Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1910-02-04
Sage Brush Soil will Produce Al
Potatoes When Handled in
Scientific Manner
ALFALFA ROTATION FOR YIELDS
Same System of Deep Fall Flowing and
Thorough Cultivation Used on Old
Ground Gives Results on New

A criticism was heard regarding the
talk of E. H. Grub on potato culture
by some who listened to him on the
Farmers Special.
The complaint was that his remarks
were confined to a six year rotation
instead of how to raise spuds on sage
brush land.
The writer wishes to assert right
here that everything Mr.. Grubb said
about deep fall blowing, selection of
seed, cultivation of the soil both before
and after planting, and the harvesting
of the crop applies as well to sage
brush land as to alfalfa land. The only
difference is in results-the size of the
crop.
According to Mr.. Grubb it requires
four years to prepore land for potatoes
by seeding first to alfalfa. The first
season alfalfa seed is sown with a
nurse crop. Then alfalfa hay or seed
is raised for three years, and this is
followed by two crops of potatoes,
making six year rotation.
1t can be conceded without doing
violence to facts that his six year
rotation is the best possible system
for potato raising. But it is not the
only system and it is not the shortest.
By clearing sage brush land in the
spring and sowing it to Canadian peas,
as much nitrogen will be put into the
soil as by a crop of alfalfa that stands
only one or two years.
If those peas are cut in the fall with
a mower and cured and stacked for hay,
they make stronger feed than alfalfa.
By threshing out the seed very valu-
able grain is secured or it can be saved
for seed and the straw used for hay.
Or if lambs or hogs are turned INTO
the field of standing peas, they become
very fat and ready for market without
any other ration.
After the peas are cleared from the
field either by cutting for hay or by
pasturing, plow the stubble under the
same as though it were alfalfa stubble
and plant to potatoes next spring.
using the same methods as Mr.. Grubb
advises.
The pea stubble and roots will fer
tilize the soil better than heavy coat
ing of the best stable manure.
Peas are legume the same as al
falfa or clover. Bacteria gather on
their roots and rootlets and multiply
there by the billions. They transform
the nitrogen of the air which plants
cannot use into compound that plants
can and do use and this compound is
the richest and costlist fertilizer that
has ever been produced.
The farmer who tries this plan will
have sufficient nitrogen in the raw
sage brush soil to grow good crop of
potatoes. But that soil will still lack
one thing. 1t will not contain suffici-
ent humus to produce bumper crop OF
potatoes.
But be can get the humus and lots
more nitrogen in the soil in time for his
first crop of potatoes if he wants to
sacrifice that crop of pea hay. Instead
of cutting the pea crop in the fall just
piow it under deep as he would an old
alfalfa field and the soil will then con-
tain the nitrogen and humus to grow a
humber crop of potatoes next spring
providing he gives it the proper care
and cultivation
For quick action rotation in pre-
paration for potatoes there is nothing |
that equals field peas
Cow peas are used for warm eli
mate and Canadian peas for northern
latitudes.
This pea rotation is not advocated
for a steady plan but only for quick
start to use while alfalfa lana is being
made ready which requires four sea-
sons.
The quick rotation would be one crop
of peas followed by one crop of pota-
toes. While the first field is being