HOME-GARDEN NOTES

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 71, Issue 1, 16 July 1945, Page 81

HOME-GARDEN NOTES

August Work Basis of Success

“The book of life begins with a man and a woman in a garden.” —Oscar Wilde.

AUGUST may be looked upon as the cultivation spring-board for • the coming . season’s vegetable-growing activities. Much of the success achieved will doubtless be due to the work carried out during this month. As previously emphasised in “Journal” notes, the area to be cultivated should be planned for maximum production, and the plan adhered to. When selecting sites for different varieties of vegetables rotation of crops should be considered as essential not only for the production of the best vegetables, but for maintaining the soil in the healthiest possible condition. Beds for carrots, parsnips, and celery should be as far removed as practicable from the areas previously occupied by these crops, which are attacked by the carrot rust fly, preferentially in the order mentioned. Club root is sure , to become established in any soil where plants of the cabbage family are grown successively on the same area. Crop rotation is also a means of protecting the soil against depletion of so-called rarer elements, which, though present in the soil in small quantities, are nevertheless essential for high-quality vegetable production. Potatoes All preparations should be made for planting potatoes as soon as the risk of serious damage by frost is past. Seed should be properly boxed and kept where there is plenty of air circulating, so that developing shoots will not become spindly and weak. Such growth cannot be expected to produce an abundant crop of healthy tubers. 1 1 Artichokes (Jerusalem) Artichokes are not a very popular crop in home gardens, but they have a particular medicinal value for persons affected with diabetes. They are hardy, relatively immune from disease, and can be grown in much the same way as potatoes. A small part of the garden should be selected where the crop will not interfere with vegetables which do not occupy the soil over such a lengthy period. Cauliflower • Early London is a variety of cauliflower suitable for early spring plant-

ing. If it is necessary to buy plants, an effort should be made to, obtain this variety. Well-grown plants set out in good, rich soil, and grown without a check, can be harvested before Christmas. Asparagus Asparagus is a so-called luxury crop, but one well worth growing for the change of vegetable routine it provides, and for the length of time it can be harvested from a wellestablished bed. August is the appropriate month for planting, and the best of one-year-old crowns should be selected. The area intended for planting should be deeply trenched, and plenty of well-rotted stable manure, farmyard manure, or compost incorporated with the soil. All perennial weeds should be destroyed. The young crowns are usually set in a prepared trench, not more than Bin. below the soil level of the garden, and with about a 2in. covering of soil. The young roots of the crowns should

|be carefully spread out and not ■ bunched together. Planted in this I manner, subsequent cultivation will | gradually fill in the trench; but this I should not be. done till the second season after planting. Onions Autumn-sown onion seedlings should now be ready for setting out. Early planting is essential for the production of bulbs which will . store in good condition. for the maximum length of time. Owing to the long time this crop occupies the ground from planting to maturity, a slow-acting fertiliser .is best, and bonedust is most popular among commercial oniongrowers. It is best applied 2 to 4 weeks before planting, and should be broadcast at the rate of 3 to 4oz. per ’ ' sq. yd., afterwards being well worked : into the soil. ! The seedlings’ roots should be trimmed to l|in. long before planting, ; and these merely pressed into the soil. ! The small bulb should, not be buried, ; particularly on heavy soils, as this will restrict bulb development. Shallots August, generally, is also the month • when shallot bulbs may be set out. ; If the soil in which the crop , is to be i grown has previously received a sub- , stantial dressing of farmyard manure, no further application of fertiliser I will be necessary. In the absence of

this manure a light dressing of blood and bone 2 to 3oz. per sq. yd. well worked into the top soil will give good results. Rows are usually 12in. apart with Bin. spacing between the bulbs. Cabbage In favourable localities cabbage plants of the Golden Acre variety may be set out towards the end of August, although, as a general rule, September is the better month. It will be much better for the young plants if the ground is prepared two or . even three weeks before planting. Home gardeners who desire to have a continuous supply of cabbages would do well to secure plants. If seed has not been sown, bought plants can be “heeled in” until required later. To “heel in” plants, a trench is made in which the seedlings are placed at the same depth as that at which they were grown from seed. When being placed in the trench the plants should be separated and soil pressed firmly against the roots. Seedlings which have been heeled in should not be pulled; when being removed for transplanting they should be eased out of the trench with a hand fork and -set with as much soil as ; possible, adhering to the roots. Tomatoes If it has not already been done, the first thing necessary to make sure of the production of strong, healthy tomato plants is to sterilise some soil in which to sow seed and later the seedlings. For directions to sterilise a small quantity of soil properly and- cheaply” “Journal” readers are advised to - write to their local office

of the Department of Agriculture for a free copy of the “Dig for Victory” publication “Vegetable Production in the Home Garden.” The booklet illustrates how to sterilise soil in an ordinary wash-house boiler so that it will be practically free from disease. A small quantity of tomato seed may be sown in a 3 or 4in. flower pot or in almost any container of similar size, provided provision has been made for drainage. The pot should be filled with sterilised soil, on top of which a small quantity of seed can be broadcast and lightly covered with some of the sterilised soil which has been passed through a fine sieve. When the job is finished the pot should be covered with a piece of light-coloured paper and set in a sunny porch or in a kitchen window. As soon as the seed begins to germinate the covering must be removed. Spring Cabbages After cold winter weather,- particularly if soil conditions were such that not' much cultivation could be done, weeds may have become prominent among spring cabbages, and the plants may' lack that vigorous growth and dark green colour which are always indicative of healthy cabbages. Under these circumstances hand weeding is desirable; and the bed should be thoroughly cleaned up before any nitrate of soda, either dry or as a liquid manure, is used. Several applications may be made at 3- or 4-day intervals during August, after which no further nitrogenous fertiliser in any form should be used. - x The remarks on spring cabbages are also applicable to silver beet and leeks. • /

Green Manure Crops

Green manure crops which it is intended to follow in early spring with a vegetable crop should be turned under without delay. If vegetable plants are set out on an area where a green manure crop has just been dug in, serious inhibition of growth may result, and would be almost certain if the digging in of the green substance was followed by a period of dry weather. Where the green manure crop is a leguminous one, such as lupins, the greatest benefit to the soil will be obtained if it is allowed to grow to maturity, or at least until it is in full bloom. If this practice is adopted, the application of sulphate of ammonia loz. per sq. yd. of the area in crop, before digging in, is recommended. This nitrogenous fertiliser should be dug in with the green manure, following which plants set out in the area dug should be kept well watered.

~—D. K. PRITCHARD,

Instructor

in Vegetable Culture, Wellington.