3^ 



FRISH GARDKNINO 



Vegetables all the Year Round/" 



Till-: i.r.Mln>ti..u ..r v.'.u.-lal.l.'s all th.' yaf i;.uiul 

 is a V( r> laiiic svil)jt'«t. ami soiiit- of the vaiittiis 

 wuulil. iviiuirc a iiain-r df rdiisidcralilf lcii^;tli I" 

 tl»,-ins.-lv.-s. Tlifn-foiv. wlicii tlw wln.lc siiI.j.mI 

 has t.i Ix' ili-alt. witli. my iia|MT tan oiiU li" a 

 siipfiluial record of thf vaiious ojifi-at ions. It 

 is (lilVKult. to luaki- oiu-'s n-iiiarks aiiplical.!-' .vrn 

 lo a small majority of (liLs mc.'tinir. as no two 

 families nMiiiin- (lu- saim- \ f^'ftahlcs. i:\.r> 

 i,'ar(l,cii«'r has lo study his .•mi>loyi'r and -iiow su.li 

 as will l»i' most, rstt'fiiifd and in (Ifiiiaud,. 1 am 

 not. ii.>inu: to advoratc foniiij,' votcet aides under 

 artilieial eoud.it ions, only surh as will assist in 

 maintainini; the supply duriii),' the year round 

 eonsistent with t!ie accommodation aiul nu'aiis 

 availahle for this work. I am of oi>inion. if it 

 were only knowi\ how much niore d.eUcious all 

 veijelables are when in seas(ui tlian when forced, 

 the -greater bulk of employers would discard the 

 use of forced ve^'.-tables. There is jirohahly 

 another \ntinl on which tliere misht be a diversit y 

 <.f o|)inion — i.e., the variation in .soils, situations 

 and t^MUperatures. 



Here in South Dublin vnu are admirably 

 situated- wi'H sheltered from tin- uortli and west, 

 with the warm ebb and tlow of the tidt' batliiuK 

 vour atuu)spiu're iiito a congenial clinuitc 

 suitable for the growth of plants. Again, you 

 ai'e favoured in being situated in tlu' di'i<'st 

 province in Ireland.. witl\ ai\ average rainfall of 

 2t)" and mean temperature of 42°. while in Co. 

 l)own tlie average rainfall is '.52", while tlie mean 

 temperature is Kr' : therefore it cannot reasonably 

 b(. expected that the lower temi)erature and, 

 heavier rainfall of Co. Down rtmld <()mi)are in 

 earliness to the lighter rainfall ajid higher 

 temperature of Co. Dublin. 



When it i.s desired to grow ]dants in the open 

 air. the tirst question of vital importance which 

 asserts itseU is : " What are the climatic condi- 

 tions which prevail in the locality?" When I 

 say climatic conditions, I mean the rainfall, 

 tem]ierature and prevailing wind. 



It is quite evident that some d.istricts are n\oro 

 favourable for horti(-ultural developments than 

 othei-s —for instance, in tlie Suir Valley, Co. 

 Kilkeiui> . oicjiardists can grow excellent dessert 

 aiiples. while in Co. Armagh they do very poorly — 

 we uuist, therefore, remember that we are in two 

 (listin(;t counties and in different degrees of 

 latitude. Yovir climate and situation is sviperb. 

 being warm and sufficiently moist during most 

 seasons; there are, of covirse, exce]jtions, such as 

 an extren\ely wet or dry season. 



I cannot ])ass on further without alluding to 

 that most im,portant factor " the soil." I may 

 take it as a foregcme conclusion that the great 

 majority of yo\i gardeners are dealing with " old 

 garden soils," and, to my niind and ex])orience, 

 they require more consideratioii and a,ttention 

 than new gardens attached to modern residences. 

 These old garden soils may originally have Ijeen 

 clay, loamy or light sandy soils, but by the con- 

 stant a])]>lication of jiianure, compost materials, 

 cKrc, their texture and constituents have greatly 



* Read by Mr. Jas. Scrimgeour, Albert 

 Agricultural College Gardens, before the Kings- 

 town (iar(le Tiers' As.sociation. 



.hanged., anil very ofUn b.couu' what is known 

 .IS a sick soil, and plants fail to grow in them. 

 Tin- cause of tiiis sickm-ss is an exc(>ss of hunuis, 

 which makes the soil sour arul destroys the 

 nitrif\ing soil oi-ganisms tlial were ])resent. An 

 api)li<ati<m of quicklime and ce.ise a|)]ilying any 

 kind of organic m.inuie is t.he onl> way by whicli 

 fertility is rest.ored. I ha\c seen gas-Hme used 

 I'oi- this purpose with no ai)pi'e<iable licnetit : 

 (pii.klinu- is moic suital>l<-. as it has a mechaiii.al, 

 «liemical and. biological action on the soil, 

 changing the texture, m.iking stilT soils more 

 friable, and giving cohesion to loose sandy sidls. 

 Probably the next, most important operation 

 that retpiires serious .it tent ion is the woi-king <(f 

 the soil. This can (Uil> !>!■ altaiiird by digging 

 and ti'enching. .V word i>|. two <>n l he b. st way 

 of pri-rorminu' tliose op.i'rat inns will not lie out of 

 pl.M-... Di^uinu is lu.T.'K imninL; >>\>-y I !m- top 

 (welve or louitrrn in.h.s of soil with a spad.. or 

 fork, while trrn<hing. if we are to be successful 

 in gardening, is not dillicult when pr(q)erly 

 carried out. The following method is simple, vet 

 elTef live :— Dig a trench two or three feet w'ide 

 and one s])ade deep across tin- end of the ]tlot of 

 ground it is intended to cultivate removing the 

 soil taken oiit> to th.' furtiier i-w\ of the i)l(d, then 

 with .1 s|iade or loik llioi'oughly pulverise the 

 subsoil in tlie trench to a depth of twelve or 

 fourteen inches, place a layer of manure on the 

 to]), covering w-itli the top s])it of tlie second 

 trench, and «<> on until the ]dot is finished. If 

 the work is eveiily and proi»erly done the last 

 trench will be lllled exactly with the soil taken 

 out of the llrst trench. The imjiortance of 

 trenching in this way cannot be overestimated. 

 The soil is ojiened up, water iiercolates d,own- 

 wards freely, air — so necessary to ])lant life — 

 gets down to the roots, and the i)lants are alile to 

 withstand drought and heat. I am no longer an 

 advocate of true trenching — that Ls, Ijringing the 

 subsoil to the top ami. burying the to]> spit in 

 the bottom, even if a soil is known as soil sick, the 

 rectifier or medicine required in this case is an 

 ap])li(;ation of quicklime and no manure. 



Rotation of crops deserves some attention, as 

 this facilitates the clearing of certain jdots at a 

 time suitable for the recejition of the croji to 

 follow. If we arc to keep u]> a su])ply of vege- 

 tables dxiring the round of each year, an arrange - 

 nu^nt of this kind is essential. I usually divide 

 my cro])s as follows : — 



'fulierous crops — potatoes. 



Pod-bearing crops— iJeas and beans. 



Fibrous rooting crops- — spinach, lettuce and 

 turnip, and seakale, beet or silver. 



Leaf-headed crops — all the cabbage family. 



Dee]i-rooted crops — Tripoli and spring 

 onions, carrots, beet, parsnips, celery 

 and leeks. 



Permanent crops. — Hhubaib. seakale. as- 



jiaragus, .Terusalem and (ilobe art.i- 



chokes and herbs. 



Early bordei's are utilised foi- early siiring 



vegetables, such as early potatoes, cabbage, 



lettuce, parsley, beet, turniiis, radishes and 



seed beds, and in each case, as the croii is matured 



and cleared, the borders are again tilled up with 



French beans, marrows, autumn lettuce, winter 



spinach, parsley and autvimn seed beds. 



A great deal of ]ireliminary work has to be gone 

 into, as yon may observe, before the actiial 



