The Savannah morning news., 1904-07-18
The Garden, Make II Rich.
MuIching or shading.

large or small, that are so rich in all
the elements OF fertility as not to be
benefited by fertilizer of some kind or
another. Even if the garden spot is
rich in the accumulation of vegetable
matter, as many old gardens spots are,
from having heavy applications of sta
BILE manure. together with the weeds
and trash that are applied to it. it
will almost always be found to be of
great advantage to make some appl-
cation either of potash or phosphate or
common lime. even. In such rich
molds, if the mineral elements are not
present in proportionate quantity to
the nitrogen that is likely to be pres
ent as the result of so much decay
ing vegetable matter there are many
crops that cannot be made to do their
best in it. In any soil overrich in de-
caying vegetable matter and lacking
the mineral elements in proper proper
ton any crops that are grown for their
seeds such as corn and beans or any
of the vine plants are not apt to pro-
duce the best results. Corn is likely
to so too much to stalk and leaf at
the expense of grain. Beans are apt
TO run too much to bush or vine and
tomatoes likewise. And the melon or
cucumber will make luXuriant
growth of vine with small proportion
of fruit.
Some plants. like onions. beets, cab
bage, bush squashes and the like, win
produce fairly for awhile on such soils,
but it will soon be indicated that some
mineral matter must be applied to per
nit of these doing their best.
To such rich humus soils it is always
proper to make a yearly application
OF a mixture of potash and phosphoric
acid, the two essential mineral ele-
ments. Two to three hundred pounds
of some good phosphate and the same
amount of kainit or its equivalent in
hardwood ashes applied broadcast and
lightly narrowed in will soon correct
the evils that follow a superabundance
of nitrogen in the soil, which is usual
ly the case when soil is overrich in
humus, as it usually exists in new
ground soil.
When a garden is cultivated on the
intensive or high culture plan, which
implies that something is kept growing
in it the year round, it is not able
TO accumulate the humus that it does
when it is made to grow crops only
up to midsummer or early fall and
then the weeds allowed to take posses
sion, and by the shade that they Gre
ate and the matter they later restore
to the soil make il richer.
Most any soil that is kept shaded in
the summer any fall will accumulate
more nitrogen than is taken from it
by the early summer crops. Those who
have grown sweet potatoes to any con-
siderable extent for years know that
the shade created by the vines leaves
the soil in a fine condition for pro-
ducing a following crop of most any
thing, but especially for plants grown
for their leaves. The shade promotes
a supply of nitric acid in the soil be-
yond what is needed or used by the
crop of potatoes. There are several
crops grown in the garden that are
ameliorating i'm their effects, but not
quite to the extent that the sweet po-
tato is. for there is no other that
makes so complete a shade and for so
long a time
If it were practicable to mulch all
the crops that are grown late in the
season, after July for instance-they
could be grown to greater perfection
usually than under the ordinary plan
of cultivation. 1t would certainly re-
dound to the advantage of the soil, for
shading does create fertility in a way.
Granting that it has no effect or but
tlllle III ulSsOlNUB the iAlliNi III bdoCS,
potash and phosphoric acid, it does
have a marked effect in providing a
large supply of nitric acid. and there
is every reason for believing that IL
does have an effect In rendering solu-
able potash and phosphoric acid.
Where crops shade the soil but lit
tie and the pillow is kept constantly
going to keep the crust broken and
to hold the weeds in check under our
burning sun, there is a great waste
Of nitrogen that can be saved by
mulching.
Our late crops of cabbage, Irish po-
tatoes and the like are more easily
grown under the plan of mulching than
by frequent stirring of the soil. And
in the treatment of young fruit trees
there is no plan by which they will
thrive so well as the one of thorough
ly mulching with pine or other straw
before the summer heat sets in.
Where one has an abundance of pine
straw convenient to hand there Will be
no more profitable work for the leisure
of winter than hauling i'm large guam
titles of it for use in the garden and
orchard and simply to be used as a
mulch. In itself it has no manurial
value worth mentioning. but as a
mulch it Is as good as anything for
securing those benefits that shading
brings.