HORTICULTURE.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XXX, Issue 4, 20 April 1925, Page 277

HORTICULTURE.

VEGETABLE-GROWING. Crops for early spring cutting should now be planted out without delay if this has not been already done. These crops consist chiefly of. cabbage and lettuce, but cauliflower may be included in districts where the climate is sufficiently mild. In such districts it has a decided advantage over broccoli, which. requires a very much longer growingperiod, the first part of which is made difficult by the prevalence of cabbage-moth. On warm, well-drained land peas for early spring picking may be sown. Complete the earthing-up of celery. When asparagus foliage commences to , turn colour cut it to the ground, remove it, and clean up the beds. The evergreen winter rhubarb may receive dressings of fertilizers now to induce a strong autumn growth. Land not required immediately for cropping will be greatly benefited by

being sown , in a cover-crop to be turned in later. In many cases a dressing of lime applied before sowing would be a great advantage. Hedges should be trimmed well back, and all necessary attention given to drainage. Heavy land of high value, such as is generally used for. this class of cultivation, should receive careful attention in this respect. Open drains containing heavy summer growth, if allowed to continue in that condition, make the land cold and wet, and spring growth is therefore late in getting a start, TOMATOES UNDER GLASS. . ’ ■ Growers of tomatoes under glass will, commence operations for another season next month. As in most other undertakings, success largely depends on adequate preparations being made and the plants being given a good start. In these days of hydro-electric power some growers raise their plants in. a propagating-house electrically heated, but many others will be using a hotbed. These are sometimes unsatisfactory. It should be remembered it takes two or three weeks to make a hotbed properly, and fresh stable manure is required for the purpose. The manure is conditioned by placing it in a compact, heap. In three or four days, when it has heated up, it is shaken out and restacked, care being taken to moisten any portions that are dry. Repeat this operation when it has heated again, and after a similar interval it should be ready for use, and the hotbed "can be made up. The object of this preparation is to secure an even state of fermentation throughout the mass, which can only be done by careful mixing and seeing that all parts are equally moist. Attempts to dispense with this preparation result in a fierce, uneven heat for a short period, after which the plants receive no benefit, but are subject to ordinary temperatures—-a severe experience in the middle of winter, even though it may be under glass. The compost heap for the seed-boxes will also possibly require attention. Unless it is already well mixed it would be as well to turn it over once or twice now, adding meanwhile. any further ingredients that may be required. - TOBACCO. . Most of this season's tobacco crop will now be dried and ready for stripping. A great deal of damage is often done during this operation by handling the leaf , before it is in the right condition. The result is badly broken leaves and a considerable loss of material. While the plant must be well dried out in the first place, it cannot be handled safely when in a brittle condition. One has to wait for humid weather, or create those conditions artifically, when the leaf will quickly become sufficiently pliable and tough to stand this operation without damage. Watch stocks carefully in order to avoid the development of moulds. The danger is greatest in wet weather. SMALL FRUITS. ' ' The planting-out of strawberry-plants should be completed assoon as possible, also the preparation of the land for other berry plants where an extension is decided upon. Cultivate deeply and subsoil the land ; once it is planted there is no further opportunity doing

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-W.C. Hyde,

Horticulturist.