SECRETS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22422, 17 November 1934, Page 20

SECRETS

As in every other occupation and pastime, there are in the horticultural world always some who, season after season, find that they have missed the mark and failed to attain the degree of success they had anticipated. We are not thinking of the beginners and novices (says Amateur Gardening), who are as yet only learning the elementary lessons of the art and craft of gardening; these are but getting their bearings for the start of the journey along the road to triumph. It is those people who have been gardening for years, and who are never at a loss for excuses for their repeated failures, that prompt us to ipake these few remarks, not in a spirit of carping criticism, but with a desire to indicate a way out of the slough of despond. Our trend of thought was inspired by a conversation with a little band of exhibitors returning' from a flower show. Two neighbours of these homeward travellers had scored brilliant successes at the sh£w, and, in course of conversation, the remark was made that “ Tom is a canny lad; wild horses would not draw from him the secret of his success in growing vegetables.” We gathered that the speaker and his friend who agreed with this remark occupied allotments in close proximity to Tom’s. By their description the soil is vile, the situation bleak, the water hard, and weeds thrive merrily. Their crops are always poor, while Tom’s are always good, so it stands to reason he has a wrinkle or two up his sleeve which work the trick like magic. It wa» too bad of Tom, they thought, to keep his cunning so secret. Wc continued our journey after these good men had alighted, and drew a mental picture of their allotments and the men at work. Our conviction is that, whatever little fancy methods of feeding etc., the successful Tom may adopt, the one secret which is of real importance is simplicity itself—he puts enthusiasm and thoughtful work into his hobby. Two facts convince us that the soil of those allotments cannot be so vile as our Travelling companions consider it to be. First, there is the plain fact that Tom can make it produce vegetables which win prizes; and, secondly, weeds flourish merrily. Weeds can only languish if the soil is really vile. We have no doubt whatsoever that in Tom’s shed there are some tools of stout quality, beginning to show signs of hard wear. That is the major part of Tom’s great secret, which, we are sure, he has shown quite openly every autumn, winter, and spring, if only his neighbours have been on their plots to witness his demonstrations. However much the theorist may strive to envelop cultural skill in mystery, and to insinuate that things which are wrong may be righted by the wave of some magical wand, the solid truth remains that it is the man who works with mind and muscle who achieves desired results. During the drought an incident came to our notice which might form the theme of a wonderful sermon. A man going round a garden, cared for by one of the best-known gardeners in Britain, was impressed by the health and vigour of all he saw. He got into conversation with the gardener, and the dialogue ran as follows: —“ How do you manage to keep things alive in this terrible drought, and still have your beds and borders neatly raked ami your paths tidy?. My gardener tells me it takes him all his time to do the watering. I do not sec either hose or watering can in use here.” The reply was, “ 1 do all my watering in the winter.” “Come, come! my man. Yon are not trying to tell me you use hose and watering cans on the ground when it is already soaked, and nothing is growing.” “Oh. no; I do my watering with the spade and fork.”

This gardener’s conversational style may have been a little unconventional, .and, perhaps, enigmatical, but the germ of wisdom beneath the blunt replies was virile and sound; it is by deep djggnig in winter that this man saves himself the necessity for surface watering _ m summer, and leaves freedom for hoeing, raking, and tidying up. When the harvest of the year is being gathered m and the summer’s floral display is on the wane, it would be well to recognise the fact that we are not approaching a season of idleness, but the time of year when it is possible to lay the foundation of greater achievements next year. Let there be no more excuses that our soil will not grow this or that. Very few gardens Or allotments are blessed with ideal conditions; they have to be improved, and all can be made more fertile. The prime necessity is to study the subject so that the manual labour may be wisely directed by reasoning judgment.