Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1876-02-10
Rye as a Green Manure for the Gar
den and Farm. ...

NOTHING in gardening Is of more i'm
portance than manure, and il Is, of course,
never possible To get too much. In fact,
il is rarely possible for the gardener TO get
enough stable manure, and he must resort
to some others, the cheapest and best of
which, | believe, after several years trial
of it, TO be green manures, or growing
crops plowed under.
Every one knows the value Of clover as
a fertilizer but in many parts OF the West
il cannot be successfully grown, and even
then the land must be laid aside two years
or more, and with the gardener this is
rarely practicable. After trying many
different green crops ! am quite certain
that for the gardener. and often the farm
er, in the West nothing is so valuable as
rye. Its growth is made late in autumn
and early in spring, at time when little
else will grow, so that the ground is free
for this particular use. In fact, all the
tender vegetables are off in time 10 SOW II
in September, and the ground Is not need
ed for them again till May, by which time
the rye will be as heavy as can be plowea
under. Upon the farm, too, II comes in
nicely, if the succeeding crop Is TO be
corn, roots or potatoes, and more particu-
larly sowed corn for fodder, for which IL
seems especially adapted. Even after
corn / succeed well with it, sowing II
broadcast and cultivating il in. leaving
the corn hills standing, as they gather
snow and help 10 protect the rye in winter.
sow the seed thickly--about six pecks
to the acre and early II possible, so that
the plants shall stool out before winter,
endure exposure better, and make aquick-
er and larger growth In the spring When
the ground is wanted for planting
from Nav 20 To June I've turn IL under
with chain. Ii is often three feet high,
and thick as only such heavy crop can
be, but with heavy chain hung from the
end of the whifiie cross-bar 10 the pillow
beam, with slack enough so that II will
drag just ahead of the uprising furrow, IL
will pull down every stalk into the empty
furrow as nicely AS IL could be laid by
hand, and the whole mass he buried out OF
sight. A little practice will soon teach
Just the amount of slack needed.
NY attention was first called to the value
of this crop for manure almost by acct
dent. Some years ago, just at planting
time, found myself short OF suitable
land for still another variety OF seed
melons, which / wab obliged TO grow,
and leased ten acres of land upon which
was growing crop OF rye. This ! turned
under and planted to nutmeg melon. The
occasional straws sticking up gave the
field rugged appearance for a time, but
when the midsummer drought was upon
us and other fields succumbed this one
looked as fresh and vigorous as could be,
and in fruiting even exceeded the prom
Use its appearance gave. The yieid oil
seed was more than one.half larger than
To- IN, hAur t m
green MANFRED. have practiced II ever
since and always with satisfaction, the re-
sults the last season being on some fields
more striking than In any previous year.
It's wonderful efficiency In promoting
Weld Is due, apprcbend, not only TO the
available fertility 1t furnishes, but also TO
It's mechanical effect on the soil, thus
maintaining moisture through our worst
droughts.
OF course I would myself, and would
recommend to others 10, get every forkful
OF manure TO be had and apply H.
And vet upon the same land | would, In
addition, apply green manure whenever
practicable. All this is done more evenly
by tie green crop. Seed and labor to-
gether cost me but 81. so per acre. caE-
not say that Ii adds as. much fertility 10
the soil a. forty loads Of manure, but DO
say that in our droughty seasons IL pro-
duces as great an increase Of crop as do
forty two. horse loads Of good manure. 1T
certainly pays TO practice 1t largely even
on land we'll supplied with stable manure,
as that increases the vigor and growth OF
the green crop, which is Immediately, with
additions, returned TO the soil-JournaI
Of Agriculture
- 81.