Gardening Notes

Hutt News, Volume 3, Issue 19, 2 October 1930, Page 9

Gardening Notes

r ABOUT ROOT VEGETABLES.

The various roof vegetables —Beets, Carrot*, TuriSlps, and similar ones—axe easy to grow. But as a rule one finds them poorer in quality, compared to what they ought to be, than most of the other garden vegetables. Without doubt. one reason for this state of affairs is that, while Green Peas, String Bonn* or Cauliflower—once they have gone past the proper stage—can hardly be made' use of, Beets and Carrots can be used, if the cook will boil them long enough/thus destroying any flavour which they may have had originally. There is no reason why the root vegetables, as well as the salad plants, should lack eitheT in quality or supply. The root crop requires soil that/is especially well prepared for several-rea-sons. In the first place, the majority of them have, aside from the tap root, which strikes directly down into tht< soil, trie^ing^syWem'composed'only ol: comparatively short, 'fine rootlets, which cannot travel as fur "as can the roots of Tomatoes* for instance, in search of their food supplies. Therithe , sml shotiM fee so free from-lumps'or'stones, and so finely pulversidc, that the growiny roots.can expand freely and develop naturally without any restriction; other wise a very large portion of• the crop is sure to be distorted in appearance. The quality of the crops in ay be injured further by the presence of 'deleterious substances in the soil,, with iriiich, as they grow deeper, ffcey will come Into direct contact. .fresh. manures, decaying vegetable matter such as that from green crops, ploughed under, and, in a number of eases lime too recently applied are apt to cause seal) or various sorts of distorted and stunted specimens among the root CTOps. Among the root crops are included of course, those vegetables the roots of •which form the edible (portion, Artichokes, Beets, Carrots, Kohlrabi, Onions Leeks. Parsnips, Potatoes, Baddisli Salsify ami Turnip—the Kohlrabi 'being a sort of an outeast>-it is not a root crop in the sense of growing on or in the ground, but certainly one can designate it as belonging in the leaf crop class or in the fruit crop class. It is, in'faetj a sort of an overgrown Turnip, with ambitions in he direction of -becoming a Cabbage. These root vegetables, with the exception of Potatoes, are all alike in several rcspeets. They are all quite hardy and can be planted practically as sooa as the ground can be got into condition they are all planted.in continuous drills —-rows quite near together—l 2to 15 inches for Beets, Carrots/Onions, Radishes and Turnip, and 15 to 20 for Kohlrabi, Parsnip and Salsify. The two latter especial! should be put on rich soil 18 inches at least apart, and even then the foliage will completely cover the ground. As' all of these things may be put in at the same time, and with very little adjustment to the seed drill, it is well in planning the o-arden to put them together in one £roup. But Beets, Carrots, Kohlrabi, Radishes and Turnips should be placed next to each other, as they will occupy the ground but part of the season, and the succession crops can be sown when they are removed. The Onions, Parsnips and Salsify, of course will atay in through the entire season. With Leeks, it is better to start them in a seed-bed and set out later. It is a good plan, too, where there is any choice in the matter, to have these Aings in that part of the garden whi«h is farthest away from the house, as they are not gathei-ed frequently rtor do they require as careful watching in regaTd to insects as the various leaf and fruit Crops. The soil for root crops should not be made too rich. There is no practical d-anger of getting too much phosphoric acid or potash, but a super-abundance of nitrogen frequently will cause an excessive growth of top and a sufbaormal root development. And yet tkese crops need nitrogen most during the early sta-ges of development, when, on account of the cold in the soil, and the fact that the organic matter has not yet had a chance to decompose, there is usually a shortage of nitrogen. The result is that, where a heavy application of manure is relied tjpon alone for the root crops, they have too little nitrogen during the early stages of growth, when it is most needed, and

too much when they are. maturing, and do not need it. So you will find it a good scheme, in planning your vegetable garden, to rely largely uipon com7ner6ial fertilisers for that part o^ youx garden in which the root crops are to go. If you can, buy, or, which is better, mix up for yourself, a 4-£-10 mixture and use it on ground heavily manured, preferably the year before or early in the spring, at the rate of 1000 to 1500 pounds per aerej and after the root crops are well under., way, preferably a week or so after they have been thinned out, give a light application

of-. nitrate of soda, the nitrogen in which is^ immediately available, to induce a strong start.

And also, as it is essential to have perfectly straight rows, the seed-bed should 1)0 made as fine and level as it can be by the vtso^of a steel garden rake. Unless there is some good reason for not doing so, plant so as the sorts with very fine seeds, such as Onions, Carrots, and Turnips, come next to each other. In this way they can all be p^afttgd^tpgethcii before the depth of the seeder has to'be regulatedI'for tha larger seeds, such as Beets, Spinach, .Swiss Chaxd and. Parsnips. The former should be planted only a quar--ter toi a half inch deep*; keeping to the former figure un]ess""'the soil is quite dry. The latter sorts are planted from half an inch;to an inch deep; according to the size of the seeds and the soil and condition of it. Spare no.trou»ble .in] getting the first line as straight as a string. The great secret in' cutting down hand wotrJc in root crops lies in being able to stave up close on either side of the row with the wheelhoe, and the straigihter the row is, tho more effeetiually this can be done.

A immfoer of the root vegetables, especially if one wants to have them in the best condition, should be sown several times during one season. - These "repeaters" are Beets, Carrots, Turnips, Badishes, and Kohlrabi. A row or two of Beetsj Carrots, Turnips and Badishes will be enough for the average garden for the first two plantingsj 'but the last (planting of each should be large enough not only to supply your garden, but to furnish a supply to store for the winter, as they will all, except the Badishes, keep in^ood condition until the spring if they are properly stored.- Radishes shonid be planted every two weeks at least, and every ten days is better with, moat varieties. A convenient way in a small garden is to keep a small supply of the seed on hand in a tin box with the garden tool 3 or where it is readily get-at-able, for sowing a few feet of row whenever the opportunity offers, between plants where part of a crop has been removed or where seeds of other things have failed to come up,, about once in a week. In this way you will find your'sclf always with a fresh crop constantly on hand with very little effort. ■'■ •

Carrots require -a rich, deep, sand.y soil—the deeper the better, so as to let the roots go down straight. If the soil is shallow. Short Horn varieties, will bo best. Improved Bed Intermediate is a; splendid Carrot for deep soils^-colour and shape arc all that can be desired. Sow-the seeds in/ drills 12 to 15 C inches between the rows, two "sowings in the year will be found ample—one sowing in August and another in January. The- same* treatment, -will suffice for Parsnips,., only the distance between the drills must bo wider. Eighteen inches will be found sufficient and the plants thinned to ti or 7 inches Beetroot, also, will do well wader the same treatment. . .

Onions, another 7of the principal .crops, like a good: deep soil (on the. heavy side, for preference), and much .manure. If extra large Onions are required, the ,seed should be sown towards the end of April, and transplanted into row's about 12 or 15 inches apart- and about 9inches. between the plants. A^tfter they have become well established, a little .mantire ;inay be given them at intervals. ■ A little dry fowl manure, . sprinkled betiween the rows, and well hoed in, suits them ■well. Giant Boeea and Ailsa Craig make ideal exhibition varieties, lbut they don't keep too well. For a -main crop variety, Brown Spanish is one of the best.

Leeks like a soil that lias been Tvell manured and trenched! For an early batch sow about end of June or July, and for a main crop August or September, men the young plants are about the size of an ordinary lead fpexEcil they should be planted out.in drills, 18 in-

ches apart, and a foot between the plants. When planting, make a hole with a dibber, and drop the plants in.

To grow Turnips properly (they need to be grown quickly), they must have a nice rich bit of ground, and plenty of water. For an early variety, NonSeeding White is a splendid variety, and rarely fails. For a summer variety there are the yellow ones to choose from,'and Orange Jelly is as good as~ any. A good sowing of Swedes should be made aibout the middle of, so as to provide a winter supply. The GaSbjbage Moth is very fond of them; .but after the seed has been sown, to cover the ground well over with lawn mowing is an effective way of warding them off.