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It was not intended that gardeners should follow it
slavishly, for what suits one part of the country does not suit another. And
people have different tastes in vegetables. The Ministry's plan aims at two
important things––crop rotation and a sufficiency of vegetables throughout
the year, especially in winter when so many gardens still show the scarcity
of crops that results from poor planning.
The right approach for the
gardener is, first to find out what vegetables grow satisfactorily in his
neighbourhood, and then decide which of them he will grow, bearing in mind
his family's likes and dislikes. He should then divide his plot into three
equal parts. For simplicity we will call them A, B and C. On plot A he will
grow the first year |
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potatoes and other roots––parsnips (if his family like
them), carrots, beet and so on. On plot B he will grow green vegetables ––
all the cabbage family; and on plot C he will grow peas, beans, onions and
leeks.*
If farmyard manure is difficult
to get (it is in most districts) and the gardener has to eke out the compost
we hope he has made, he should manure each year only on the section that is
to grow peas, beans, onions and leeks. So in three years the whole plot will
be manured.
Now what happens to the plan the
second year? He should just move his three groups round. On plot A, go the
peas and beans, onions, etc.; on plot B, the potatoes and root crops and on
plot C, the green vegetables. |
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