THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



were to dig up carefully a clover plant and wash 

 away the soil you would find many little nodules 

 on the roots. These little bunches contain bacteria, 

 and it is these little bacteria which collect and con- 

 vert the free atmospheric nitrogen into an avail- 

 able form for plants to use. Long before the value 

 of these little nodules was recognised it was a known 

 fact that good crops of beans could be produced 

 on land that could not grow a profitable crop of 

 anything else. These bacteria made it possible. In 

 the North the common red clover and rye are the 

 best crops to grow for green manure. The rye is 

 not a legume and cannot fix atmospheric nitrogen, 

 but it makes a heavy growth of foliage, producing 

 when turned under a good amount of humus. 

 From New Jersey south to Georgia the crimson 

 clover will make a good stand and survive the 

 winter. It can be sown any time from July to 

 September; the earlier date is for the northern 

 portion of this territory. The vetches and cow peas 

 have also proven to be valuable green manures. 



With the exception of corn and potatoes, crops 

 do not usually do well on land which has just had 

 a green crop turned under, because of the acidity 



produced by the fermentation. Let the land lay 



[32] 



