Improving Heavy Soils
Categories: Soils, Fertilizers and IrrigationWhat is adobe? What kind of plants will grow best in adobe? In this
Redwood City I find clay-like soil which looks very dark and heavy. What
kind of plants will grow best in this soil?
The term adobe does not mean any particular kind of soil. It is applied
locally to clay and clay-loam soils indiscriminately. It generally
signifies the heaviest, stickiest, crackingest soil in the vicinity.
Most plants wil
too dry and too full of water. This is done by using plenty of stable
manure and other coarse stuff to make the soil more friable, which
favors aeration, drainage, root extension and plant thrift. Friability
is also promoted by the use of lime and by good tillage. The particular
soil to which you refer is a black clay loam which can be improved in
all the ways stated. It is a good soil for most flowers and vegetables
if handled as suggested. You can get hints of what does best by studying
your neighbors' earlier plantings.
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Humus Burning Out
I would like to know whether or not dry-plowing land, in preparation for sowing oats for hay, injures the soil? I have heard that dry plowing tends to wear out the soil, as the soil is exposed to the sun a long time before harrowing. I have been... Hurry-up Pasture
What can I plant this fall which would produce pasturage for a small amount of stock this winter, and until I can get the land under irrigation and seeded to alfalfa? For quick fall and winter growth nothing is better probably than oats and v... Hydrated Lime
Many salesmen are too enthusiastic in their claims for hydrated lime. It has advantages over pulverized limestone, stone-lime, and pulverized lime, and there are disadvantages. The buyer of pulverized limestone pays for the haul on 100 pounds of mater... I Give Her Half A Dozen Potatoes Every Day
You need not worry about getting her thin. She simply requires less food. An animal excessively fat brings forth an inferior offspring. ... I Have A Cow That Seems To Be In Good Health And Gives Plenty Of Milk
Nearly every morning when she is being milked she seems to want to urinate and will stand letting the water drip from her. This trouble often results from the cows eating alkaline hay. Give her two quarts of flaxseed tea daily. Mix it with her food ... I Have A Jersey Cow Who Has Just Had Twin Calves A Heifer And A Bull
The heifer was born about five minutes before the bull and seems to be the stronger. My neighbors tell me to fatten both for the butcher, for they say the heifer will be barren. The mother is a young cow, as this is her second calf. Kindly inform if t... I Have A Lot Of Olive Trees Which Have Grown Up Around The Old Stumps
They are large trees and some of them have six or eight trunks. Should I cut away all but one trunk or let them alone? There are some of the trees with small olives; others none. If the olive trees which were originally planted were trained at first... I Have A Number Of Pigs Which Have Been Ailing For Three Weeks Or So
They discharge a yellowish kind of manure at times, running of the bowels. The most striking symptom seems to be a partial paralysis of the hindquarters. The hogs will be walking along and seem to lose control of their hing legs. It seems to be spread... I Have A Top Soil Of Rich Loam Containing Small Rocks And Pebbles
Underneath it is washed gravel, rocks, boulders, yellow sand, etc. What is the limit as to thinness before trees will not grow, or thrive? Orange trees are growing quite successfully on shallow soil overlying clay where the use of water and fertiliz... I Have Been Advised To Plant The Bud Scar Above Ground In A Wet Country
Is that right? On ordinary good loam, plant the tree so that it will stand about the same as it did in the nursery: a little lower, perhaps, but not much. The bud scar should be a little above the surface. It is somewhat less likely to give trouble... I Have Light Sandy Loam On Which I Desire To Grow Forage For Chickens
... I Have Olive Trees On First-class Land; No Pest Of Any Kind Is Apparent
The trees look healthy in every way, and average about 12 inches at the butt and 30 feet high. They have borne fruit, but for the last three years have not borne. I am advised to cut back to stumps, 5 or 6 feet high, and start new tops. Unsatisfact... I Need Something That Will Make A Sod During That Period
We would, in all the valleys, advise a fall irrigation (if the rains are late) and the sowing of burr clover, which when started in September will have the ground well covered by December, if you keep the moisture right to push it. Disking or plowin... I Own Some Hill Land Which Has Been Run Down By Continuous Hay Cropping
I am told that a portion must be summer-fallowed each year, but I wish to grow some summer crop on this fallow ground that will both enrich the soil and at the same time furnish good milk-producing feed for cows - thoroughly cultivating it between the... I Send You Two Walnuts I Am In Doubt If They Will Mature
... I Want To Pasture Hogs In The San Joaquin Valley This Spring And Summer
Have water for irrigation, but will not have time to get alfalfa started sufficient to pasture. ... I Wish To Bud Some Maltese Blood Orange Trees To Pomelos And Lemons
Will they make good stock for them, and, if so, is it necessary to cut below the original bud? It is possible to bud as you propose, and it is not necessary to go back to the old stock. Work in above the forks. ... I Wish To Know If There Are Possibilities Of Broom-straw
All the broom-corn which has been successfully produced in California has been produced on moist, riverside land. The plant is a sorghum - consequently subject to frost injury, and can only be grown during the frostless season as Indian corn is. Thi... I Would Like To Know How To Check The Scale On Apricot Trees
The most common scale on apricots, the brown apricot scale, is usually held in check by the comys fusca, which is as widely distributed as the scale itself. If it gets beyond the parasite, you should spray in winter with crude oil emulsion. If some ... Improvement Of Cementing Soils
I would like some advice in handling the "cementy" gravel soil. Manure is beneficial in loosening up the soil, but there is not enough available. Would the Canadian field pea make a satisfactory growth here if sown as soon as the rains begin? I ... Improving Heavy Land For Alfalfa
My land is very heavy, red loam, and crusts over very hard in dry seasons. I would like to know if it would be best to use barnyard compost over the surface as a mulch, or would it be best to use plain straw for that purpose? A very heavy soi... Improving Heavy Soils
What is adobe? What kind of plants will grow best in adobe? In this Redwood City I find clay-like soil which looks very dark and heavy. What kind of plants will grow best in this soil? The term adobe does not mean any particular kind of soil. ... Improving Uncovered Subsoil
What is the best treatment for spots that have been scraped in leveling for irrigation? The land can be improved by plowing deeply and turning in stable manure or green alfalfa or any other vegetable matter which may decay, rendering the soil... Infection Of Udder
Last year one of my cows had milk fever which affected her udder. This year after freshening she milked two months when she suddenly went dry on one side of her udder. She is now badly stiffened up in her hind quarters and off her feed. ... Infectious Conjunctivitis (sore Eyes)
I have several cows and heifers that are affected with sore eyes. The disease first makes its appearance by excessive watering of the eyes; then the center or pupil becomes white and later turns red of bloodshot. Bathe thoroughly with the norm... Infectious Mastitis
We have a 2-year-old heifer, which, two weeks before she was due to freshen, had a large udder slightly caked. Upon pressing the teat a discharge of blood issues from each teat. This is infectious mastitis. It may be due to a bruise or blow or... Ingredients In The Mixture
The matters of interest to the farmer are the determination of the amounts of nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash that he should apply to a particular field, their availability, and their cost. Let us assume that he has found 300 pounds of a fertil... Injury To Udder
I have a cow which has a gathering in the back of her udder which seems to be some sort of injury. It has been there but a few days. This injury was caused by a blow or traumatism. Thoroughly scrape out the diseased tissue and after washing wi... Inoculating Alfalfa
Is it profitable to inoculate alfalfa seed before planting to increase its yield? Can it be done by leaching soil from old alfalfa ground, providing it has been plowed up and allowed to stand for a year? Are commercial inoculants a safe thing to... Inoculation
The necessity of inoculation has been discussed in Chapter IV. Eastern land would become inoculated for alfalfa if farmers would adopt the practice of mixing a little alfalfa with red clover whenever making seedings. Some alfalfa plants usually make g... Inoculation
The inoculation of the soil with cowpea bacteria is necessary to best results in most regions new to the plant. Self-inoculation is quicker in the cowpea than in alfalfa because the vines carry some soil on them, and thus the dust in the seed crop may... Irrational Use Of Lime
Some refusal to accept the facts respecting soil acidity and its means of correction is due to a prejudice that was created by an unwise use of lime in the past. Owners of stiff limestone soils learned in an early day that a heavy application of caust... Irrigated Or Non-irrigated Apples
Where soil and climatic conditions are favorable to the raising of apples, what effect has irrigation an them? The commercial product of California apples is chiefly made upon deep soils in districts of ample rainfall so that the fruit can be ... Irrigated Or Non-irrigated Trees
Is there any difference between the same kind of fruit trees grown without irrigation and with it? It does not make a particle of difference, if the trees are grown well and matured well. Overirrigated trees or trees growing on land naturally ... Irrigating Alfalfa
I am making parallel ridges for alfalfa, sending a full head of water down to the end of the field between each ridge. Should I calculate the lands to be mowed one at a time in even swaths? The mower being 5-foot cut, would you count on cutting ... Irrigating Alfalfa On Heavy Soils
How does alfalfa succeed on adobe and soils slightly modified from it? Does irrigation work well an adobe planted to alfalfa? If you get the irrigation adjusted so that the soil shall not be water-logged and so that the water does not stand on... Irrigating Palms
My palms are quite small, but they do not seem to grow; they seem to be drying up. The growth of palms is proportional to the amount of soil moisture available, providing it is not in excess and not too alkaline. Some palms are quite drouth-r... Irrigating Tomatoes
How much water does it take (in gallons or cubic feet) to properly irrigate an acre of land for tomatoes? The soil is adobe, and the customary way of planting tomatoes is 6 feet apart each way, plowing a trench of one furrow with the slope of th... Irrigating Walnuts-checks Or Furrows
Which is the best method to irrigate a tract of 25 acres of sandy sediment sail, nearly level, preparatory to planting walnuts? By all means use the furrow system of irrigation unless your land should be so light that the water would sink in t... Irrigating Young Trees
We have just put out 50 acres to walnuts. The party who put them out wants me to have some boxes or troughs made 15 inches long with a 3-inch opening, and put in on the slant so as to have the water hit the roots. ... Irrigation For Corn
What amount of water is necessary per acre for the best possible yield of corn under acreage conditions and proper cultivation in the San Joaquin or Sacramento valleys? No one can answer such a question with anything more than a guess. It dep... Irrigation Of Potatoes
Will you kindly tell me when is the proper time to irrigate potatoes, before they bloom or after they bloom, and do they require much water? It should seldom be necessary to irrigate potatoes after the bloom appears. Potatoes do not need much ...