The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-11-07
GARDEN
AND HOUSEHOLD
By S. A. COOK.
The Southern Garden-The Soil
should BE Well Prepared.
FARM,

The Southern Garden-The SOil
should BE Well Prepared.
There is everything in having the
soil put in a perfect state of prepara-
tion before sowing the seeds or setting
out the plants it matters not what
the crop will be. 1t is surely half
the battle, as the old saying goes, a
crop we'll put in is half made. There
are few crops that allow of being
put in without complete preparation
before planting, but they are only those
that are grown in wide rows, such as
vine plants, or others that require a
distance of four feet, or more between
the rows. In such cases the middles
can be finished up after the crop has
been planted. But as a general rule
with ali crops, and with garden crops,
especially, it is far better to have the
soil as thoroughly prepared as pos
sible, before a seed is put in. Then
in case of drought, or too much rain
either, the minimum of cultivation will
be likely to carry the crops through
to a perfect maturity.
Most garden crops require very lit
tie cultivation, comparatively, if the
soil is well MANFRED and well pre-
pared to receive the seeds or plants.
All that will be really necessary is
to break the crust after every heavy
rain, thereby checkmating the weeds
and providing a mulch of soil to keep
the moisture from evaporating too
rapidly.
With soil well MANFRED and well
prepared; with good seeds of a good
variety and cultivation well timed,
there is little in the way of success.
Little or nothing may be done to
prevent the i'll effects of too much rain,
but great deal can be done to di-
mlnlsh the evil consequences of
drought. Where the soil has been prop
erly prepared good cultivation can car
ny crop through many weeks of rain
less weather. A shallow cultivation
given in the mick of time" may be
equal in good effects to an inch of
rain oftentimes.
When the soil is well prepared for
plantlng-for instance made as fine
as a seed bed with pillow and harrow
the work of cultivation can be done
perfectly with an implement running
only once between the rows. Whether
inns implement be a sweep or harrow
or cultivator, a number of acres can
tnree TO eight, according to the width
OF the rows and the gait of the plow-
man and his steed. Where large areas
are to be cultivated it is better gener-
ally to skip a middle and come back
on that middle after going through
the crop. Cultivating one side of
me row lnsures the steady growth of
the plant and in dry weather so long
as the plant can be kept from meet
ing complete check in root develop
ment 1t will be all right and dry
weather Will have no serious effects
Inc gardener can provide against
most everything that would render
his labors vain, excepting too much
ram or flood. He can neither limit
lhe ram nor can he contend success.
FULLY with the diseases that affect the
crop as result of continued wet
weather. Most of our Southern soils
are well drained naturally-that is
such as have been cultivated anv
+. length of time. There are some gar
den soils that probably would be ben
efted by being tile-drained-tha is
they would produce better results in
wet seasons If they were drained. but
it is expensive work and few are will
ing TO undergo the expense Fortu-
nately climatic conditions are favor
able to our staple crops at least three
years out of four, and dry weather is
likely to do much more harm than
wet weather. The gardener especial !
~ should learn how to meet drought
TO make a crop with as little rain as
possible.
The first step towards it is in pre-
pairing the soil fully. The implements
necessary are the pillow and the har-
row and the roller. The richer the
soil is made the less the crops will
suffer from dry weather. Then the
cultivation. 1t must be shallow. time
ly and rapid. There must be proper
implements in the shape of sweep or
harrow or cultivator. For some
crops and to meet certain conditions
the roller has value as a cultivating
implement. There needs be made vet
combined harrow and roller for this
purpose. finely pulverized rolled
surface has capacities for absorbing
dew when drought is prevailing that
renders the effects equal to a very
good rain.
( 1t is well to remember. too. that the
more humus we give to the soil the
less will crops suffer from dry wealth
er. 1t is very easy TO make a crop on
soil that is well supplied with it. HUI
mus is the very life-blood of soil
Most old garden soils is well sun
piled with 1t. but the bulk of our field
soils are almost destitute of IL and
that is the reason why the crops suf-
fer so promptly from even short
dry spell. Such soils require the very
best preparation possible and likewise
the most thorough cultivation to pro-
duce anything like a normal yield.