THE GARDEN.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XXVII, Issue 1, 20 July 1923, Page 60

THE GARDEN.

VEGETABLE-CULTURE

Seed-sowing as advised last month is appropriate for the coming month also ; arrears should be brought up as may be convenient.

_ Turnips can be sown generally. Extra Early Milan is probably the quickest variety to sow, but- only a small breadth of this should be sown, to be followed by Snowball, which is a better variety, and takes very little longer to come into use. Where the seeds are sown by hand the drills can be conveniently made with the end of a rake, holding it flat so as to make a broad and shallow drill. The seeds should be sown rather thinly, covering the full breadth of the drill. Broad rows result,, which require very little thinning if roots are pulled as they become large enough for use; a large crop is' obtained from comparatively little space.

Early Horn carrots should be sown for the first crop. Sow as described for turnips, and a heavy crop can be taken. The roots of the Horn varieties are usable when very young and small. Thinning the rows as roots are wanted for use allows those left space to increase in size, and the crop will carry on till the larger varieties, sown later on, come into use.

Where red beet is required for use during the summer months a turnip-rooted variety, should be sown. These varieties come in quickly, but they are not so good for winter use as the long varieties, which should not be sown till November.

Turnip-rooted parsnips are useful in summer. They may be sown now if they are wanted, but long varieties alone are suitable for winter use, and should not be sown till November, or possibly October in colder districts.

Celery for first crops should be sown in boxes under glass. Use a compost of clean loam with a good proportion of old manure and coarse sand to give it body. Sow rather thinly, and prick off the seedlings as soon as they can be handled ; crowded seedlings are difficult to deal with because they are very weak. Henderson’s White Plume is the best variety for early crops.

Rhubarb of the summer varieties should be planted at once in rich soil. Plant in rows 3 ft. apart, with the crowns 2 ft. 6 in. apart in the rows. The crowns should be barely covered with soil. Any one intending to establish beds from seeds should sow at once. The seeds may be sown in rows just far enough apart to allow for hoeing and weeding. Drop the seeds 3 in. or 4 in. apart, in the rows. When the seedlings are large enough they can be lifted and planted afresh, allowing space for further development. It should be understood that seedlings vary very much in character, and selection later on is necessary for the establishment of a goodpaying strain.

Winter rhubarb should be in full use. If it has not lately been manured an application should be made now ; failing stable or farmyard manure a good dressing of fowl-manure will answer. In either case a dressing of nitrate of soda, 2 oz. per square yard, should also be given.

Tomato-seed for open-air crops should be sown ; it has already been sown in the warmer districts; but in other places the latter half of August is early enough. All the evidence is against planting out too early ; among other things, sleepy disease from -the pathogen usually experienced in this country is attributable in the main to planting too early. No artificial fertilizer of any kind should be mixed with either ' the soil 'for sowing seeds or that used for pricking off the seedlings. ' ' ■

The soil should be prepared for new plantations of asparagus, but planting should be deferred till the young plants begin to move. In most cases this is early in September.

SMALL-FRUITS-

Strawberries. time for planting varies in accordance with climate and conditions of ■ soil; also it is largely ruled by the purpose for which they are grown. In commercial plantations in the ■ North planting , is done in autumn, being usually completed by the end of April, and the plants are ; renewed' every year. In some places in the South Island planting is done in spring, and a full crop is not expected till the following year. In both cases the magnitude of the operation forbids slow ways of planting,, which accounts for the small crop obtained the first year in some places in the South. In the northern plantations-the-plants have time to get a good root-hold and to improve the crowns before flowering begins. The case of the small grower is different, and methods involving a proportionately greater amount of labour are possible. Autumn' planting is not practicable in a climate where the soil cannot be cultivated in the winter, because it would in most cases become covered with weeds, which mostly would have to be pulled out by hand. Moreover, in such circumstances the plants, would do very little good during winter, and the soil would be battered down by rain and become unwholesome. It is best, therefore, to leave planting till spring.' The plants should, however, be secured in —about the month of March—and be planted in temporary beds in well-drained' soil, spacing each plant 3 in. or 4 in. apart. In this position roots are freely made, and by spring there will be fine plants, which can be lifted with a fork, with roots intact, and planted early in August with scarcely any check. Such plants will produce a good crop the first year, being in practically the same condition as the plants set out in autumn in the northern plantations. Where leaf-spot is troublesome spray the plants with 4-4-40 bordeaux.

Loganberries.'— should be completed as soon as possible. Cut the young plants down to one or two good buds. For commercial purposes the plants should be set about 12 ft. apart- in rows 8 ft. apart, and a trellis erected to support the rods. The erection of the trellis may be left till the following year, the growth made in the meantime being . supported . by stakes. In a domestic garden the rods may, if desired, be trained to' a fence or the wall of a building. In this case the usual plan of renewing the rods every year can be departed from, keeping them to fruit two years instead of one. The side shoots that have borne fruit should all be cut back to two buds at their base. Before growth begins loganberries (also raspberries and gooseberries) should be . sprayed with 6-4—40 bordeaux.

Cape Gooseberries. Plants that are to stand, another year should be cut down to about 6 in. from the ground. - In places where frost occurs the- branches will be cut or killed, and in these cases the tops should be left till frosts are over. In the meantime new shoots will appear at the base, which the branches, though they may be dead, will shelter. Seeds to provide new plants should be sown at once if this is not already done. Personally, I like to sow in autumn.

— W. H. Taylor,

Horticulturist.