Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1903-08-20
GOOD THINGS TO KNOW.


Oh various Vegetables
OF much value and interest to truck
growers Is the experience of two ENG,
lish gardeners in the manuring of veg.
etable crops. Their experiments have
been under way for seven years. Some
OF the conclusions arrived at are as
follows
With beets sulphate of potash, In the
absence of manure, increased the yield
three tons per acre. In every case
plats fertilized with the lesser amount
Of manure and commercial fertilizers
greatly exceeded in yield the heavily
manured plats.
With broccoli q moderate application
of commercial fertilizers has produced
on the average as good results as when
supplemented by twelve and one half
tons of manure. With this crop the
use of 100 pounds of nitrate of soda per
acre proved most economical.
The average results for Ave years
with caulifiowers show that twelve and
one-half tons of manure, supplemented
with light dressing of phosphates
and 400 pounds of nitrate of soda, pro-
duced better results than commercial
fertilizers alone, but the commercial
fertilizers alone gave better results
than twenty-five tons OF manure alone
Commercial fertilizers In this case not
only increased the size OF the heads,
but uniformly improved the quality.
The formula recommended for this
crop is 121a tons of manure, 400 to 600
pounds of superphosphate, 400 pounds
OF kainit and 400 pounds or nitrate of
soda per acre.
The heaviest yield of brussels. sprouts
was obtained by the use of twenty-five
tons of manure, supplemented with 200
pounds OF nitrate of soda, with potash
In addition.
A moderate quantity of manure was
found very desirable with fall set cab
bages. 1t is recommended that this be
supplemented with 600 pounds of good
phosphates per acre and nitrate of soda
up to 600 pounds applied at two or
three different times.
Potash has been found very desirable
In The production of carrots. When
potash has been used in connection
with phosphates and 200 pounds Of nj
trate of soda per acre the average year
ly increase of roots has been nearly
three tons per acre.
The heaviest celery plants were oh.
tained when the largest amount OF sna.
nlIre was used but plants raised with
the aid of commercial fertilizers have
been much crisper and more tender
than plants grown with manure alone
Nitrate of soda appeared to render the
growth more rapid and to diminish the
strength and toughness of the fibrovas-
cular bundles as compared with plants
grown by the aid of manure alone.
With lettuce also 1t has been noticed
that plants grown with the the nitrate
of soda have been much crisper and
more tender than those grown with
manure alone.
With spring or summer onions the
use of 200 pounds of nitrate Of soda per
acre in conjunction with potash and
phosphates, with light dressing of
manure, has given a better yield than
with heavy dressing of manure. Com
mercial fertilizers without the manure
gave much less satisfactory results
than with the manure.
With parsnips, as with carrots, pot
ash seems to be especially desirable,
the yields being increased from one to
one and half tons per acre when this
fertilizer was used over plats similarly
fertilized, but without potash.
In the case of early potatoes the
heaviest yields have been obtained by
the use of twenty-five tons OF manure
per acre. With the late crop better
yields have been obtained by using
half this amount of manure supple
mented with commercial fertilizers. In
the experiments with potatoes the use
Of potash has regularly resulted In In
creased yields. The increase, however,
has been much less with early potatoes
than with late potatoes.
Potash has proved especially desira-
BILE for summer spinach, and particu-
larly so on plats which were not ma
nured
Rhubarb dressed with commercial
fertilizers when raw was far more
crisp and tender and required less time
to cook than rhubarb grown by the aid