The Greeley tribune., 1910-10-06
Winter Wheat Culture

Winter Wheat Culture
In preparing to grow winter wheat
without irrigation l plow ten inches
deep after breaking the land and
then l usually have six inches OF
sub soil. ! use horses and disc plows
! altogether. With a four-gang disc
and eight horses l can plow from
eight to ten acres a day in strip
half a mile long. The fall plowing
Is done on the stubble land after the
stubble Is allowed to grow about two
feet high. In the fall 1t Is turned
winters precipitation. the snow,
rain and frost. leave the rough
plowing until the spring and just as
soon as 1t Is dry enough to work
put on the disc. l use a different
sort of disc than many of the west
ern farmers. 1t is known as the six
gang disc. 1t throws the dirt all one
way, leaving no space for weeds to
grow. The boy with six horses puts
row lengthwise and crosswise
through the season for the purpose
of killing seeds and pulverizing the
soil, rs we'll as conserving all OF
the moisture possible. About the
| first of September each year l put on
the leveler and level the earth. the
! drill in the meantime being run in
front and the seed drilled into the
ground. We sow wheat Mt the rate
nf ri fnrt1- 40 tn a
| acre and let it get the winters pre-
cipitation. In the spring when 1t is
two inches high, / take the harrows
and tip the teeth backward at an
angle of about thirty degrees, so as
| not to tear up the soil. This method
breaks the crust and pulverizes the
soil and~if there are weeds 1t will
kill them.
We generally harrow both. ways
] grain. We then leave 1t to harvest
! time. BY the methods I have de-
scribed I average thirty to forty-five
bushels OF wheat to the acre, fifty to
/ ninety bushels OF barley. three to
! three and one half tons of millet and
have plenty OF good pasture for the
cattle. l have between 1900 and
; 400 acroes Of dry land under culti-
/ vation and rest them every other
! year. ! put in wheat last year and
cut 210 acres on ground that ! be-
gan to farm forty-five years ago and
l have been farming 1t every other
/ year since that time. The crop
raised last year was far better than
| any year l remember. ! broke up a
, piece OF alfalfa ground, sowed two
bushels OF spring wheat on about
! two acres and harvested sixty-nine
bushels of the finest quality.
! kept all of that seed and the
millers offered me ten cents a bushel
more for 1t than the price OF any
wheat In the country. Our farmers
! association named 1t Farrell's Golden
Wonder. I got teacup full OF seed
| from the north OF England and con-
tinued to raise 1t until I got two
bushels. then planted the two acres
with the result that I have given.
After summer fallow there ia usually
ample moisture In the soil which, II
the seed bed has been properly pre-
pared. will be sufficient to properly
germinate one half bushel of seed
and this will furnish sufficient
number of plants to stool ont for a
thick stand of wheat.
Where wheat Is grown on the
same land two or more years In sue
cessfon, the moisture in the soil at
the time of seeding will be less and
the prospects of all the seeds germi-
mating consequently lessened. There
fore more seed should be used. Some
times the soil is loose and open, or
the season too far advanced be fore
seeding for the most favorable con-
ditions for the stooling out OF the
wheat In these cases large
amount OF seed will be necessary.
The farmer must study his own
Individual conditions and from his
knowledge of his land determine the
amount of seed to SOW. Often on
arid farms where the wheat shells
badly before being cut no seed Is
used but this method is too uncer-
tain as to results and l never would
follow 1t. Too many arid farmers
are now growing mixed varieties OF
wheat Notwithstanding the fact that
at least five cents n bushel more is
paid for straight grades than for
mixed lots. A few arid farmers SOW
In the spring on account of the dan
ger of winter killing. The past sew
eral winters have been attended with
very little snow to afford protection
for the tender wheat plants and yet
we have had no extensive killing
Field and Farm.