site logo

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.



More

;