GARDENING NOTES

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 64, Issue 4558, 10 April 1942, Page 3

GARDENING NOTES

VEGETABLES By keeping the surface soil well cultivated during the autumn months, weed seedlings will be destroyed before they get large enough to do harm. If weeds get a hold they will be most difficult to destroy. It is advisable where the land is heavy to get all vacant plots dug over, and if not sown down with a green crop the surface should be left in a rough state. Where the land lies wet and cold during the winter see that good drainage is given. A waterlogged soil is usually in a bad physical condition and cannot . produce healthy vegetable growth. Do not overlook the importance of lime; without lime it is not possible to get the best out of your garden or the manures used. Lime has a most beneficial effect on the mechanical and physical condition of the soil, this being most marked where the soil is lumpy. Lime gradually breaks the lumps down and makes the soil more amenable to cultivation. Lime keeps the soil in a sanitary condition. It improves drainage and neutralises the excess of acids which form in the soil by decay of vegetable matter and sets free nitrogen for the use of plants. Lime ensures the best utilisation of soluble acid manures such as superphosphates and sulphate of ammonia, by preventing the soil becoming too acid by the use of these and similar manures. The presence of too much acid in the soil prevents the micro-organisms from carrying out their work of converting the organic matter in the soil into soluble plant food, and therefore where the soil is deficient of lime the soil cannot produce to its fullest capacity. Push on with clearing away of all spent vegetable crops. Do not dig any diseased plants or foliage in. Burn them. Sow onions to stand through the winter and make a sowing of parsley. This will come in for spring use. Lift and store potatoes as soon as they mature. Make sowings of all vegetables used for salad purposes. Sow cabbage and cauliflower seeds in a sheltered portion of the garden. Sow pricklyseeded spinach, shorthorn carrots, and turnip-rooted beet. Sow both yellow and white-fleshed turnips. The white butterfly is active. Dust all the cabbage species with derris dust powder to prevent their grubs from doing any harm. Plant cabbage and cauliflowers. Earth up celery gradually and spray the plants, with lime sulphur to prevent rust. There are a number of vegetables which have to be blanched before they are fit for human food; that is, the green colouring matter has to be eliminated by keeping the edible portion in the dark. One of the most important of these is celery, which is a most valuable vegetable both for winter and summer, and one which is not as extensively grown as it should be. It is perfectly hardy, but it likes plenty of food and water during the growing season. There is a variety which is self-blanching and suitable for the summer supply, but unfortunately it is very liable to run to seed by the autumn, when it is of no use except for flavouring. Celery takes from six to eight weeks to blanch from the time the earthing up is completed, and this operation should not start until the plants are well grown. First of all, remove all suckers and short bottom leaves, and tie the plants together with soft twine. If the weather has been dry, give a good soaking and then dust with lime and soot to destroy slugs. Next break down until fine the soil which was thrown up on each side when the trench was formed, and put it in among the plants carefully, taking special care that none' goes down among the leaves; level it with the hands and pack it firmly round the plants. Cut the strings to let the leaves spread out again. The first earthing should be about six inches, and this is followed by another six inches in about a fortnight’s time, and the final earthing up in a month from the commencement of the operation. Some people secure the blanching by binding strips of brown paper round the leaf stalks, but, though this excludes the light, the stalks are inclined to be soft. A drain pipe has also been tried, but this does not quite exclude all the light; and, though earthing up is a little more work, it is the most satisfactory. Leeks have also to be blanched, for it is the white stem which is valued. Specimens for exhibition are planted in trenches like celery, and gradually earthed up, but an ordinary crop with stems from six to twelve inches in length can be secured by first drawing a drill three inches deep and then planting the leeks in holes six inches deep. As the plant grows the soil is filled in, and finally it is drawn up, forming a ridge, which provides another three inches. Endive, which is grown to take the place of lettuce for salads during the winter, has to be blanched before it is fit for use. This is done by tying up the plants so that the outer leaves exclude the light from the inner ones, which are used. Another method is to invert a flower pot with the hole in the bottom plugged up over each plant, or a slate or roofing tile can be placed on the top of the plants. As a rule it takes from three to four weeks to properly blanch endive. Seakale, which is a perfectly hardy

vegetable, easy to grow, has to be blanched, but this is usually done by excluding the light while it is being forced during the winter. This is done by lifting the plants, trimming off the thin roots, and packing the crowns closely together in pots or boxes. These are placed under the greenhouse stage or in a cellar, and the light excluded by placing another pot or box over the plants and covering these with sacks. Blanching can also be done in the permanent beds by inverting pots or boxes over the crowns and covering these with straw manure and leaves. Chickory is grown for its blanched leaves, which are valuable for salads in winter and early spring. The plants are grown in rows like parsnips, and when fully grown the roots are lifted, packed fairly close together in boxes, and placed in a cellar or under the greenhouse stage with a box inverted over them and the light excluded. Bend over the tops of onions to hasten ripening, lift and store potatoes, sow onions, shorthorn carrots, white and golden ball turnips, globe beetroot, lettuce, prickly spinach, cabbage and cauliflower. Collect seeds of peas and beans as they ripen, keep the runner and French beans picked regularly, and those not required for immediate use can be salted down for the winter. Earth up broccoli and cabbage, and clear off all spent crops. Savoys, cabbage, broccoli, curly kale, leeks and silver beet can still be planted. Parsley is useful in any garden, and seed can be sown now or plants can be obtained from the seedsman. “Triple Curled” is a good variety. Birds are very destructive and they soon make a mess of young seedlings such as turnips, lettuce and beetroot. Strands of black cotton stretched along the rows, about three inches above the soil, will frighten them off. FLOWERS Give the borders a good clean up and remove all spent annuals. Keep weed seedlings in check by using the hoe frequently. Vacancies in the border may now be filled with such plants as sweet-williams, hollyhocks, pyrethrums, aquilegias, Iceland poppies, and antirrhinums. j Sow sweet peas for early blooming next season. Dig the soil deeply and place some well decayed manure in the bottom of the trench. When preparing the soil, dust hortnap at the rate of 4oz to the yard, well down in the bottom spit. This will keep fungus and insect pests from developing. Plant gypsophila, bearded iris, Japanese water iris, bleeding heart, paeony roses, and Christmas roses. Lilies that have died down may now be planted. . Polyanthus is one of the' best plants to make an early spring effect. Their flowers are useful and they remain in bloom over a long period. Pansies for early blooming should be planted now. Aubrietia gives a bright effect during the spring months. To get the best from these plants get them in in the autumn. • Six weeks after flowering lift and store gladioli. Those who intend to plant roses and shrubs this season would be well advised to prepare the positions for these now. The soil must be given time to settle down before planting is undertaken.