Judith Gap journal. [volume] (Judith Gap, Mont.) 1908-19??, 1909-03-05
DRY FARMING
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Deep breaking one of the secrets Of success in dry
FARMING 1t opens up volume of soil sufficiently thick
to catch and hold the heavy showers and also provides
room for the development of plant roots.
When land is broken early it is safe to plow deeper
than when it is broken late, because the soil will have
time to settle firmly back against the bottom Of the
row and to establish capillary connection with the lower
part of the soil before the time of planting The farmer
nee not fear that he will turn up nproductive soil by
deep powing for rule there is marked difference
III the pod"ctlveness OF the upper and lower layers in the
soils III dry sections. Twelve inches would not be too
deep OH tight land it could he done. to eight inches
is as shallow rs it should be done to call it deep breaking
The best time for early breaking is during the summer
as the and other vegetation will be full moisture
and this, with the combined influence of the heat and
moisture in the SOIL will cause the sod to rot most rp-
idly The looseng of the soil at this time will also
allow the rain to soak into the soil instead running Off
The loosenel surface, provided that is properly fined,
will act as mulch and retain the moisture This early
looseing OF the soil and the rapid decay Of the vegetable
changes in the soil which increase it's fertility
1t is very important that the land he thoroughly
turned and the sod thrown to the bottom of the furrow
When the land is pOwed the surface should be partly
fined. 1t should not be worked down as fine as for seed
bed but the larger clods should be broken up If the
surface were made too fine the land would crust and also
might not be sufficiently uneven to catch drifting SHOWS
The partial filming of the surface should be at once
The best rule is to work down has been powed in
the morning before going to dinner, and the afternoon
blowing before going to supper. Never turn land
leave it rough to be fined when breaking has been
vations for the past three winters land broken and left
rough have shown quite conclusively that land treated
was as dry i'll spring as unbroken sod, if not dryer
In early deep breaking the subsurface packer NAV be
run after the pow, but the soil would probably settle
without it and it's essential rs in the ease of
late breaking The disk is probably the tool for the
partial hng as it not only cuts up the clods, but also
packs the soil considerably. If disk is available
the ground should be gone with skp-toothed drag
harrow with form drag The land NAV be
allowed to stand in this condition until spring. and then
worked to seed bed The method of early deep break
ing that has been described requires heavy teams
considerable labor, but it will pay.
Where deep breaking is impossible the sod may be
turned three inches and allowed to lie over WIN
ter. This will be better than not breaking at ALL pro-
ved the sod is turned fiat. Where for any reason it is
impossible to break the land early much good may be
accomplished by disking the sod, especially if it be
doubedsked with the disks set to lap one-l,af In
many this double disking will do about as much
good shallow breaking 1t partly opens up the surface
to let in water. and produces partial mnlch.-J. y.
Tinsley, in journal of Agriculture.