MANURES AND FERTILIZERS 23 



Preparation of the Garden Soil. — Soil preparation for the 

 garden depends upon the nature and the kind of soil with 

 which you have to deal. The heavy, stiff clay soils should 

 be plowed in the fall, because the action of the frost during 

 the winter will break up the soil into fine particles and render 

 it more suitable for planting. The fall plowing also adds more 

 moisture to the soil. The snow and rain which fall during 

 the winter and the early spring months lodge in the crevices 

 and rough furrows and gradually melt and soak into the 

 ground, thus saving a large amount of moisture which other- 

 wise would run off and be lost. 



Fall plowing of light sandy soils is not so important. In 

 fact in windy sections of the country it is not advisable to 

 fall plow loose sandy ground, because a large part of the 

 surface soil will be blown away. However, in those sections 

 where winds do not exist fall plowing is recommended because 

 it reduces the spring work and many plants can be set 

 earlier. 



In all cases where fall plowing is not practical early spring 

 plowing should be the rule. Sandy soils will bear plowing 

 much earlier than heavy, clay soils, because the loose soils dry 

 out faster than the stiff, compact types, as the clays. 



Deep plowing should invariably be the rule. In fact, it is 

 a question whether it is possible to have too deep a seed-bed, 

 especially if good cultural methods are practised. A seed- 

 bed from 8 to 10 inches deep is satisfactory and should be 

 the aim of all growers of garden produce. 



Manures and Fertilizers. — The best fertilizer that can be 

 given to the garden is barnyard manure. This material 

 not only adds plant food but supplies much organic matter 

 and finally produces humus. When there is plenty of water 

 available, either natural or artificial, you cannot spread too 

 much manure on your garden. A longer time will be required 

 to decay and make available the plant food in all manures 

 that have large amounts of straw or litter present, and a 

 greater amount of water will be necessary to reduce them. 



Barnyard manures should usually be spread on the garden 

 during the early fall and turned under as soon as the soil is 

 covered. The ground should be left rough and not harrowed 



