painstaking will be richly repaid. ROTATION OF CROPS. A much neglected side of vegetable culture is the rotation of crops, which means in effect that no given crop should be grown on the same site year after year. If the amateur does not realise it- already, he will soon learn by experience that if any one kind of vegetable crop b© grown on the same spot year after year it will deteriorate both, in yield and quality. This is easily explained by the fact that a given: species of plant- absorbs certain oswsential plant foods fiom the soil which cannot be fully replaced by manure, and it is necessary to grow another species of plant in order to rest the ground and enable it to recover the elements by atmosphoi ic action. The only vegetables which do not need a change of site are artichokes and onions, which will grow on the same piece of soil for several years without deterioration of size oi quality, if the soil be given a dressing »f manure each season.

Another advantage of rotation is that one kind of crop by its chemical or bacterial influence on tho soil 1 eaves .some clement ‘behind it which is of benefit to tho crop which follows it. It is therefore necessary to know something of the character of the crops it is intended to grow, the nature of their roots and food requirements. The roots of some, crops remain near the surface of the soil; other varieties penetrate deeper into a second layer of soil, while a third class penetrates into a deeper stratum which neither of the other two can Vegetable crops mav bo divided broadly into three classes—fibrousrooted. tap-rooted and tuberous-root-ed. The first or fibrous-rooted section consists of shallow-rooting, liicisturoloving plants, such as peas, beans, cabbages, etc., which reouire plentiful supplies of nitrate. This class of crop is benefited by the addition to the soil of a, fairly heavy dressing of animal or bird manure.

The second or tap-rooted section, which includes such vegetables as pair snips, car nets, beet, etc., send down their roots into.a lower stratum than the first section. The application of organic manures must be carefully avoided for these, as their use causes the roots to become distorted and makes them coarse. Tins class of vegetable should therefore be grown on soil which was manured the previous year. The third or tuberous-rooted section consists of such vegetables as potatoes, kumaras, artichokes, onions, etc. These require principally phosphates and potash, and only a little animal manure. Too much nitrate causes the tops to grow at the expense of the roots; it also causes the tubers to become soft and watery, spoiling the flavour and also the keeping qualities.

It is not easy to follow out rotation in a small garden, hut a simple and easy rotation is to divide the garden into throe plots and apply manure to the plot to grow the fibrous-rooted section such as peas, beans, cabbages, etc., the second plot should be used to grew tho tap-rooted vegetables, and the third the tuberous-rooted. The following season grow tuberous roots on plot No. 1. fibrous roots on plot 2. and tap-rooted on plot 3. The third .season grow tap roots on No. 1 plot, tuberous roots on plot 2, and fibrousrooted on plot 3. Permanent crops such as asparagus, rhubarb and sea-kale are not, of course’ subject to a system of rota-

tion, but should not be planted twice on the same piece of ground.’ By these means the elements which feed the plants, and which are present at varying depths, are drawn on alternately, and time is give for the recovery of the soil.from tile partial exhaustion caused by the demand of each season’s crop. Another reason why crop rotation is important is that every crop is the special prey of one nr move of the many insect posts and fungoid diseases, and by changing the crop there will he a greatly lessened provision, and in some eases none at all. for tlie needs of the larvae and spores which attack .a particular crop. Where there is plenty of room in a garden the system of. fallowing, that is, of allowing soil that is exhausted to remain uncropped for a season and keeping it free from weeds, ought to he. followed. If- space cannot he spared for fallowing the next bestthing is to grow.some shallow-rooting crop such as spinach, lettuce, turnips or radishes on it.

REMINDERS. Plant all kinds of shelter trees, fruit trees, hedge plants and roses. Never plant when the soil is very wet or “sticky.” Should plants arrive when soil is too wet to plant, place the rocts in a hole largo enough to receive them and cover with soil. Prune fruit trees and bushes. Place seed potatoes in boxes to sprout; keep in a dark place till sprouts appear, then in a. light airy position. Protect front frost at night. Plant cabbage, cauliflower and lettuce plants. Plant garlic and shallots. Sow broad beans. ,Prune roses. - . Cut hack bouvardias to within a few inches of the soil. Sow seeds of hardy annuals under glass. .. Sow under glass cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, mustard and cress, and radishes. Burn all primings as soon as possible.