Afro-independent. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn. ;) 1888-1???, 1888-09-22
suBsolLINo FOR GRAPES.
The Best way of Making the Roots of the
Vines Spread Out.

The Best Way of Making the Roots OF the
Vines Spread Out.
Judging from my own experience
think that the roots of the vine need
to penetrate the subsoil. am aware
that Of late it has been recommended
and practiced to set out vineyards up
on a cheap scale without trenehing or
subsoiling.
This. in my Judgment Is the chief
reason why the vine suffers so much
| from sporadic diseases. The roots be-
ing too near the surface are subjected
to all the changes and vicissitudes OF
climate conditions, while If set deeper
they would receive the protection OF
deeper soil against sudden changes.
An experiment that l made a few
years ago saves so much of my heavy
expense of subsoiling, and has proved
so satisfactory, that | can recommend
it to vineyard planters 1t is so sim
pie, and applicable to all varying con-
ditions that no one need hesitate about
adopting it. simply plowed
and cleaned out trenches in the fall as
steep as their sides could be made
eight feet apart and twenty inc hes
deep, set the vines in the trenches in
the following spring and filed them in
again mainly with the plow.
The reason for success in this exper-
iment of fall trenching is found in the
action Of frost during the winter being
enabled to penetrate the subsoil
deeper than it could otherwise do
through the means. of these open
trenches, thereby filming and commin-
uting the soil and subsoil and bringing
up to the surface some of the lost fer
tility of past ages. / found to my
great surprise that before the frost had
gone out of the ground the trenches
were deeper or the ridges were higher
in the spring than the fall, showing
that the frost had penetrated from the
trenches sides into the soil of the
ridges, heaving and loosening it much
deeper and refining it as | had never
before observed under any other con-
ditions. | found that | had been util
izing the forces of nature to do my
work free and far better than could
do it at a great expense myself with
teams and subsoil plows.
Subsequently it was shown that as
the roots of the vines spread out and
grew the feeding roots at the ends
gradually rose little as they ap-
proa ched the centers of the rows. and
/ hat 81 1ltyf he MI IN tIo h
sequent tillage Of the vines cut off the
end of few of these feeding roots,
but could not perceive that this was
serious injury, for new and more
branching roots We're sent out from the
severed ones the next season, and
sometimes imagined that it had rein
vigorated the vines, and caused them
to grow more luxuriantly, but | could
not express positive opinion as to
this, without more experience and OBJ
servation.
Another point gained was. that in
the spring did not have to dig holes
to set the vines at busy season of TIE
year. The holes were already dug
just the right depth. The fine top
soil had fallen in from the sides
of the bitches, making the very best
possible conditions, after strewing a
little phosphate, ashes and bone dust
in the trench, for the fine subsequent,
healthy and vigorous growth obtained,
and found that could work the soil
some two weeks earlier than that I'M
trenched. l actually set the vines
while there was yet frost in the ridges,
the soil working dry and mellow
Cor. Philadelphia Gardener.