VEGETABLE CROPS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20922, 11 July 1931, Page 8 (Supplement)

VEGETABLE CROPS.

WORK IN THE WINTER. During the early part of the week the soil was again sufficiently dry to allow of work in the garden being resumed. At' this season, weeds grow so rapidly as to soon cover and" weaken the plants, more especially many 'of the later sown crops. Weeding and working up the soil cannot be too frequently performed when favourable conditions prevail. In the cultivation of winter vegetables Auckland growers certainly have an advantage over the more southerly and colder districts, as* with reasonable care in sowing and planting, the gardens can be kept furnished with useful, seasonable crops- throughout the winter. Providing the soil has been properly manured, deeply worked and prepared and timely attention given to sowing and planting, there is really no reason, even in comparatively small gardens, why a supply of crops, such as cabbages, cauliflowers and other colworts, carrots, parsnips, turnips, spinach, leeks, beet, lettuce, celery and other fairly hardy vegetables, could not be maintained throughout the winter. It is at this season that these vegetables are most in demand and appreciated, and when they can be taken up fresh from the - garden they are in every way more palatable than when exposed for days before being used. . EARLY POTATOES. Another advantage of local conditions is that many of the more tender varieties, such as potatoes, peas, beans and other tender crops, when planted in wellprepared ground, and in favourable positions, will invariably produce good early crops. The early potato is a ciop that is always iti demand, and no efforts should be spared to keep the plants in a healthy growing condition. Some of the earliest planted crops must, naturally, have suffered more or less from the effects of the frosts and sodden state of the soil, and should . be given every assistance by manuring and frequent cultivation. Later sets that have been placed in boxes for sprouting, should be placed outside to allow the sprouts to become well hardened in readiness for planting as soon as the soil is in a suitable condition.

Take advantage of fine weather to earth up cabbages, cauliflower and other colworts, and also leeks, broad beans and other crops benefited by this treatment. Before earthing give a light sprinkling of nitrate, of soda along the rows.

WORK IN THE ORCHARD. PRUNING THE TREES. • ; V ' The pruning of the various varieties of fruiting trees must be proceeded with at every favourable opportunity, preference being given to early bush fruits, followed by peaches, nectarines, cherries, Japanese and European plums. Apples and pears, being later in ripening their wood, may be left until the • others are completed. In pruning young, newly-planted fruit trees, the future form of the trees must be considered. All superfluous branches should be first removed, leaving only such leading shoots as are required to form a shapely, v well-balanced tree. These leading shoots should be shortened back to a bud pointing .outward or in the direction -the shoots are required to grow. By doing this the trees can be trained to any shape required. Too often, however, trees are planted without any pruning whatever, with the result thai) tall, scanty specimens are formed.

amateurs who hesitate. Many, especially amateur planters,, hesitate to prune, as it'iujures for a time the appearance, but it is only a short time before a good shapely tree is formed. If, the trees are carefully pruned .and trained during their younger stages of growth, a lot of future unnecessary cutting would be avoided and little or no necessity would arise for the removal of large limbs when they have attained to a larger size. It is with neglected trees that pruning is a difficult operation, even with the most skilled operator, as the work often consists in hard cutting, more with a view of renewing the trees and refurnishing them with young wood than in the immediate production of fruit. RESULTS OP NEGLECT. Tja fact of most fruit trees producing fruit—for li'time,.at least—whether they are pruned br not, is chiefly the cause of neglect in pruning. As soon as the trees fail, however, to produce fruit, the gardener iis called in and is expected to rectify the results of years of neglect in one season. Trees that are pruned reguIstrly tind 3xo given reasonable cultuial treatment not only produce finer specimens of fruit, but.the fruit is of superior flavour to those taken from unpruned and neglected trees. NEW MEXICAN FRUIT. Oasimiroa edulis, a new _ fruit; from i Mexico, pi'oducing edible fruit about the size of a St. Michael's orange. It is borne on the two-year-old wood.. It is of a greenish-yellow when ripe- and has a delicious flavour, melting like a peach. The leaves are digitate. It may be raised from seeds). It grows into a handsome tree, and is sufficiently hardy to grow and fruit in this Auckland province. It is well worthy of experimental planting..