Mulches Of Foreign Material
Categories: CONTROL OF SOIL MOISTUREThe truth that moisture is a leading
factor in soil productiveness is evidenced by the value of straw and
similar material as a mulch. A covering of straw around trees in an
orchard, or bush fruits, or such plants as the potato, may give better
results than an application of fertilizer when no effort is made to
prevent the escape of water. People so situated that little attention
can well be given to the fruit and vege
by replacing tillage with a substantial mulch that keeps the soil
mellow, prevents weed growth, and retains an abundant supply of water.
In grain-producing districts where all the straw is not needed as an
absorbent in the stables its use as a mulch on thin grass lands, or
wheat-fields seeded to grass, is more profitable than conversion into
manure by rotting in a barnyard. The straw affords protection from the
sun, and aids in the conservation of soil water, when scattered evenly
in no larger amount than two tons per acre, and a less amount per acre
has value. The sod is helped, and as the straw rots, its plant-food
goes into the soil.
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Manure With A Clover Crop
I have an old apple orchard in which I intend to sow burr clover. In order to get the clover to grow I know that I shall have to use fertilizer of some kind and this is what I want your advice about. If you can get it, use stable manure at the... Manuring Vineyard
Does barnyard manure have any injurious effect on the vines if applied on my vineyard? One of my neighbors claims barnyard manure burned his vines so he got no crop wherever he spread the manure, and nothing would now induce him to use it again.... Many Such Arrangements Of Boxes Perforated Cans Pieces Of Tile Etc
have been proposed during the last fifty years in California for accomplishing the purposes which are mentioned in your letter, and all such devices have been abandoned as undesirable. They may bring the water to bear upon a lower level as intended, b... March And Would Like To Preserve Them For Feeding As Long As Possible
Stock beets and carrots can be stored in California without recourse to covering with ground or use of a cellar. They keep very well during the winter if piled under cover in such a way as to keep cool and dry. ... Marl
Marls vary widely in composition. When quite pure, they contain 90 or more per cent of carbonate of lime, and have a value per ton about equal to finely pulverized limestone, and near half the value per ton of stone-lime. There are marls that are carr... Material For The Drains
Doubtless there are places and times when stone, or boards, or brush should be used in construction of underdrains, but they are relatively few in number. Such underdrains lack permanency, as a rule, though some stone drains are effective for a long ... Materials That Should Not Be Combined
The advocate of factory-mixed goods warns the farmer against the danger of making combinations of materials that will cause loss by chemical action. The danger is wholly imaginary if no form of lime, wood-ashes, or basic slag is used in the home-mixt... Melon Lice
I have in about four acres of watermelons, and there seem to be lice and a small gnat or fly, and also some small green bugs and white worms on the under part of the leaves, which seem to be stopping the growth of the vines, making them wilt and... Melons For Fowls
Have "stock melons" or "citrons" any merit as a green food for laying hens? Are the seeds of the above injurious to hens or cows? Stock melons are desirable for chicken feeding if other succulent materials are scarce, but they are inferior to ... Method Of Applying Fertilizers
If a fertilizer is used in small amount with the purpose of merely giving the plants a start, it should be near the seed. If the application is heavy, and the roots of the plants spread upon all sides, the fertilizer, as a rule, should be applied to ... Method Of Inoculation
The bacteria can be transferred to a new field by spreading soil taken from a field that has been growing the legume successfully. The surface soil is removed to a depth of three inches, and the next layer of soil is taken, as it contains the highest ... Method Of Plowing
The depth of plowing should be fixed largely by the amount of organic matter in the soil. It is essential that a good percentage of this material should be mixed throughout the soil, and when it is in scant supply, the depth of plowing usually should ... Methods Of Seeding
It is a common practice to sow clover in the spring, either with spring grain or with wheat or rye previously seeded in the fall. This method has much to commend it. The cost of making the seed-bed is transferred to the grain crop, and there is little... Midsummer Hay Sowing
Can I sow oats or barley in July upon irrigated mesa land, with the object of making hay in the fall? Which of the two would do the better in summer time? I have plenty of water. We have never seen this done to advantage. If you desire to try ... Mildew On Apple Seedlings
Why do young apple plants in the seed bed became mildewed? They are in a lath house. Because too much moisture was associated with too much shade. More sunshine would have prevented mildew, and if they had enjoyed it the seedlings could have ... Mix And Give Tablespoonful Three Times Daily
... Moonshine Farming
What influence, if any, has the moon on plant growth? Are there any reliable data of experiments available? Very prolonged investigation by the Weather Bureau determined that no difference was found in planting in different phases of the moon.... More Manure Water And Cultivation Required
I have a small place on a hillside, with brown soil about one to two feet deep to hardpan and I am getting rather discouraged, as so many things fail to come up and others grow so very slowly after they are up. A neighbor planted some dahlia roo... More Than Dynamite Needed
I have some peculiar land. People here call it cement. It does not take irrigation water readily, and water will pass over it for a long time and not wet down more than an inch or so. When really wet it can be dipped up with a spoon. Hardpan is ... Mossy Lawns
What will destroy patches of moss which are spreading over our lawns and apparently destroying the grass? More sunlight would have a tendency to discourage the growth of moss on a lawn. If this is not feasible, irrigation less frequently but a... Moving Old Olive Trees
Would there be anything gained by transplanting old olive trees 6 to 8 inches in diameter over nursery stock? They would have to be shipped from Santa Clara to Butte county and grafted. Would they come into bearing any sooner and be as good tree... Muck
The use of muck pays in stables, as it is a good absorbent and contains some nitrogen which gains in availability by mixture with manure. Its direct application to land as a fertilizer does not pay the labor bill under ordinary circumstances. ... Mulches Of Foreign Material
The truth that moisture is a leading factor in soil productiveness is evidenced by the value of straw and similar material as a mulch. A covering of straw around trees in an orchard, or bush fruits, or such plants as the potato, may give better resul... Muriate Of Potash
The mines of Stassfurt, Germany, contain an inexhaustible supply of potash in various compounds. Muriate of potash is prepared from the crude salts, and the commercial product on our markets has the appearance of a coarse and discolored salt. It is h... Musty Corn For Pigs
Would Egyptian corn that has been musty and then dried in the sun be fit for pigs? It heated and musted quite a good deal, but is dried well. The idea is, to grind it and then feed it in milk if good. It is very dangerous to feed any stock mol... Myrobalan Seedlings
I am sending two small plums which I am told are Myrobalan plum. I desire to grow seedlings on which later to bud and graft French prunes. If these are Myrobalan plums, will trees from them be as good as trees from pits that were imported? Th... Navels And Valencias
Navel trees are being budded to Valencias in southern California, because of the higher price received for the late-ripening Valencias. Are the orchards in central and northern California being planted in Navels, and is there any difference in s... Necessity Of Purchase
The necessity of buying plant-food in the form of commercial fertilizers is a mooted question in any naturally fertile agricultural region just so long as crop yields do not drop to a serious extent. The natural strength of the land and the skill that... Need Of Corn Suckering
To insure the best crop of corn possible, does it pay to sucker it or not? The removal of suckers is a matter of local conditions largely in California, and growers are getting out of the habit of suckering. In some places suckering is needed... Needs Organic Matter
I have what I believe to be decomposed sandstone. Many rocks are still projecting out of land which I blast and break up. The soil works freely when moist or wet, but when dry it takes a pick-axe to dig it up; a plow won't touch it. Among my you... Neglected Olive Trees
... Neither Plant Likes Dry Heat Or Dry Soil
... Never Consider A Bull Gentle And You Will Be Safe With Him
... New Potatoes For Seed
Can I plant American Wonder potatoes for the first crop, and let enough of them mature to use for seed for the second crop, to be planted the first or middle of July? It is possible to use potatoes grown the same year as seed for the later cr... New Zealand Flax
Give information about Phormiun tenax (New Zealand flax), which I see is imported to San Francisco in large quantities yearly for making cordage and binder twine, and is said also to be the best of bee pasture. Can I get the plants on the coast,... Nitrate Of Soda
How shall I apply nitrate of soda as fertilizer for roses and other flowers and lawns during the summer months? One has to be very careful in the use of nitrate of soda not to use too much and not to apply it unevenly, so that too much is brou... Nitrate Of Soda
One of the best carriers of nitrogen is nitrate of soda, which is imported from Chili, South America, where great beds exist. The most of the impurities are removed, and the nitrate of soda comes to us in bags holding 200 pounds, and looks much like d... Nitrate With Stable Manure
I am going to plant about 2000 plants of rhubarb. I intend to put some cow and horse manure under the plants as a fertilizer, but I do not think I will have enough for all the plants, so I bought some nitrate of lime, with the intention of mixin... No Apples On Quince
How large a tree will the Yellow Bellefleur apple make if grafted or budded on quince root at the age of 15 years? I have been trying to get some information about dwarf fruit trees, but it is difficult to get. No wonder the information is har... No Citrus Fruits On Lemon Roots
Would it be any advantage to bud the Washington Navel on grapefruit and lemon roots? The grapefruit or pomelo is a good root for the orange, and some propagators prefer it. The lemon root is not used at present, because of its effect in causi... No Gopher-proof Fig Roots
Is it necessary that figs should be grafted in some other roots to keep the gophers from destroying the trees? What root should I order? Figs are not grown on any other than fig roots and are generally propagated by rooted cuttings for the pur... No Grain Elevators In California
Is California wheat shipped in bulk or in bags at the present time? There are no elevators in this State, owing to the fact that hitherto grain cargoes have been acceptable to ship only as sacked grain, because of claimed danger of shifting ca... No Home-made Beet Sugar
Is there any simple process of making sugar from beets so that I could make my own sugar at home from my own beets while sugar is so very expensive to buy? There is no simple way of making beet sugar. It can only be economically done in facto... No Nurse-crop For Alfalfa
Is it advisable to use oats with alfalfa seeds in seeding for alfalfa? Some growers of alfalfa here advise it strongly, others advise against it. The general experience in California is decidedly against using oats, barley, or any other nurse...