Early Cropping in Nelson

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 71, Issue 2, 15 August 1945, Page 151

Early Cropping in Nelson

N TELSON Province lies in the north-western corner of the South NELSON 41 degrees south of the Equator. Its most northerly Island, 41 degrees south of the Equator. Its most northerly extreme, Cape Campbell, has approximately the same latitude as Foxton in the North Island, while Nelson city is on approximately the same latitude as Wellington. Nelson’s mild climate is largely responsible for the district’s ability to grow peas and potatoes earlier than elsewhere in the Dominion.

By

D. M. MERRY,

Instructor in Agriculture, Nelson.

COMMENTING on the province’s climate the New Zealand Official Year Book states, “Nelson has a sunshine record which is equalled by but few parts of the Temperate Zones.” The rainfall averages 38in. yearly, is well spread throughout the year, and heavy falls are unusual. Much heavier rainfall is recorded westward, especially after crossing the Takaka Divide, separating Tasman from Golden Bay.

The principal area of arable land in Nelson Province is the Waimea Plain. Oats, barley, wheat, seed and canning peas, lucerne, and clover for seed and hay are grown on the plain, besides a miscellany of horticultural crops including fruit, vegetables, and hops.

Nelson has a natural port, which is capable of berthing vessels of up to 10,000 tons and is the chief outlet for the district’s produce. Apart from a daily steamer ferry service with Wellington (tri-weekly during winter months), highways connect to Marlborough, North Canterbury, and the West Coast. The railway runs inland for 60 miles to Glenhope, but is yet unconnected to the main South Island system.

Early Cropping Land

Nelson’s early cropping land lies along the foothills of a relatively low mountain range forming the eastern boundary to the Waimea Plain; the main west coast highway nearby passes , through the settlements of Stoke, Richmond, and Brightwater. The range, the soils of which are reasonably fertile, runs inland in a north-westerly direction, and , its slopes face directly to the sun. Proximity to the coast causes air currents to move i down the mountain slopes after nightfall and set up a land breeze which makes possible the growing of early crops on a hillside belt rising to several hundred feet above the plain. > Higher up it is colder and more prone to frost. Indeed there are times, especially in the vicinity of Richmond, 8 miles out from Nelson, when in the early spring hail showers lie white overnight along the hilltops, and should the mountainous back country be snow covered, a clear night may bring a general and damaging frost, the bane of every early crop grower. Normally snow

does not fall on the lower hills, but it is a contingency to be reckoned with occasionally, and, as might be expected, the results to early crops are catastrophic. By far the commonest danger is the so-called black frost. When freezing conditions prevail after the plants are wet with dew or light rain a great deal of damage is done.

A good deal of the hillside is precipitously steep—so steep, in fact, that even hillside ploughing is difficult, and only trusty horses can be used. The amount of cultivation done is, of course, dependent on the steep-

ness. Sometimes where it is impracticable to plough the pea seed is dibbled in after harrowing only. Several types of plough are used, all hillside models. Certain types turn a short broken furrow, whereas others turn a regular long-mouldboard furrow. These differences are believed to be of some importance. The merit of the short furrow is said to lie in the pockets of soil formed after working and weathering offering a good hold for the broadcast pea seed and the deeper soil there favouring ' better growth. More working is often done for potatoes, where the completelyturned furrow is quite satisfactory. , The natural grasses on the slopes are ■ danthonia and browntop, which

are either turnt off or closely grazed before summer ploughing. There is a good deal of variation in the soils along the foothills. Those on the higher faces are of a light, porous, rubbly nature and more suitable for peas, while lower are patches of free-working brown loams, and sometimes medium clay loams, which are more moisture retentive and better fitted for potatoes. Peas are usually the first crop in any rotation, and following ploughing and one or more harrowings the land is then left until after a good soaking rain before the seed peas are broadcast. Should dry weather follow, a

poor strike may necessitate resowing. In the past some of the land broken to the plough has carried heavy gorse, and where this' has been cleared potatoes have cropped well. In ..general the steepest faces are resown to grass after one crop of peas, otherwise a .common rotation is peas followed by rape, potatoes, rape and to grass, or a second crop of potatoes may be taken. As it is necessary to be continually breaking up fresh land, the area available for early cropping is thus distinctly . limited. As might be expected, early cropping calls for land lying to the sun. Aspect is all important. Where the land folds away from the sun’s rays there is a marked difference in growth. Individual areas under early crop average perhaps 3 to 4 acres. While no record of the total hillside area under cultivation is available, there is probably upwards of 100 acres in both out-of-season peas and early potatoes. This may not be all planted at the one time, as Nelson peas, as the result of successional sowings, are available throughout the entire year, while early potatoes come in from August onwards.

Contrary to general expectation soil erosion is not troublesome even on the steepest faces, because the naturally rubbly soil drains without gullying or sheet erosion. In consequence it warms up again very quickly after rain and does not normally lie wet.

Below on the Waimea Plain about 400 acres of main season peas are grown, principally for the canning factory, although there is a . belt of stony alluvial terrace near Brightwater also well suited for early peas. These are drilled in the conventional manner no later than the end of April, and at least one farmer there is of the opinion that the horse team is to be preferred to tractor cultivation, as the stony ground is left uncompacted, free draining, and warm. EARLY PEAS. Practically only one variety of pea, the Emperor or Greenfeast, is grown in Nelson for canning and picking. It is well received by the trade for both purposes, and . there seems little reason to replace it by any other variety. About 2J bushels of seed are sown per acre, usually on lea country without manure. This avoids rank haulm growth, lodging, and the difficulty of picking over lain crops the five or six times necessary for the “earlies.” One picking only is made on the plain for mid-season crops. Sowing Sowing calls for' some considerable skill to ensure even distribution, and, just as for grass seed, there is a definite technique to be learned. About three throws are made in an uphill direction to every handful of peas. Sowing commences in February and March and extends on through April.

The peas are ' harrowed in and those remaining on the surface are sometimes hand covered. As is readily understandable subsequent growth and yield are markedly influenced by the season.’ In years of long warm autumns crops may mature before the shortest day of the year, when they fall into the category of “lates,” while those picked after June are the true “earlies.” Successional sowings are made to spread' the period of maturity and harvest. At times four sowings have been made, the last being near the top of the slope. However, as every gardener , will know, sowings made at regular intervals may mature weeks apart; generally : if the peas have set pods before the onset of cold weather they will mature fairly quickly, otherwise there is a period when they will “hang fire” until warmer weather. Picking and Marketing The peas are picked into kerosene or petrol tins, and if pickers can be found, 1/3 is paid per tin, which contains two pecks or 141 b. Ninepence per tin is' paid for mid-season peas, and up to £1 is earned daily by some of the women who are most adroit at this work. As early peas grow well up on the hillsides, usually only family labour is available for picking, and this is a major factor limiting the area which can be grown. From the hillside the peas are carried or

sledged down and packed in cental bags containing a net weight of about 651 b. for transport to market. In May of this year growers received 1/2 per lb. on consignment in Wellington, where the bulk of the earlies are marketed, whereas up to 2/3 per lb. has been reached in short supply “novelty” demand periods. First earlies often yield less than 15 bags per acre; later the yield increases considerably, and up to 100 bags have been harvested at the most favourable season. The weather is the deciding factor for profit or loss; insects and birds ravage the seed before it is through, and grass-grub, and later birds, hedgehogs, and field mice take their toll of early sowings. Thus, while the consumer may be paying an apparently luxury price for out-of-season produce, the grower is by no means getting rich quickly. His is mostly laborious handwork, and he has to trudge up the hills to tend and harvest his crop. Some growers indeed have been so discouraged by seasonal vagaries and failures that they have given up early cropping in favour of more orthodox and stable farming. Peas shipped from Nelson in the winter months, when there is only a tri-weekly steamer ferry service, go forward on Mondays and Wednesdays only; they have to reach the ship’s side for loading by 3 p.m. and are normally sold on consignment to one

or other of Wellingon’s produce merchants. When cheap air transport is available they may go even further afield to other Dominion metropolitan markets, though at present Wellington is the chief outlet. t . EARLY POTATOES. The early potato crops are planted from February onwards. Varieties being grown in their order of preference are Arran Chief, Arran Banner, and Aucklander Short Top. These are all good croppers, and the young potatoes lie close around the set. Arran Chief appears more resistant than Aucklander Short Top to blight, which makes its appearance from October onwards. No spraying is carried out. As southern certified seed lines are not available for early planting, the practice has grown up of obtaining the required early seed from crops previously planted on the plain

with seed of , southern certified origin which has been dug about December and has had 3 months to mature and sprout. Planting As a rule whole sets of 2oz. or larger size are put in; cutting in later sowings has in some circumstances ' been quite satisfactory. Planting is done with the slope, and the tubers and fertiliser are dug in with a hoe or trenching tool. Plantings along a furrow opened by the plough are less usual. The rows are 2ft. to 2ft. 3in. apart and the sets spaced 12 to 14in. • apart. This requires 25 to 30cwt. of seed per acre, and the planting of 3cwt. per person daily is good going. The comparative closeness of planting is said to produce a cover of foliage giving some protection in the event of frost.

Various manurial mixtures are used, all being normally at a rate of upwards of lOcwt. per acre, and basically composed of superphosphate, along with sulphate of ammonia ■ or blood and bone. Some growers favour distributing > the fertiliser along the surface of rows after planting, and it is worked in later when the sets are earthed. Prior to earthing up some growers may lightly harrow once or more to check weeds. Until comparatively recently Nelson observed the first Monday in August as a provincial holiday, after the English custom of its observance as a bank holiday. Locally styled as “Spud Monday,” this day has become the accepted time for the general planting of early home garden potatoes. , Crops so planted mature in late December. Digging and Marketing Digging of first earlies commences in August and proceeds through to December, by which time the crops from many later plantings on the flats will be on the market. In one instance last season a crop planted in February on a shady hill face made good growth during the autumn and the potatoes held over to come in in August yielded the grower ‘ a handsome return! The first ear lies dug on the foothills in August-September, yield 2 to 3 tons or less per acre, and later in November 4 to 5 tons is average, but much heavier yields have been obtained on occasions. Price control is effective from September 1. The price is pegged at £42 10s. per ton until the end of that month, dropping successively to £3O at the end of October, £2O at the end of November, and £l4 at the end of December. There is a considerable incentive to early production, and free-market prices have exceeded £ 100 per ton. Controlled prices, while assuring the grower of a known return, if the market is available, also encourage digging earlier than might otherwise be the case in order to obtain .the highest price. This practice sacrifices yield capacity to earliness, and often many of the new potatoes coming on the market are rather immature. This perhaps is inevitable where the enterprise is risky and one of the prime considerations is the economic return. There is no magic in connection with Nelson’s ability to produce out-of-season peas and potatoes. Favoured by a genial climate and suitable land, much hard work and many hazards face the producer catering for a highprice market. Not all who toil reap the lucky strike.