Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1909-05-14
CATCH C,ROPS!:,,

Furnished 81 the Minnesota Faf-
merss Instl tutes, st. Anthony PaIk,
ST Paul, MINI. d, Il IS
The term. catch crop, is used for
any crop grown that is not regularly
planned for certain field, that IL, 6
is put in where another crop has been
removed from the land. Afillet sown
where corn or other grain crop has
failed or rape sown with grain cron
or after grain crop, or in corn at the
last cultivation to furnish fall feed,
is catch crop.
There are three great advantages in
catch crops and reasons why their use
should be extended, first, they furnish
very cheap feed second, they grow in
place of weeds; third, they Improve
the condition of the soil by adding
vegetable matter, especially il
pastured off or plowed under.
Of all these crops rape is probably
the best, as the seed is very cheap, 1T
grows quickly and furnishes excellent
pasture for all animals with the
possible exception of mich cows.
Rape makes a good growth for
pasture IN about six weeks after sown.
IT sown alone. 1t may be sown
successfully with grain crops when
they are sown or shortly afterward.
When sown IN this way, 1T is used tor
fall pasture. The seed costs but about
10. cents per acre, hence furnishes
very cheap pasturage
Mr.. Chas. Nelson, of Meeker county,
Mimi. sowed rape and clover in sixty
acres of gram III the spring of 1907,
and that tall pastured his herd of &c
cows two months on this field, getting
from the creamery 1925 90 in cream
checks for the two mouths, which
brought him over three dollars per
acre from his field after getting the
regular grain crop. The crop took
the place of weeds. The whole of the
crop was left on the field. While
growing after harvest 1t used the
available plant food in the soil which
otherwise would have been largely lost
by teaching. and thus left this plant
food in the soil in the form of
vegetable matter that Will be easily
broken down or rottlng, it will help to
liberate the mineral plant food locked
in the soil. Such crop adds CON
siderable to the income from the field
the year it Is grown and leaves the soil
IN better condition for crops in sue
ceedlng years.
Mr.. G. W. Hale, a large farmer of
Fillmore county, sows several hundred
acres OF rape each year with his grain
crops. In the fall he buys several
carloads of sheep to eat of this crop
and reports that he gets from 80 cents
to $5 per acre extra each year after
getting his regular cop of corn or
grain. This certainly IS an advantage
over getting nothing from the sutbble
fields and allowing them to produce
weed seeds.
When land is very rich there is some
danger that the rape may grow too
large in the grain and cause trouble in
harvesting and curing the CROP In
such cases, 1t is we'll to SOW the rape
after the gram is up, thus giving the
grain a considerable start. The rape
may be scattered in the field any con.
venient way, as by hand or with a
hand broadcast seeder. It may be
scratched IN with a weeder or left
until rain comes which will start
it. When 1t is sown at the same time
as the grain crop. it of course, Is
mixed with the grain, and in such
case there Is no cost for sowing.
A. u. WILSON. f..