A WISE GARDENER PLANS FOR THE FUTURE

Te Ao Hou, June 1960, Page 56

A WISE GARDENER PLANS FOR THE FUTURE During the winter months when plant life is resting, the wise gardener plans future activities in the Home Garden, pending the arrival of spring growth and the busy time of the year, when according to weather conditions planting and other necessary work must be accomplished. Maintenance and harvesting of autumn planted crops such as Brassica types, must be attended to, and all vacant areas dug over and allowed to fallow until spring planting takes place. Always remember to rotate the crops. For instance where cabbage, cauliflower and lettuce (Brassica) have been removed, replant the area with such crops as carrots, parsnip or potatoes. Always order seed supplies of potatoes early. Firstly to permit of greening and to allow the tubers to develop strong hardy shoots. Purchase Government certified seed for preference as today virus disease is very prevalent and is often the cause of failure with this crop. It has been noted over the past year or two that in many instances, Maori Home Gardeners tend to leave spring planting of their vegetable gardens until fairly late in the season. According to the district and where soil is of a light nature crop failures very often eventuates owing to dry conditions being experienced early in the summer months. Crop rotation in relation to the production of a specific type of vegetable can be explained by the fact that a member of one particular vegetable family is not planted in the same plot year after year. Plants such as carrots, parsnip, etc., live on certain plant foods which they acquire from various levels of the soil structure and they are at times subject to different types of disease, therefore if we planted a potato crop immediately after harvesting tomatoes and the fungus disease which attacks the tomato plant was present it would be transmitted to the potato crop owing to the spores being present in the soil, but if cabbages, beans and peas were grown such diseases could not survive. Leguminous crops such as peas and beans always take nitrogen from the air and transmit same to the soil when dug under, while root crops always have the tendency to break up and loosen the sub-soil. It must also be emphasised that a complete fertiliser applied to the garden is always beneficial. It has been the writer's experience on numerous occasions to find that the Home Gardener is always confident if he makes a dressing of perhaps Blood and Bone, or Super Phophate, forgetting possibly one of the most essential elements, Potash. Under various trade names complete fertilisers containing Nitrogen, Phosphates and Potash are prepared for the home gardener's convenience.