Wallowa County chieftain. [volume] (Enterprise, Or.) 1909-1911, 1909-04-22
THOUSAND HEADED kALe.
Has Proven Valuable for Feed During
Winter Months.
By a D. seudder. OREGON Agricultural College.
Corvallis

plants endure the Willamette valley
winter weather without injury, yielding
from 80 to 40 tons of succulent and
nutritious green feed per acre under
favorable conditions. 1t may also be
grown for summer green feed, although
less successfully.
A deep, well drained, rich loan soil
is best for this crop but the ordinary
valley clay loan soil, if well drained,
thoroughly titled and heavily manured,
will produce excellent yields. If pos
sible long, narrow, slightly sloping
field, running lengthwise of piece of
sod ground, or a wide sodded fence
row, or one of the farm lanes is prefer
able, as this permits easier hauling
during the wet winter weather.
The kale ground should be heavily
manured and deeply plowed in the fall
if possible and replowed once early in
the spring and again before transplant
ing. If the fall blowing cannot be
done, manuring during the winter and
spring and deep early spring blowing
repeated twice before transplanting,
will put the ground in good shape.
Following the second blowing the
ground should be kept clean of weeds
and thoroughly mulched to conserve
the moisture, by frequent light harrow
ing until transplanting time.
For transplanting the seed should be
sown in drill rows about three feet
apart, as early in March as it is possi-
BILE to get on the ground. If possible
strip of the best drained ground on
the farm should be used for growing
the young plants and this should be
manured and plowed in the fall SO that
it need only be replowed and worked
down at once for the seed in the
spring, thus getting the plants started
as early as possible. One pound of
seed will furnish enough plants for an
acre.
Transplanting should be done about
June lst, if possible, when the plants
are six to twelve inches high. Later
transplanting is liable to be held back
by the dry weather so much as not to
be ready for cutting in early fall.
With the ground in fine tilth, trans
planting of small acreages may be
done rapidly by hand with long blad-
ed spade, care being taken not to in
jure the roots in taking them up from
the drill row, and replacing them in
the new ground. They should be placed
three feet apart each way, covered
little deeper than in the drill row, the
soil firmed around them with the foot
and later when wilted down, the whole
field should be rolled. Plants should
be left every three feet in the original
drill rows and all extra plants saved
for replacing thvse that NAY not sur
vive transplanting.
Transplanting of larger acreages
may be done by blowing and placing
the plants three feet apart in every
third furrow, covering the roots but
not the leaves, with the next furrow
turned and following the days work
with roller. Missing plants may be
replaced later by hand.
Instead of transplanting the seed
may be dropped in hills three feet
apart each way, several seed to the
hill, as early as the ground can be thor
oughiy prepared. Later each hill
should be thinned, leaving one vigor-
GUS plant. As rule this method does
not give as good yields as transplant
ing.
After transplanting or thinning the
field should receive frequent shallow
cultivation to conserve the moisture
until the plants branch out 80 far as to
prevent further tillage.
In October or November after the
green corn has all been fed the kale,
although not fully grown, will be ready
for feeding. The plants should be cut
off at the ground with an axe or shash,
and the entire plant tossed onto the
wagon or sled and hauled to the feeding
place Enough may be cut at one time
for one or several days feeding.
Frozen kae should be allowed to thaw
before feeding. Where it is thought
the older plants may taint the milk
they should be fed Immediately after
milking. Forty pounds of kale per
day with 20 pounds of good hay, such
as vetch and oats, fed in two portions.
makes an ideal ration for milch cows.
very little or no mill feed being need
ed. The kale may be fed as needed
clear through the winter until April or
later. For summer feeding seed may
be fall sown and transplanted early in
the spring. being ready, under favora-
BILE conditions, for cutting during july.
August and September. Unless the
ground could be irrigated, however.
once or twice, the yields are not so
heavy at this season.
Stripping of the lower leaves of the
kale as regular practice is not re-
commended as it is extremely labor !
lous, especially during wet weather.
puddles the soil badly and causes the
stripped plants to suffer from frost.
However, where green feed runs short
in September the larger lower leaves
OF the kale may be stripped off for
feeding at this time and later as wet
weather comes on and the plants grow
larger it pays to abandon this stripping
and cut the entire plant with an axe.