Treatment Of Dry-plowed Land

Categories: Soils, Fertilizers and Irrigation

We are plowing a piece of light sandy mesa land, dry, which has

considerable tarweed and other weeds growing before plowing. Which would

be best, to leave the land as it is until the rains come and then

harrow, or harrow now? Would the land left without harrowing gather any

elements from the air before rain comes! The above land is for oat hay

and beans next season.



Roll down the 'tar-weed, if it is tall nd likely to be troublesome, and

plow in at once so that decay may begin as soon as the land gets

moisture from the rain. It would be well to allow the land to lie in

that shape, and disc in the seed without disturbing the weeds which have

been plowed under. If all this is done early, with plenty of rain coming

there is likely to be water enough to settle the soil, decay the weeds,

and grow the hay crop. Of course, such practice could not be commenced

much later in the season. The land gains practically nothing from the

atmosphere by lying in its present condition. If there is any

appreciable gain, it would be larger after breaking up as proposed. In

dry farming, harrowing or disking should be done immediately after

plowing, not to produce a fine surface as for a seed bed, but to settle

the soil enough to prevent too free movement of dry air. If your

rainfall is ample, the land may be left looser for water-settling.