The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1903-01-22
SOUTHERN :: FARM :: NOTES.
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10 PLANTER s1ocxMAx Ayo 7av. GROWER


Trucking in the south Atlantic Coast.
The market garden soils of the South
Atlantic coast are generally OF warm
and sandy character, lying level and
close to permanent moisture in the soil.
On such lands it is possible to use the
concentrated fertilizers in quantities
that are not possible OH dry upland
soils. and the growers instead of seek
ing to know how little they can get
along with and make crops are seekin.
to ascertain how much they can use
profitably. They have found that the
chief deficiencies of their soil is in nj
trogen and potash. In many Of these
soils where phosphate rocks occur the
growers have found that phosplloric
acid is less needed than the other con-
stituents in their fertilizers Some
years ago the New York station made
some experiments to determine the diff
ference between fertilizer for the
Irish potato crop based on the exact
analysis Of the potato. and the fertil-
izcr that the Long Island growers Were
using in which the plant food constit-
uents We're largely in excess of what
the analysis seemed to show. Then in
the culture Of the early Irish potato in
the soils of the South Atlantic region
1t was found that there the crop needed
for the best results larger percentage
Of nitrogen than it did in the North.
Growing in the early cool spring the
additional nitrogen seemed 10 have the
effect OF rapidly urging growth and
making the crop earlier, and as this
earliness was the important thing il
the competition for the early market
and the biggest prices. the heterogeneous
part of the fertilizer received Increased
attention. But while the nitrogen in
creased the growth it was found tina!
the potato needed something else for
the formation of big starchy tubers.
The study of the life history of vege,a-
ton by scientists had shown that the
constituent in fertilizer that most i'll
creased the formation of starch was
potash and hence it was inferred that
plant in which starch storing in the
tubers was of such Importance as it is
in the potato, aud which it's analysis
showed needed 4 large percentage of
potash in the fertilizer applied. cspe-
cially in the sandy soils where this
constituent was generally deficient.
So the coast gardeners have grad
tlally worked out for themselves
formulas to suit the various crops
grown. They have found for the po-
tato crop that While an immediate ef
feet and early growth is aided by an
application of nitrate of soda that this
effect is not lasting, and that the full
success Of the crop demands some
slower available nitrogen in the form
of organic matter, This they supply
with the readily available fish scrap in
some sections. but generally in the
form of cottonseed meal. Experiments
northward seemed to show in most
places that for the crop there grown
the potash should be in the form OF Il
sulphate, since potatoes grown with
this form of potash seemed more mealy
and dryer than those grown with the
muriate. But the Southern gardeners
found that this dryness was Of less i'm
portance to them, as their crop is large
~ sold in an unripe condition. and the
muriate was not only cheaper but gave
them better results than the sulphate.
But it is not only with the early potato
crop that the Southern market garden
er uses fertilizers heavily. On land
that has been heavily dressed year a.
ter year they use from 1000 10 2D0o
pounds of high grade mixture al.
ways high in potash content. except
for the early cabbage crop, with wiiicn
T. 1,os, 1,,. tnr
centage of available phosphor;c acid and
nitrogen are Of more Importance than
a large percentage of potash. Recent
~ there has grown up along the South
ern coast great industry in tlic cn!-
ture of lettuce under cloth protection
in frames during the winter and early
spring months. The growers assumed
properly that this crop needs heavy
applications of nitrogen ana potash,
have accordingly mixed fertilizers IN
which there is about ten per cent. OF
actual potash. and they use ,liN at Tie
rate of ton per acre. Some damaging
results have come from this. Where
heavy applications of potash arr. need
ed. as in lettuce growing. The appica-
ton should be made a month before
setting the plants and the frames left
exposed to the rains, so that the potash
will get assimilated with the soil and
lose much of its caustic character. The
potash will not get away, and there is
no need to be unsasy about this. Some
growers of early crops near the ports
Of entry find that they can get potash
cheaper in the form of kainit. and they
overcome the bad effect of the chlor
ides by putting all the potash they will
need on the land in the fall so that the
winter rains will wash out the chloride
of sodium, and they have the potasl,
as sulphate, and in the teaching the
salt renders soluble some other forms
of plant food.-W. T. Massey, Editor
of Practical Farmer.
Onions in the South.
All our standard onion literature is
calculated for another cline, and our