THE GARDEN

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 637, 13 April 1929, Page 28

THE GARDEN

By

LEONARD A. GRIFFITHS F.R.H.S.,

Hr who dors not lore 1 loiters has Jos ROTATION CROPPING MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR LAND By the rotation of crops we mean that vegetables or flowers, which have j the same characteristics or are closely related shall be planted so as not to follow each other upon the same soil j year after year. Thus some plants have matted fibrous roots, while others have long deep roots* and draw from the soil widely different amounts of plant food. Thus, in the vegetable garden, we should follow such a root crop as carrots with a leaf crop of cabbage, or spinach, and so we will find that we can utilise to the best advantage the manurial substances in the ground. But you must look out for there are several closely related plants which draw from the soil the same foods and are grown for different purposes, one for a root crop and the other for a surface crop. For instance, turnips and cabbages, potato and tomato. In both these cases it is as well to point out both sets of plants draw' an exceptionally large amount of one or two chemicals, leaving the rest hardly touched. On the other hand, there are two classes of vegetables such as beans and peas, which actually enrich the soil. Indeed, if the soil is on the poolside, a crop of green peas dug in as a green manure, gives excellent results. And in these days when manure is hard to come by, we find that a systematic plant rotation permits us to obtain the best results from the supply of fertilising material available. Now, before we go on to consider the system to be followed, we will point out that a crop which is being grown for its foliage, as lettuce or cabbage, is the best to follow on with after a crop of peas have been taken off, as the peas add to the soil a great amount of ammonia, and this, as you know, makes for leaf grow'th. Then there is a certain type of plant which "should never be planted in freshlymanured ground, such being the root crops as carrots, beetroot, parsnips, etc., and these like a rich soil, so should follow on after a crop which have been very well fertilised, such as onions, leeks or potatoes. HARD AND FAST CROPPING RULES In most things it is impossible to lay down any hard and fast rules, but in regard to plant rotation, we feel confident that there should be no variation from those we give if success is desired. First of all remember that the root crops mqst never be sown on freshlymanured ground, and that secondly, they draw a supply of fertiliser from the soil very different to the so-called foliage crops, though to this rule there is one outstanding exception, the turnip, which draws from the soil the same chemicals as do those plants grown for their leaves. Beetroot, carrots, parsnips, and other similar vegetables should always follow a crop of cabbage, cauliflower, spinach or lettuce, and these may follow beans, celery, leeks, onions, tomatoes, potatoes. Broad beans, French beans and peas do remarkably well in a soil previously occupied by celery, leeks, lettuce, onions and potatoes, as thep love a good rich soil, without

1 all fear and Jove of God. — TIECK . ROMANCE OF THE GARDEN Gardening is a joyous thing; it proves the mettle of the worker and rewards him fairly according to the labour spent. An extensive knowledge of technical names whereby one speaks of the simple columbine as the aquilegia, the forget-me-not as the myosotis and the garden pinks as dianthus, never made a gardener. These things are all right in their way if one is making an extensive hobby of the work. The joy of the garden and the pleasing sense of something attempted, something done, lie elsewhere. One makes a beautiful and productive garden by doing intelligently what has to be done from the beginning to the end. Thus it is that every gardener, however humble, comes to love his garden, be it large or small, as it deserves to be loved, not for what it gives, but for what it

Every gardener should strive to learn something definite about the natural history of his plants, something about their evolution, their romance, for plants and flowers have much of the human about them, secrets that lure us to wonder and speculation. They are living things, just in the same sense that you and 1 are. They are subject to the laws of heredity, variation, natural selection and adaptation to environment, just like animals and human beings. They struggle for existence, they eat and drink and club together. They mate and have their marriage customs and rear families.

We must not lose sight of the fact of their inter-relation w-ith other living creatures, the bee or the butterfly that flits about, the bird or the ant. In deed, in the long run, every living creature is dependent for its life on the green plant. In the proper place you should then learn about the character of plants, their structure, functions and tactics; of how they protect themselves, of their methods of reproduction and of their ways of life. I have found many gardeners weakening in their loyalty toward their adopted hobby. With the increasing use of the motor-cars, many one-time gardeners have forsaken the spade for the driving-wheel and allowed the weeds to take command of their one time hobby. Such a state of affairs is to be regretted, for it will not only seriously affect the advancement of horticulture in this young country, but deny many city workers the physical relaxation the body and brain needs. England’s greatest statesman assures us that there is no truer economy than the cultivation of soil for food production. It is the fairest of all j hobbies, for “as ye sow, so shall ye reap.”

Gardening is not a gamble, a game ■of chance or lottery. It proves the mettle of the worker quicker than any other recreation and rewards him I fairly, justly, according to his work.