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Have you got your
NATIONAL GROWMORE FERTILISER?
You will need it for dressing your land
before sowing and planting. It contains the three essential plant foods in
balanced proportions, and 42 lb. is enough for 300 square yards. The January
"Guide" explained how it should be used.OTHER REMINDERS
Finally, see that your tools are in good condition for
use. When you
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start outdoors you will
need a line for straightness and pegs to mark the rows. And you would find a
6-ft. rod, marked off in 6in. and 3 in. sections, very useful.
And continue to have a look at your stored crops to see that there is no
damage or decay. Rub off any potato sprouts n your eating crop in store.
Lift any outdoor parsnips to check growth, storing them under protection at
the north side of a fence or wall, if you can. |
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CROP ROTATION
is most important
Some gardening beginners have no doubt
been puzzled by the term "crop rotation." It sounds a bit mysterious, but it
is really quite simple. And it is the only sound basis for vegetable
growing. To be a successful gardener you must be methodical. What does "crop
rotation" mean? Simply arranging your cropping is such a ways to avoid
growing the same kinds of crops on any section of your plot one year after
another. To grow the same crop on the same ground year after year is bad
gardening for several reasons. There is also the risk that diseases and
pests will be increased in the soil to attack again the following year.
Rotation of vegetable crops affects the condition of your land in four
important ways.> It ensures that every
part of your plot carriers, at regular intervals, crops that require
thorough soil cultivation. |
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> It helps to maintain the content of
plant food and humus in all parts of the plot. Some crops will repay for
heavier dressing of fertilisers than others, and some will get what farmyard
manure or compost is available. > It
helps to control weeds, for different crops need different cultivations at
different seasons; though weeds may withstand the appropriate cultivations
for one crop, they may be kept down by the cultivations for another crop.
> It helps to control pests and
diseases.
The Ministry of Agriculture recommends a
three-year "crop rotation" for a 300 sq. yd. plot, and its
official cropping
plan, which is free for the asking, has enjoyed a wide circulation. |
