The coastland times with which is combined the pilot and herald of Belhaven and Swan Quarter. [volume] (Manteo, N.C.) 1959-1973, 1961-03-03
GARDENING
and FARMING
IN DARE
All In Dare
By J. L. REA, Co. -Agt.

with the North Carolina Forestry
Service, obtained these films and
showed them to boys. One Of the
film pointed out how destructive
forest fires are in North Carolina
A forest area the size of South
Carolina burns each year in the
industrial growth of our State.
Many people in Norh Carolina de-
rive their income from our forest
land. The old idea that woodland
should be burned off each year has
passed out of date. We have come
to realize that trees are a crop and
1t is still not too late to
plant tree seedlings and if you
have land not being used it could be
profitable to set pine seedlings.
Sun Trap
Ever wonder how that "early
bird" neighbor of yours always
manages to be two or three weeks
ahead of you with the first spring
flowers-or with the first toma-
toes?
Chances are that somewhere
around his place, i'm an out-of-the-
way, sheltered nook, you'll find a
little glass or pastic-covered "sun
trap" called a coldframe.
Well, you can get running start
on the season, too, if you just take
time to collect some boards, find
a suitable spot and start building.
A coldframe only a feet wide and
4 feet to 10 feet long will be large
Enough to grow dozens of tough,
husky little seedlings that will be
ready to set out in your flower beds
and garden rows when other folks
are just beginning to think about
sowing seeds. Locate your cold
frame where it can get full sun all
day long. If the soil is heavy, re-
move inches or inches of it and
put in a 6 inch layer of cinders OF
coarse gravel as a base for your
seeded.
! Make the seedbed inches or
inches deep. Mix two parts of gar
den soil, one part of peatmoss or
some other form of humus and sift
through a half or quarterback
screen. A pint of bonemeal or a
couple of quarts of dry screened
manure per bushel of screened
seeded soil mixture will provide
more than enough plant food. Make
your frame eight to twelve inches
deep in front and fourteen to eigh-
teen inches at the back, facing the
sun.
If you can find some old storm
window sashes, you can build the
frame to fit them. Corner posts and
any wood below ground will last for
years if treated first with wood
preservaive.
Before you plant the seed in ear
ly spring, soak down the seeded
with water, then let it dry and
warm up for a few days. Cover it
with an old blanket or burlap bags
at night to keep the frost out.
Cold weather crops, such as cab
bage, broccoli, lettuce, pansies,
sweetpeas, and snapdragons can
be sown even when temperatures
still drop to freezing or below out
side the frame.
Tender things, like tomatoes,
peppers and begonias, must wait
until temperatures no longer drop
below freezing. Start these indoors
and transfer them to the frame
when frost danger is past. Once
planted, don't let seeds or plants
in the coldframe ever dry out. On
warm, sunny days raise the sash
and prop it open to prevent tenn
perature inside the frame from
mounting too high. Usually two or
three hours of ventilation at mid
day will be enough.
You will be surprised how some
old storm window sashes can be
used to trap warmth from the sun
and give plants an early start.
New Fruits And Vegetables .
Plant Scientist are constantly
Meu eonpoId o. 1904 qoee Su!N1oM
and better varieties. Four new
Irish potato varieties were deve-
Hoped for the market this year:
Catoosa, Redskin, Blanca, and Ma
vajo.
Catoosa is the first red-skinned
potato resistant to both late blight
and scab. Redskin, also resists scab
and leafroll and has set record
yields. Blanca and Navajo, sister
varieties, are good bakers; also
make excellent chips either before
or after storage. Blanca is highly
resistant to scab. Navajo also
shows some resistance and both
have been outstanding in yield and
quality.
Nugget, a high-yielding sweet
potato, resists internal cork and
tolerates fusarium wilt. Potatoes
reach marketable size about 10
days before the Porto Rico.
Paul Bunyan tomato, bears tasty,
solid giant fruits that average 10
to IA o., color up uniformly to an
attractive, overall brilliant scarlet.
~ H..