CHAPTER V 

 FERTILIZERS FOR MELONS 



The kind and quantity of fertilizers needed for 

 melons will depend very largely upon the kind and 

 condition of the land to be planted. If ordinary 

 farm crops, in which clover or some other legumi- 

 nous crop has a place in the rotation, have been 

 grown on the land for some time, the probability 

 is that the soil will already contain a fair amount, 

 at least, of vegetable matter, which is very essential 

 to the proper growth and development of the mem- 

 bers of the vine family, such as melons, cucumbers, 

 pumpkins, and squashes. As a matter of fact, how- 

 ever, we usually find that in most sections of the 

 country where melons are grown extensively, often 

 covering hundreds of acres, the soil is of a sandy 

 nature, often very light sand, which is deficient in 

 vegetable matter. 



The quickest and cheapest way to supply this to 

 the soil is by means of clover, cowpeas or soy 

 beans. I am aware that in some sections it is quite 

 difficult to get clover to grow successfully, and in 

 such cases the cowpeas or soy beans will answer 

 just as well. They may be sowed at the rate of one 

 bushel per acre at corn-planting time, in which case 

 they will be ready to turn under in the fall, or they 

 may follow an early crop of peas or sugar corn and 

 be handled exclusively as a cover crop, to be 

 " hogged down " during the fall and winter. After 

 one or two of these crops have been incorporated 



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