When To Turn Down
Categories:
THE CLOVERS
When the maximum benefit is desired for the soil
from a crop of clover, the first growth should not be plowed down. Its
office should be that of a mulch. In its decay all the mineral
plant-food and most of the nitrogen go into the soil. The second crop
should come to maturity, or near it. As a rule, there is gain, and not
loss, by letting the second crop lie on the ground until spring if a
spring-planted crop is to follow. Some fall growth, and the protection
from leaching, should equal any advantage arising from rotting the
bulky growth in the soil. In some regions it is not good practice to
plow down a heavy green crop on account of the excessive amount of acid
produced. When this has been done, the only corrective is a liberal
application of lime.