NURSERY PRACTICE FOR PRAIRIE-PLAINS PLANTING < 6 



With soil-preparation work in the spring lessened, subsequent 

 operations may get under way sooner. 



Fall plowing allows the seedbed to become settled. 



It permits some decomposition of crop residues and organic fertilizers. 



It may help in the destruction or checking of certain insect and 

 disease pests. 



Further preparation of the soil before sowing in the spring should 

 await favorable soil-moisture conditions, since stirring the ground 

 when it is too wet may result in a puddled soil. When moisture 

 conditions are favorable, the entire area should be disked, and, if 

 necessary, cross disked. The necessary leveling should also be done 

 at this time. If the area is subject to blowing, it may be necessary 

 to prepare each individual block just preceding sowing rather than 

 the entire area at one time. 



Ordinarily on fall- or winter-plowed areas, disking at the proper time 

 in the spring will constitute adequate preparation, but in some 

 instances harrowing with a spike-tooth or spring-tooth harrow will be 

 necessary to pulverize the soil properly. Rolling or culti-packmg is 

 seldom necessary after fall plowing but will frequently prove desirable 

 after spring plowing to settle the seedbed. 



With well-prepared seedbeds and properly handled seed, sowing 

 resolves itself into getting the best possible adjustment of the three 

 primary factors, namely, season, density, and depth of sowing. The 

 method employed is but a means of obtaining the desired correlation 

 and is, therefore, secondary. The practice of ridging the rows fol- 

 lowing sowing is also secondary, since it is merely a means of protecting 

 the seed until germination takes place. 



Row Spacing 



Distance between rows is governed by the spacing which will give 

 the maximum production of premium-grade seedlings per acre at the 

 lowest cost per thousand. Many items of nursery cost, such as 

 sowing, care during germination, weeding, thinning, hand cultivating 

 and hoeing, digging, and, to a certain extent, power cultivating, 

 irrigating, and supervision, are largely governed by the number of 

 miles of lineal row in the nursery rather than the number of acres. 



Row spacing may be as close as 10 inches if overhead irrigation is 

 available (fig. 20) and if a lifter is available that will dig five rows at 

 a time. 



Where ditch irrigation is used, the Forest Service nurseries have 

 used row spacing ranging from 16 to 42 inches. Spacing as close as 

 21 inches requires that the nursery tract be properly leveled for 

 irrigation. With the equipment now used and from the experience 

 obtained, it appears that a row spacing of 21 to 27 inches will produce 

 the maximum amount of usable stock of most species at the lowest 

 cost per thousand. With an average production of (i to 8 usable 

 seedlings per lineal foot, this row spacing will grow approximately 

 150,000 seedlings per acre (table 20). 



