Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1911-11-15
GREEN MANuRIN NO. "A.
What Can be 0btaInsa BY PIanlng The
Velvet 8ean.

What Can be 0btaInsa BY PIanlng The
| Velvet Bean.
While it will not mature seed
IN our short season. the velvet
bean has no equal 90 a soil inn
proven. Think of q plant grow
ing vine Is feet long bearing
leaves 4x8 inches with three of
these leaves on every leaf stalk
and the leaf stalks set thick on
the vine. What mass ef vsge-
table matter this would make 70
plow down for soil improvement
1t ls fabulous. the amount of
green vegetation this plant will
produce to the acre. The usua |
objection offered to the use of
this plant is that it makes 90
much vine that disc harrow can.
not be forced through it if grown
whore the land is in a fair state
OF cultivation.
The velvet bean Is not a native
of the United States but was inn
ported from India. It requires q
long season in which to ripsn
seed, but can be grown suce ess-
fully for soil Improvements pur.
p"ses in most of the Piedmont
and in all of the coastal planes
section. 1t should bs planted a.
soon as all danger of frost has
passed as it is not all hardy.
Some farmers find it good prac.
tlce to let the frost got the crop
before blowing it under in order
to reduce the bulk of vegetable
matter to be turned under. It ia
also a good practice, in some
cases, to let the vines lie on the
ground over winter and turn
them under in the spring prior to
planting.
The velvet bean runs high in
nitrogen and potash. The num-
Der of tons that can be grown on
acre is very great, but q fair aver.
age is about twenty.
Now let Us sea how much plant
food this growth would add to
our ten acre field. Twenty tons
would add to one acre go lbs. of !
nitrogen, So lbs. of phosphate.
and 229 It's. of potash. We have
only to multiply these figures by
ten to get the plant food added
to the ten acre field. Should the
farmer be able (which is hardly
probable) to cut this mass of
vines to pieces with his sharp disc
and plow them under he would
add to the soil of his ten acre
field, 2290 lbs. of nitrogen, and
render available, $50 lbs. of phos.
phate. and 2280 lbs. of potash.
This. ycu will note, is as much
nitrogen as you can get from
about 300 tons of fresh COW ma
nura or 55 tons of an 8-2.2 COM
meroial fertilizer. The phosphate
found in this amount of green
manure is equal to that found in
$50 tons of fresh COW manure or
in B 1.2 tons of an 1922 CONNER.
oial fertilizer. The potash thus
rendered available is equal to
that found in 312 tons of fresh
COW manure or in 81 tons of 1922.
The amount of nitrogen thus
snatohed from the air and fed to
the crop in the short space of one
year is equal to that removed by
200 bushels of corn, 300 bushels
of oats, $50 bushels of wheat, or
six 500 lib. bales of cotton Der
acre. Or, figuring on a ten acre
basis, there is as much plant food
rendered available on this ten
acre tract as would be removed
from it by 1000 bu. of corn, 5000
bu. of oats, 1900 bu. of wheat or
sixty 800 Id. bales of cotton. Not
only 50 but the after effect of this
enormous amount of vegetable
matter plowed into and mixed
with the soil will show for years
to come.-Bulletin by N. G. De-
partment of Agriculture.