CHAPTER IX 



SEEDING DOWN WITH A TARE CROP 



In ordinary rotations grass and mixtures are usually 

 sown with a corn crop, following roots, potatoes, or 

 a corn crop, the corn crop acting as a nurse crop for 

 the " seeds " mixture. Precisely the same method 

 may be followed with a tare crop sown after a root 

 or other fallow crop. 



Generally speaking, it. will be found that a grass 

 seed mixture sown with tares "takes better ;" that 

 is, the grass seeds get a better hold of the land, make 

 a more even sward, and give a far better hay crop, or 

 form a better pasture than when the land is sown 

 with a cereal crop. Probably the chief reason of 

 this is that the tare crop is usually cleaned off the 

 land earlier in autumn than is a cereal crop, thus 

 giving the " seeds " -greater freedom to become 

 established. 



In addition, a cereal crop is very exhaustive of soil 

 nitrogen, but the tare crop assimilates nitrogen from 

 the atmosphere, some of which is used by the tare 

 crop itself, but in addition, the tares store up a good 

 supply of this all-important fertiliser in the soil, and 

 this becomes available for the grass seeds. 



The time of sowing grass seeds mixtures with a 

 tare crop will vary according to circumstances. In 

 the case of an autumn-sown crop of tares it is better 

 to sow the grass seeds mixture in the following 

 spring, but before doing so it is usually very desirable 



