130 
WISCONSIN HORTICULTURE 
June, 1919 
Standard Fertilizer Analyses for 
Truck and Vegetable Crops. 
Most vegetable crops leave small- 
er humus residue in the soil than 
do field crops. A good crop of oats 
leaves a stubble which plowed un- 
der adds a large amount of organic 
matter to the soil. Sugar-beets, 
on the other hand, are frequently 
harvested top and bottom, one part 
going to the silo and the other part 
sent to the sugar factory. Simi- 
larly, a thick and vigorous grass 
sod plowed under may add as much 
humus to the soil as a coat of ma- 
nure, while a crop of celery is en- 
tirely removed from the soil, and 
makes no return for the organic 
matter destroyed during its growth. 
Vegetable crops, as a class, are 
very “hard” on the soil, and make 
the problem of maintaining organic 
matter very important. 
In years past manure has been 
largely used on vegetables, some- 
times in extravagant and wasteful 
quantities. Today, however, this 
source of supply has been dimin- 
ished. for the “gas tractor leaves 
no organic residue.” Vegetable 
fertilizers must, in general, be 
those which furnish nitrogen in 
“food” quantities, and the other 
plant foods in such supply as will 
grow both the main crop and the 
cover crop needed to maintain hu- 
mus. 
At the outset we must make a 
distinction between vegetables 
grown under field conditions — can- 
nery sweet corn, peas, tomatoes, 
etc. — as against vegetables grown 
under intensive market-gardening 
conditions. Heavier fertilizer ap- 
plications must be used under the 
latter conditions, with of course, 
certain changes in analysis. 
POTATO FERTILIZERS. 
Take potatoes as an illustration. 
Regardless of where grown, quick 
growth is always desirable, and a 
good percentage of nitrogen need- 
ed. Potato fertilizer should also 
always contain potash — for the po- 
tato is preeminently a potash-lov- 
ing crop. When grown as a main 
season crop, as from New Jersey 
north and west, a fertilizer which 
has been largely used in past years 
is a *5 — 8 — 7 for the sandier soils, 
4 — 8 — 6 and 4 — 8 — 4 for the loamy 
soils. Naturally, there have been 
variations from the foregoing anal- 
yses, a very popular fertilizer in 
New Jersey just now being 4 — 8 — 3 
and 4 — 8 — 5. As we go farther 
west the amount of nitrogen is de- 
creased. In Michigan, with more 
nitrogen naturally in the soil, and 
seemingly less phosphoric acid, the 
analysis for field crop potatoes 
changes to 3 — 10 — 4 or 3 — 10 — 2. 
Occasionally, when used with ma- 
nure, a 3 — 12 — 0 can be used to ad- 
vantage. 
WHERE QUICK GROWTH IS ESSENTI \I,. 
On the Eastern Shore of Vir- 
ginia and in the Norfolk trucking 
regions potatoes are grown to reach 
the earliest spring market. Quick 
growth is essential. The difference 
of but a few days in reaching the 
market often makes the difference 
between a profitable price and a 
“ glut-in-the-market ” price. In 
these regions a 7 — 6 — 5 has for 
years been very profitably used. 
We are free to admit that experi- 
ments show 5 — 8 — 5 to be really 
more effective in producing early 
potatoes than a 7 — 6 — ,9, although 
as it happens the total crop is seem- 
ingly increased by the use of a 
large quantity of nitrogen. At the 
same time, a 7 — 6 — 5, which has 
been used for years, is in itself a 
concentrated fertilizer, and there- 
fore, must continue to be offered 
* 5 parts nitrogen, 8 phosphorus, 
7 potash. 
until such time as farmers gener- 
ally find it to their advantage to 
use a fertilizer lower in ammonia. 
Should this fertilizer be used in 
Aroostoek County, Maine, however, 
or in the Wisconsin potato region, 
it would probably result in too 
vigorous a growth of tops, and a 
corresponding failure of the crop 
to “bottom out” well. 
In Maryland, Kentucky and 
other states south, potatoes are 
often grown late in the season, 
planted in July or even in August, 
and harvested very late in the fall. 
This requires fertilizer of a differ- 
ent analysis. Since the crop is 
planted at a time when soil nitro- 
gen is in its most available condi- 
tion, less is needed in the fertilizer. 
This could be accomplished by cut- 
ting in half the acre application, 
but in doing this we would also cut 
down the potash and phosphoric 
acid. It is better to retain the 
normal application, but to reduce 
the nitrogen in the fertilizer. Un- 
der these conditions a 2 — 10 — 6 fer- 
tilizer has given extraordinarily 
good results. It is, therefore, ten- 
tatively listed in the “standards” 
as a special analysis for a special 
purpose. 
TRUCK-CROP VEGETABLES. 
For vegetables grown under 
“extensive” conditions, fertilizers 
of the 3 — 10 — 4 series are used to 
excellent advantage — the various 
members being 3 — 10 — G. 3 — 10 — 4, 
3 — 10 — 2 and 3 — 12 — 0. These 
contain more nitrogen and the acre 
application is also higher than for 
staple crops, so that the amount of 
nitrogen is increased in two ways. 
The selection of fertilizer from 
this group depends principally 
upon the soil, but partly upon the 
crop. All root crops respond to 
potash. Therefore, beets, sugar- 
beets, mangels, carrots and pars- 
nips should usually have fertilizer 
