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Show Expert Gives Tips On Successful Victory Garden Planning I Utah victory gardeners should buy the best seed possible and ! buy it . early and plan in advance for insect control, Dr. Arvil L. Stark, horticulturist, and Dr. G. F. Knowlton, entomologist, for the Utah Extension service, advised today as they listed several suggestions sug-gestions for early spring garden-j garden-j ers. Dr. Stark warned against buying buy-ing poor seed, as it will produce only poor vegetables. He advised gardeners not to use home produced pro-duced seed, as it is cheaper and better to buy it from commercial commer-cial seed producing companies. Earliest vegetables to be planted plant-ed include radishes, spinach, cabbage, cab-bage, onions, kholrabi, parsley, broccoli, turnips and peas. The exact dates will vary with season and locality, but for the , average season in many parts of Utah, it will be late March and throughout through-out April. He advised saving some seed for replanting in case poor stands result because of unfavorable un-favorable weather after early plantings. Early potatoes, lettuce, peas, swiss chard, carrots, rutabaga, cauliflower, beets, parsnips, cabbage cab-bage and endive, may be planted eration, sometimes more important if j'ou have had little previous experience in gardening methods. The scarcity of insecticides makes it imperative that insects be controlled wherever possible by other means. The refuse of last year's garden should be removed and fences end ditch banks j cleared of all weeds. Weeds, es-; es-; pecially those that come up in i early spring, should be destroyed. They often form 'host plants" for ; insects, thus allowing insects to ! multiply before gardens begin to grow. Early control of grasshoppers grasshop-pers and cutworms is recommended. recommend-ed. "If wireworms - or garden centipedes centi-pedes caused damage ' last year and you do not wish to treat your soil with chemicals, you should select a new plot for your garden if you have available land," Dr. Knowlton emphasized. "Part of an old alfalfa patch is best, as wireworms do not thrive in alfalfa. al-falfa. Rotation of the garden plot aids materially in insect control." A strong vigorous plant often withstands attacks by insects, he said, advising good care of the garden as one of the important features of insect control. a week or two later, sometime as late as May, Dr. Startc said. These crops will stand light frost but not severe cold and gardeners, especially in the higher valleys, should be prepared to replant in case of heavy late frosts. ''Plant large seeds deeper than small seeds," he explained. "Small seeds require a fine, pulverized bed for best germination, and all seeds should be planted deeper in light sandy soils than hi heavy clay soils. After covering, firm the soil over the seeds with a rake or other tool to incure contact." To hasten germination, Dr. Stark suggest soaking larger seeds in water for a day or two, with immediate planting in moist soil after soaking. Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and tomatoes may be seeded directly in the garden to eliminate transplanting. For earlier ear-lier harvest, however, transplanitng usuaDy is better. Discussing preparations for inr sect control, Dr. Knowlton said early planning is an important part of gardening any other op- |
