Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-14
BREAKING GROU / D
SOME HINTS THAT WILL MAKE
THE WORK EASY.

TF you are going to break a piece oil
sodded ground this spring for either
vegetables or flowers don't let any
body induce you to turn the sods under
in the belief that they will rot away
and make fine, rich SOIL Turning sod
under is all very well in the autumn.
1t is the best thing possible then. be-
cause it will have many months to rot
away But there won't be time for II
to rot if you turn 1t under now and ex-
pect to plant things a few weeks after
ward.
Ground must be fine-as fine as powder
if possible. Sods left in the soil will
simply make little underground caverns
and every plant whose roots go there
will suddenly die. because the roots Will
find themselves feeling around in empty
space.
The easiest way to break up sodded
ground is to cut 1t up with spadinS
fork You can do many times as much
work with many times less labor than
with a spade. Be sure to buy heavy
fork.
Drive it under the sod just deep enough
to get below the heaviest roots. Bear
down on it and you will tear the bunch
right outs taking away minimum OF
earth. If you have time and energy
enough turn the piece of sod upside down
and beat it with the fiat of the fork to
knock out all the beautifully granu-
lated earth that hangs in the network OF
little roots. 1t is the very best part or
the ground, and furnishes just the food
plants love- If time presses throw all the
sods In a pile, roots up, and let them lie
somewhere to furnish humps that can
be turned under in the autumn.
If the soil in which you want to make
your new vegetable garden or flower plot
this season is very poor cover it all over
.with.a blanket of wood ashes and bone
meal and then work the whole place
deeply. If you can't get either OF these
get a load of very old dry manure. Be
ware of fresh stable manure That
makes splendid fertilizer to put in If the
ground can be let alone for few months,
but it will burn the tender roots of young
plants.
Whatever fertilizer goes in the ground
must be well worked. Drive the Spads
or fork in as deep as you can push it witt
the foot, work ii up and down, mt the
clod of earth. give it smart blow &c
break it up and go on to the next spot
Always begin at the far end or the pho,
be bothered by the earth you have already
broken.
If the soil is very thick. clayey and
tough put in small quantities of finely
chopped old leaves. old straw or any
other vegetable matter. If nothing else
can be obtained. sprinkle in some ashes
from the kitchen or furnace. Of course
YOU must take only the very hne ashes
Put in only enough to furnish loosening
matter for the soil.
Even if your earth is rich. few shovel
flls of hard-coal ashes will do good. They
will furnish some fertiliZing material, and
they will also kill or drive away many
of the burrowing slugs and beetles.
In majority of cases il happens that
the top soil is good. but there is extremely
poor red or yellow bottom soil. In such
conditions the gardener must be very
careful not 10 turn the good soil under
in breaking thu ground. If the good sol
is only thin LAYER it is better to toss ii
all into one big pile and then to work owes
the remaining soil, making it very fine by
repeated digging and hoeing, and after
mixing it with manure. ashes or other
stuff to keep it loose and rich to toss the
top soil back
good plan with all plots, old or new
is to break them up soon as the frost
is out. throwing the earth in piles and let
ting il lie that way for week or two to
let the sun and weather work on them.