Inter-Planted Crops 121 



The time of sowing the crop will depend on conditions, 

 the kind of crop to be used, the needs of the orchard, and 

 perhaps the other work required in the orchard during the 

 latter part of the season. If the crop used is one that is 

 killed by frost, it usually should be sowed not later than 

 the middle of July or at the time of the last cultivation of 

 the orchard. In the case of cowpeas, soybeans, or other 

 crop commonly planted in rows and cultivated, earlier 

 sowing may be practicable. Then the tillage of the improve- 

 ment-crop will also serve as tillage for the orchard. Plate 

 XI shows a crop of soybeans planted in a peach orchard 

 in this manner, while Plate XII shows one where cowpeas 

 have been broadcasted. 



On the other hand, if the crop is rye, vetch, rape, or 

 any other that withstands frost and even makes good 

 growth during the cool weather of late fall, it may be 

 put in at any time from September 15th to November 

 1st, or perhaps even later in the warmer sections of the 

 country. 



Expediency w^ill also determine in a measure when the crop 

 should be planted. ^Vhen possible, it may be wise to defer 

 seeding until after the fruit is harvested. 



While in apple orchards improvement- or mulch-crops are 

 often sowed with a view to maintaining the orchard under a 

 sod or mulch system for a period of years, such a crop is 

 rarely sown in a peach orchard except to turn under the 

 following spring at the latest. 



In the case of a crop that lives over winter, if soil-moisture 

 conditions permit, it is a common practice to allow it to make 

 considerable growi:h in the spring before it is plowed under, 

 thus increasing the amount of vegetable matter to put into 

 the soil. 



