February, 1914 



THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



Vegetable Ga^rden 



Notes for February. 



Beans just now are one of our 

 stajile vegetables. They may be 

 sowni for the next month or so, and 

 a-f often as required. Being hardy, 

 as well as very prolific, no difficul- 

 ty is experienced in getting satis- 

 factory crops. Select well tilled 

 land, enrich it with plenty of ani. 

 mal manure to keep the soil open, 

 and add a little fertiliser. In a 

 long series of experiments at Roth- 

 ainstead, in England, it has been 

 amply demonstrated that potash 

 manures promote the growth of 

 beans. 



No manure will do for the crop 

 what good common sense cultiva- 

 tion does. You can manure freely 

 and then fail. But you never will 

 fail if you manure and hoe toge- 

 ther. Far better a light manur- 

 ing and frequent stinrings of the 

 soil and all the watering necessary, 

 than a strong dose of fertiliser 

 and the rest shunted on Provi- 

 dence. Sometimes you get a "leg- 

 in" by leaving your battlings to 

 chance : most times you fail. 



Then sow your beans, no matter 

 what variety, in the best soil pos- 

 sible, in shallow trenches, two 



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Call early and inspect, or write us 

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BANK STREET, ADELAIDE, 

 SOLB IMPORTERS. 



rows of seed to each trench, 



seeds eight inches apart, and cover 

 thii. seed with an inch of friable 

 soil. Prevent the surface baking 

 by scattering some old manure. 

 Wa,ter freely. Use only the dwarf 

 varieties. The pole, or runners, 

 are rather too late, unless for tro- 

 I>icaf climates. Avoid sowing too 

 many at one time. Rather do one 

 good row to-morrow, and another 

 a fortnight hence, than put out a 

 hundred feet row now and do no 

 more. Pick the beans before the 

 seeds get too prominent, and 

 while they snap. Stringy things 

 are useless in the kitchen. 



Beets, both red and silver, can 

 be sown this m.onth, the red for 

 root growth, and the other for the 

 leaves. The red are sown in drills 

 in rich ground, and thinned out 

 suffiiciently to allow each root to 

 swell as large as the palm of your 

 hand. To do this you must give 

 the plants " elbow room," and 

 manure as well. Scatter the seeds 

 in rows anything from i8 to :^o 

 inches apart. Ample waterings are 

 necessary. Keep the soil ^vell bro- 

 ken between the rows, and in se- 

 I'ecting the seedlings save the stur- 

 dier plants. Beets can be saved 

 throusrh the winter by being care- 

 fully dug, I stacked and first covered) 

 with a straw thatch, then with a 

 coating of earth to keep out the 

 air. Break off the leaves not closer 

 than three inches from the root. 



The silver beet is grown for leaf 

 and not for root. It Is perennial 

 and can be kept leaf-producing for 

 months. "Well-m'anured soil, loamy 

 in texture is the best for this 

 beet. Still, good results can be 

 had in lic^ht sandy soils. Sow the 

 seed carefully in drills, cover it 

 ligihtlv. thin out the plants and 

 keep them always moving. Four- 

 teen inches between each plant will 

 do. 



Broccoli, like the cauliflower, is 

 grown for the flower or head. Un. 

 fortunately the flower is not pro- 

 duced as quickly as the ordinary 

 cauliflower, and for this reason 

 the vegetable is no favaurite here. 

 There is no sense in wasting time 

 and land over things which are 

 not as good nor as easily grown 

 as some of our staple products. 

 Broccoli is really a cold country 

 vegetable. 



Brussels Sprouts belong to the 

 cabbage tribe, and are grown for 

 the sake of the spronts which are 

 produced along the main stetn. 



39 < 



Treat the seed as you would cab- 

 bage, aud transplant the seedlings 

 when as high as your longest fin- 

 ger, giving each 20 inches clear 

 room. Quite six months are re- 

 quired to mature a crop of the 

 slow-growing sprouts. Good, rich, 

 well-drained soil suits this class of 

 vegetable. Over-manuring goes 

 against the production of the 

 sprouts. In windy places the 

 stems may be earthed up a little 

 to give them, better support. The 

 cabbage head should not be cut 

 off until the crop is ready for ga- 

 thering. A sharp knife should al- 

 ways be used to make a clean cut 

 when gathering the sprouts. Tear- 

 ing them off with a part of the 

 stem adhering spoils the chance of 

 a second crop. 



On the subject of how to obtain 

 monstrous Carrots such as seen 

 on the exhibition table, a success- 

 ful grower writes : — The ground 

 should be deeply trenched, working 

 in plenty of soot as the work pro- 

 ceeds. When ready to sow rake 

 the surface down level. Afterwards 

 stretch a line across the ground 

 18 inches apart, then, with a. crow- 

 bar against the line, holes should 

 be made 12 inches apart and 2 feet 

 deep and 4 inches across at the 

 top. These must be filled up with 

 a mixture of three parts sifted 

 loam, two parts leaf soil, and a 

 half part of wood ashes and dry 

 powdered fowl manure. Make the 

 soil moderately firm, and sow a 

 few seeds on the top of each, to 

 be ultimately thinned out to one. 

 Keep them well watered during 

 dry weather, and fine soil should 

 be placed around the collar of each 

 as the season advances to prevent 

 the crown from becoming g^een. 

 They will, when pulled, be found 

 to be splendid shape, of gaod 

 colour, and free from side growth 

 and strongy roots. 



As a rule Horse-radish is grown 

 at all is relegated to some out ol 

 the way comer of the garden and 

 no attention paid to it. It is far 

 more wholesome than sauces or 

 relishes, and possesses valuable 

 medicinal qualities which might be 

 taken advantage of by neuralgic 

 and rheumatic persons, and there- 

 fore deserves wide and more ra- 

 tional culture. 



Cabbage may be grown all the 

 year round. We have varieties for 

 all seasons, and good ones at that. 

 For present plantings use Succas- 

 sion or Drumhead. These trans- 

 plant csasHv and do well. In seed- 

 sowings take some later sort, or 

 one of the good Savoys that carry 

 a nice crinkly leaf, as these are 

 better doers in the winter season. 



