The Holly chieftain., 1908-07-17
LATE CROPS
ON The PLAINS
FOR FARMERS WHOSE EARLY
CROPS HAVE PROVED
FAILURES.
N0T,YET TOO LATE
TURNIPS, MILLET, RAPE, SoR-
GHuM, FLINT CORN, BEANS
AND eUCkWHEAT.
(By W. II. Olin of the Colorado Agri-
cultural College.)

cultural College.)
So many farmers are writing or teIe-
phoning the writer about what can be
planted on grain ground where spring
grain failed, beet ground where crop
was taken by the worms and various
other causes of failure of seeded
spring crops that 1t would seem desir-
able to send out circular letter to the
press of the state giving suggestions
along this line, trusting it may be
helpful to some who are at loss to
know how they may still, this season,
make the ground produce some kind
of a crop.
l. 1t is really too late to expect a
satisfactory money crop. The best
thing to do is to plan for some feed
crop which can be utilized on the
home farm or disposed Of in the neigh
borhood. 1t is now too late for any
grain crop, beet crop or potato crop
(July 1sD. a.
2. Clean the ground to be seeded
of weeds by such tillage methods as
seem most effective and which can be
quickly and easily done. Do not take
time to plow if it can possibly be
avoided
8. If ground be dry, as it probably
is in most sections, Trigate well be-
fore you begin seed bed preparations.
This will insure seed coming up
quickly and give rapid growth from
the start.
4. The writer believes the follow
ing crops can be sufficiently matured
for good feed or forage crops before
our usual late September frosts. The
| lateness of the season would seem TO
| require heavier seeding in soma. in
stances, although condition of ground
| and manner of seeding must largely
govern rate of seeding.
A. Purple or Flat Top Turnips.
The writer has matured this crop
seeded as late rs July 25th. in the
Fort Collins district. Use four to eight
pounds per acre. 1t is too late in the
season to safely seed any other stock
root known to the writer.
B. MiIIet. This is an annual hay
grass which should yield one or two
tons per acre of rich feed for cattle, or
sheep-not desirable for horse feed.
| German or Golden millet yields more
hay than the common or Hungarian
millet on the same area of ground.
| When sown broadcast at this season
suggest twenty-five to thirty pounds
per acre. Seeded with a drill, twenty
to twenty-five pounds per acre.
G. Rape. This is a succulent for
age crop best adapted as green feed
| for hogs. The plants have cabbage
| like leaves, with cabbage favor and
well filled with sap. Turn in the hogs
| when the plants are ten to fourteen
| inches high, or about six to eight
weeks after growth begins. 1t fur
nishes a wealth of green feed for hogs,
but is likely to bloat sheep. Use the
Dwarf Esse rape. seeding broadcast
eight to ten pounds per acre; drilled,
six to eight pounds per acre.
D. Early Amber Sorghum. While
| it is late to mature sorghum for sap,
yet more forage to the acre can be
grown by this crop than any other
| feed crop known to the writer. When
| seeded broadcast it can be cut and
| handled same as coarse hay, since the
stalks sown in this way do not grow
| large. If seeded with drill at this
season of the year, the writer sug-
gests stopping up every other hole,
| placing the rows about fourteen
inches apart Some farmers make use
of the beet drill in seeding this crop,
| shutting down the plate or using some
| rapid seeding. The writer suggests
| twenty to twenty-five pounds for
| broadcast seeding: fifteen to twenty
pounds for drilling.
e. An Early Flint Corn seeded
quite thicklv in rows and not more
| than thirty inches apart for forage.
| The very earliest tried at the Station
of Colorado is State of Maine Flint
1t suckers well in our climate and.
therefore, is an ideal forage crop. This
cannot be obtained here and any flint
corn obtainable can be used Do not
use dent corn.
2. BuckWheat. This is quick ma
turing crop, and where market can be
| obtained for the grain. is fairly re-
| munerative. But there are many diff
| ficulties in the way of lack of mills
and trouble in shipping. II should not
be sowed later than July 18th to goth.
3. In case you feel you cannot make
use of any of the aforementioned
crops, keep down weed growth by cul-
tivating the land and seed to fall wheat
the last of September or early part OF
October. Give the ground good thor
ough irrigation just before seeding and
you will get good fall growth, start
ing the grain into the winter in a prom
Using condition.
4. In case you cannot use fall
wheat in your rotation and do not
wish any of above late crops, summer