TILLAGE 73 



and early spring. After these have produced a few inches of growth 

 in the spring they may be turned under and the ground well 

 disced, rolled and harrowed. If enough lime is present even a 

 heavy application of such green manure will not make the soil 

 sour. The humus obtained from the rotting of green manure pro- 

 duces remarkable results in the increase of crops of all kinds. 

 Green manure is much cheaper than stable manure if time can be 

 allowed for its growth. 



Many garden crops will stand heavy applications of barnyard 

 manure without injury. If manure can be obtained without too 

 great an expenditure of money and labor it is the quickest way of 

 improving our garden soils. Applications vary all the way from 

 three tons to twenty tons per acre, depending upon the crops to be 

 grown. If very heavy applications are to be made the manure 

 should be thoroughly incorporated with the soil by very deep plow- 

 ing, discing, rolling and harrowing. 



One of the greatest dangers from the use of heavy applications 

 of green manure or stable manure is that a pad or layer of organic 

 matter may be placed on the bottom of the furrow, and the moist- 

 ure supply shut off during the growing season. This condition 

 must be avoided. Thorough spreading of the manure and thorough 

 harrowing and discing after the plowing will tend to incorporate 

 the soil with the organic matter and thus allow capillary moisture 

 to continue rising as it is needed by the growing crop. 



Gardeners using commercial fertilizers always find it profit- 

 able. It is best to study the special needs of each crop and supply 

 the particular forms of fertilizer which are needed in each case. 

 A complete fertilizer is one which contains all three of the so-called 

 fertilizing elements, nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash. If the 

 ingredients are purchased for supplying each of these three chem- 

 icals they can be mixed by the gardener in proportions best suited 

 for each crop. It is not good practice to buy a complete fertilizer 

 for all kinds of crops because the same mixture will not suit them 

 all equally well. The dealer or manufacturer who does the mixing 

 usually applies unnecessary filler, which requires the expenditure 

 of money and labor in shipping and hauling. 



Tillage. — The preparation of a good seed bed is one of the marks 

 of good gardening. Deep, thorough plowing, harrowing immedi- 

 ately after plowing, planking or rolling to fine the surface, harrowing 

 the surface to maintain a loose mulch, all are valuable practices in 

 the garden (Fig. 48). Never, let the soil become cloddy, hard or 



