The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1909-04-29
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harrow, or some implement which VIII
break the upper layer Of soil effective
ly. The seeds of broom corn are rath- |
er small and the young plants make a
very slow growth early in the season
hence IL is desirable to get the soil in
to firstclass tilth before the planting
season After the ground has been
broken with the disc harrow, a smooth
ing harrow will assist in getting the
surface into the proper form.
Time Of Panting-Broom corn, like
the plants in the same group, makes
its most rapid growth in warm wealth
er. 1t has been intimated that the
young plants are rather tardy In start
ing, and they do not make much prog
ress for the first two or three weeks.
For this reason the seed should not be
placed in the soil until the ground is
warm enough to bring about rapid
termination, and present favorable
growing conditions. As rule, this
period is not reached in Oklahoma un-
Til the latter part Of April or early in
May. Thus far no field trials have
been conducted for the purpose Of de-
termining the best time to plant-but
after making thorough study of eli
matte conditions, we believe ii is a
safe proposition to do this work as soon
as the soil is properly warmed. The
suggestion has been made that the
seeding period may be extended until
the first of June. Owing to the fact
that the brush deteriorates rapidly in
market value after it passes the bloom
ing stage. and since laborers cannot be
secured at will in many parts OF the
state, it has been thought to be an ex-
cellent practice to plant the field at
different dates. This is true more par
ticularly on farms where several acres
are to be planted Six to eight acres
makes good sized field to be harvest
ed within few days In cases where
the acreage devoted to broom corn is
somewhat extensive, limited area
may be planted early about two weeks
later another area may be seeded, and
IL necessary, a third planting can be
made ten days later than the second
This scheme Of planting gives longer
harvesting season, and in many ways
is more satisfactory than planting the
whole field on single date.
Manner of Planting-There are two
methods of planting, which may be fol-
lowed, namely: surface planting and
listing. Either OF these methods, II
carefully followed, will give good re-
suits. In sections where listing is
prac ticed the soil should receive some
previous preparation, and the listed
rows need not be more than three or
four inches deep. This is plenty deep
enough to secure all the advantages of
this system, and there will be little
danger of covering the young plants at
the time of the first cultivation. The
broom corn seed can be planted with
an ordinary corn planter which is pro-
vided with Katiir corn plates, or it may
be put in with an ordinary grain drill
by blocking the proper number Of feed
holes so that the rows may be given
the correct spacing. The seed of dwarf
varieties is usually planted in rows 49,
inches apart, and CROUCH material Is
used to secure a stand of one plant for
every four or five inches in the row.
The standard sorts are given greater
spacing, the rows being placed at AZ
inches apart. 1t will require three TO
five pounds of good seed to give ger
mination test of 90 to 90 per cent, the
minimum quantity may be planted !;
however, if the seed contains large
amount of trash and has been damaged
to n slight extent so that the viability
has been impaired, much more seed
should be sown.
Cultivating the Crop-As soon as the
young plants are two or three inches
high cultivating should commence, If
a liberal set has been secured, some
thinning may be done with the weed
W VI shoosHihb hoiAO"b W S''A"S
cross cultivation. Where the stand is
ideal, these implements can be run
lengthwise of the row, and they will
assist in stirring the soil at time when
the regular cullivator cannot be manip-
ulated such treatment will not only
stir the surface and aid in holding the
moisture for the crop, but it will de-
stroy many small weeds which make
their appearance early in the season.
The broom corn will probably be large
enough to permit the use of the regu-
lar corn cultivator fifteen days or three
weeks after planting. A machine that
is provided with five or more narrow
shovels per section adjusted to run at
shallow depth will give better results
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