Handling Orchard Soil
Categories: Soils, Fertilizers and IrrigationWe average about 35 inches of rainfall. With this heavy rainfall, is
there any advantage to be gained by early plowing and clean cultivation
right through the winter? Would such plowing and cultivation result in
any serious loss of plant food? Would you advise an early or late
application of nitrogen, such as nitrate or guano? If there is any loss
from an early application, can it be determined by any means?
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Growing Horse Beans
Does the soil need to be inoculated for horse beans? I intend to plant five acres about January 1, on the valley border in Placer county and they get heavy frost in the morning. Does frost hurt them? How shall I plant them? California experie... Growing Lentils
Give information regarding the planting and raising of lentils. Can they be grown in the Sacramento valley in the vicinity of Colusa, and at a profit? Lentils are as easily grown in California as common peas, and will do well as a field crop ... Growing Niles Peas
How shall I plant and handle a crop of Niles peas? Niles peas are hardy and will make a good crop on any good soil, if planted early in the season so as to make the main part of their growth before the heat of the summer comes on. Under garden... Growing Olives From Seed
How are seedlings grown from olive seeds? Growing olives from seeds is promoted by assisting nature to break the hard shell. This can be done by pinching carefully with ordinary wire pliers until the shell cracks without injury to the kernel, ... Growing Onion Seed And Sets
Will you give localities of the leading production of onion seed or dry sets in your State? Onion seed is grown in several parts of the State, largely in the Santa Clara valley adjacent to the city of San Jose. Onion sets are largely produced... Growing Pigs On Roots And Barley
We can raise all kinds of root crops, such as carrots, sugar beets, rutabagas, etc., and cow peas and pumpkins do wonderfully well. Will hogs do well an that kind of diet, especially if given a little barley with it? The plants that you menti... Growing Strawberry Plants
In a patch of strawberries planted this spring, is it advisable to cut off runners or root some of them? In planting strawberries in matted rows, it is usual to allow a few runners to take root and thus fill the row. It is the judgment of plan... Growing Sweet Potato Plants
How shall I make a hot-bed to raise sweet potato plants? I don't mean to put glass over bed, but want full description of an up-to-date outfit for raising them. Manure hot-beds have been largely abandoned for growing sweet potato slips, thoug... Growing Sweet Potatoes
Please inform me how to keep sweet potatoes for seed; also how many pounds it takes for one acre, and what distance apart to plant, and the time to plant. Sweet potatoes may be kept from sprouting by storage in a cool, dry place. Sweet potato... Growing Vetch For Hay
How many pounds of vetch seed should be sown to the acre? How many tons per acre in the crop? As I desire to change my crop, having to some extent exhausted the soil with oats, how advisable will it be to sow wheat with the vetch to give it some... Gumming Of Prune Trees
I write to ask for information concerning my prune trees. They are from two to six years old and the gum is exuding from them. As I notice the branches dying I cut them out, but this doesn't seem to save the tree. I would appreciate any informat... Gypsum And Alfalfa
What is gypsum composed of? Is it detrimental to land in future years? Have the lands of California any black alkali in them? I notice my neighbors who sow gypsum on their alfalfa get a very much better yield of hay than those who do not. Gyp... Gypsum On Grain Land
Is there any profit in sowing gypsum on grain land, say on wheat or oat crop? At what stage should it be applied and in what quantity? It would have a tendency to make the surface more friable and therefore better for moisture retention, and i... Handling Balled Citrus Trees
I have some orange and lemon trees which were sent me with their roots balled up with dirt and sacks. As we are still having frosts I have not wanted to set them out. Would it not be better to let them stay as they are and keep the sacks wet (th... Handling Grape Pomace
In the case of grape pomace, would not the large value shown by analysis be chiefly in the seeds? My observation is that these are exceedingly slow to became available in the soil. Would composting break down the shell of the seed? Grape poma... Handling Orchard Soil
We average about 35 inches of rainfall. With this heavy rainfall, is there any advantage to be gained by early plowing and clean cultivation right through the winter? Would such plowing and cultivation result in any serious loss of plant food? W... Handling Walnut Seedlings
What is the best time to transplant seedlings of the black walnut? Transplant during the dormant season (as shown by absence of leaves) when the soil is in good condition. Handle them just as you would an apple tree, for instance. ... Handling Winter Melons
Give particulars regarding harvesting, storaging, and shipment of winter melons. How do you harvest and pack them for distant market? There is no particular system in the handling of winter melons. They are gathered into piles on ground where ... Handling Young Alfalfa
I have alfalfa that is doing very well for the first year. My soil is sandy loam with light traces of white alkali, although it does not seem to be detrimental to the growth thus far. I am in the dairy business and will have by winter enough man... Hardiness Of Hybrid Berries
How much cold will Phenomenal, Himalaya and Mammoth blackberries stand in winter? Is it safe to plant where the temperature goes below 32 degrees? These berries are hardy to zero at least, for they are grown in northern parts of this coast wh... Harmless Fermentation
There is a kind of fermentation in manure that goes on in the absence of air. It is due to bacteria that break up the organic matter, producing rotted manure. This is not attended by much loss, and proceeds beneath the surface of the moist and packed ... Harvesting
The soybean is not an easy crop to handle without loss. When grown for seed, the tendency of the pods to split and to drop the seed compels early cutting, and that makes curing more difficult. The mower is the only practical harvester on most farms, a... Harvesting Peanuts
I would like information regarding the curing of peanuts. Should they be bleached, and, if so, how is it done? Does bleaching affect the keeping qualities? It is not usual to bleach peanuts. They should be grown in such light soil that they w... Harvesting Sunflowers
What is the method used in saving or threshing the seed from the Giant Russian sunflower? Cut off the seed heads of your sunflowers when the seed seems to be well matured but before any of it falls away from the head. Throw these heads on a s... Harvesting With Livestock
When the cowpea is made into hay, there is always danger that the most of the plant-food contained in it never will get back to the soil on account of a careless handling of the manure. The practice of pasturing with cows and hogs is excellent. The f... Have Had Her Teeth Attended To So She Chews Her Food Well
This condition is caused by the animal not being able to properly masticate the food. Have your dentist examine the mouth again, or you can carefully examine the feces and see if it shows whole grain, or long pieces of hay. ... Heating And Fermentation
Please explain why dampness will cause anything like hay, Egyptian corn or other like products to heat. Heating is due to fermentation, which means the action upon the vegetable substance of germs which begin to grow and multiply after their ... Heavy Applications
When the farm supply of manure is small, applications should be light. The manure should not be the dependence for plant-food on a part of a field, or a single field of the farm, under such circumstances. It is more profitable to give a light dressin... High Hardpan And Low Water
What detriment is hardpan if 14 inches below the surface and in some places 12 inches? I have been plowing so I could set peach trees, but I have been told that they will not grow. I would like your opinion about it. I intended to blast holes fo... High-grade Fertilizers
A high-grade fertilizer is not necessarily a high-priced one. What we want in a fertilizer is a high content of the plant-food needed, together with desirable availability. If only phosphoric acid is wanted, a 14 per cent, or 16 per cent, acid phosph...