SOIL PREPARATION 75 
Michigan growers sow rye and vetch together when 
the seeding can be done fairly early in the fall. 
It is always important to use liberal amounts of seed. 
Crimson or medium red clover may be sown in August. 
At each plowing, manure, fertilizer and lime may be 
applied in such amounts as seem desirable. Ultimately, 
the sods may be cut for composting, or the soil prepared 
for the greenhouse as described on page 72, except that 
less manure may be required. Green manures have also 
been grown inside of the greenhouse, but the interval 
between the harvesting of the spring crop and the plant- 
ing of the fall crop is too brief for the development of 
much organic matter, although such cropping may have 
a sanitary effect upon the soil and also improve its 
physical and chemical composition. 
Manuring in the greenhouse.—It is the almost uni- 
versal practice in the large vegetable-forcing establish- 
ments to apply the manure to the soil in the greenhouses 
where the crops are to be grown. It is not difficult to 
understand why this is the favorite practice. There is.no 
question that it is the most economical from the labor- 
saving standpoint, for in many of the best-managed 
places the manure is transported from the car or compost 
heap in manure spreaders, with which it is applied in the 
greenhouse, or by wagons or carts and spread with a 
fork. There is no reason why manure spreaders should 
not be used for this purpose, although carts are more 
convenient to handle, especially in houses containing 
pipe posts or roof supports. In the smaller houses it is 
customary to transport the manure into the houses by 
means of wheelbarrows or hand carts. 
The manure must be well decayed when applied direct 
to the soil of the greenhouse (unless used for a mulch), 
and this requires composting by the same method that 
is so common among market gardeners. That is, the 
manure is hauled from the cars and stacked firmly in 
