HORTICULTURE.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XXX, Issue 2, 20 February 1925, Page 134

HORTICULTURE.

VEGETABLE-GROWING.

Vegetable sowings for the coming month include turnips, spinach, lettuce, early cauliflower, and cabbage, and large white and main-crop onions; Turnips and spinach come into early use, but the remainder form an important contribution to the spring and early summer supplies. ' Varieties of lettuce, cauliflower,- and cabbage proved suitable to the locality at the season should be selected and sown in seed-beds well prepared and in good heart. The land where they are to be planted out is now probably occupied by peas, beans, or root crops, or in many cases by tomatoes. It should be warm well-drained land, carefully kept free of weeds, as if these are allowed to seed they cause endless work during the moist weather of winter and ; early spring, when there is little opportunity of destroying, them with the hoe. As soon as the present crop is harvested apply a good dressing of manure, and cultivate the land in preparation for the • plants, which will then be ready for putting out. .» \. In many districts the. main sowing of the all-important onion crop will be made now. Not only the mild large white Italian onions that are so invaluable in spring salads, but in many districts the better-keeping sorts are sown now for planting out in early spring, so that they may be harvested in the dry weather of midsummer and escape the ravages of mildew fungus. It is . specially desirable that the land for the seed-bed should be firm and clean of weeds and their seeds. Sow the onion-seed thinly. When the main celery crop has almost finished its growth it may be cleaned up, removing suckers and dead leaves,- and then earthed up for the purpose of blanching the stems. This usually is best done in one or two operations. Choose fine dry weather. Tie the bunches carefully with damp raffia or flax, and make the soil fine and friable before filling it. round the plants. Carefully protect the growth on the asparagus-beds. In exposed windy places it is sometimes worth while putting stakes and a twoply binder-twine along the leeward side of the bed to prevent the growth being blown over. The harvesting of potatoes, onions, pumpkins, and other, crops will now keep one busy. This is an operation needing great judgment and care, or all the work of growing the crop is heavily discounted. Just as important is the matter of storage and packing. If the store has not had a good spring cleaning it should be well cleaned up now. There is much virtue in the old-fashioned limewash, and more still if a solution of bluestone be added to it. This makes a good dressing for the walls. The floor of- a store requires further attention. It should be scrubbed, or carefully raked out and well moistened with some solution such as formalin, 2 parts to 100 of water, or a solution of bluestone', 1 lb. to 25 gallons water. Quite often the vicinity also will need attention. It is a waste of time selecting produce and then putting it in a store infected with potato-moth, late blight, &c. It will possibly be sold before it goes bad, but buyers soon become aware of the fact that goods from certain stores have a bad knack of

‘.‘going off” quickly. A thorough clean-up before the new crop is put away will enable it to be held in condition longer—often a distinct advantage raise the reputation of the produce among the buyers. A clean store that is. cool and well ventilated will give excellent service. TOMATO-CULTURE AND ROTATIONAL PRACTICE. The outside tomato crop will now be : well into the harvestingperiod. If the plants are at all backward a dressing of soluble fertilizers hoed in when rain is threatening will be of benefit. The question will soon arise as to the best crop for following on. Too often the ground is neglected for quite a period, which is very undesirable. Much better is it to clean up and burn the old plants and sow a cover-crop, 'and so get the advantage of the remainder of the growing-season and the considerable amount of manure which remains in the ground.' Some growers give the land a good dressing of manure and work the land up for crops of cabbage,- lettuce, &c., for early spring cutting. This is a satisfactory succession, except sometimes where a tomato crop is to follow again next season, when the usual heavy manuring again given frequently tells to its disadvantage. The average grower has very generous sentiments as regards expenditure on manures for the land, which is admirable indeed, but evidence is now showing that not only is there an economy but also a benefit to some crops from a more prudent expenditure in this direction. Regarding the case in question, the cabbage crop probably makes good use of all the manures that are applied, but to follow on with the usual application of fertilizers for the succeeding tomato crop some-' times results in a rank plant that is subject to disease and demands much extra attention. There can rarely be a routine laid down in the matter of applying fertilizers where miscellaneous crops are grown and heavy doses are administered. Careful consideration must be given to the condition of the land from previous dressings and the requirements and peculiarities of the succeeding crop. One of the most urgent problems of the present day in horticulture is to deal effectively and cheaply with land that has been heavily manured and cropped with little or no rotation.’ To sterilize out the noxious fungi and insect pests is an expensive operation. One excellent practice observed recently was to sow down the area in tomatoes with grass and . clover seed in the month of March, and soon after the plants had finished cropping and had been cleaned up there was an excellent pasture for stock. The property was divided up for this purpose, each section in turn being laid down in grass for three years, giving the land time to recuperate and cleanse itself naturally. SMALL-FRUITS. Growers purposing to plant out passion-fruit should sow the seed now, selecting for the seed-bed a piece of good land in a warm, sheltered locality. Thin the seedlings, when, they appear, to about 6 in. apart, so that sturdy plants may be available for planting into permanent quarters in the spring. , Some growers of Cape gooseberries prefer to sow seed now, and. so have large and early plants for putting out in spring. They will need the protection of a frame during the winter.

Plantings of raspberries, strawberries, currants, &c., will now be completing their growth for the season. Carefully examine the brakes occasionally, and deal with any sign of disease immediately by suitable spraying. Proceed with the preparation of land for new plantings. Remember achievement depends on a good start more than anything else. THE TOBACCO CROP. • Tobacco crops harvested early will soon be ready for stripping. This stage is reached when the butts of the leaf-stems are well dried out. The plants are then taken from the curing-sticks, and the leaves carefully stripped from them one by one, graded, and tied up into hands.” A hand of tobacco consists of a dozen or so leaves tied together by the stems, the tie used being a tobacco-leaf bound round the stems firmly and the end passed through between the leaves. To do this satisfactorily great care must be taken to have the tobacco in right condition. Generally the dry leaf is brittle, and great damage is done if it is handled then, but if the ventilators are opened up at night or in moist weather the leaf quickly becomes tough and elastic, and the operation of stripping can then proceed. It is at this stage that the crop is usually marketed in this country, the hands being bulked and afterwards baled up for transport. Otherwise the hands are placed astride of the curing sticks and put back in the shed to await the process of fermentation, which is carried out as the weather warms in spring. LAWNS AND GREENS. The warmth and moisture of autumn weather encourages strong growth in lawn-grasses, and those who have the care of playing-greens will now be kept busy cutting and rolling the turf to keep a satisfactory surface. If the turf is poor, applications of manuresliquid or otherwiseat the present time will greatly assist in strengthening the growth. For sowing down new lawns there is no time like the present. The grass comes away rapidly and a good turf is formed before winter, and before weeds have a chance of becoming troublesome. A new lawn disfigured with bad weeds is very disappointing. They may arise from the land not being sufficiently fallowed and cleaned ; they may be . brought in in the soil used for filling ; or they may grow from seed included in the mixture of grass-seeds sown.

W. C. Hyde,

Horticulturist