Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1911-10-11
GREEN MATURING,
Straw, Weeds and Coarse Grass Make Ex
cellent and Cheap Fertilizer.

Travelling through the pied
mont section it Is not unusual to
see large stacks of straw two or
more years old rotting to the
ground. Az the farmers do not
need it for bedding for their live
stock, and find it very poor rough.
age, they are content to let it lie
in the field or around the barn lot
as worthless straw, good for
nothing but to be burned or rot
where it lies.
A ten acre field of wheat that
yields 200 bushels will produce 10
tons of straw and chaf. This
straw has about ~ lbs. of nitro
gen, "A lbs. of phosphate, and
1913 lbs. of potash per ton.
These amounts were necessarily
taken out of the soil and should
be returned together with the
very large amount of organic
matter contained in a ton of
straw.
Should the straw from this
10 acre field be rut back into the
land the soil would receive an an.
plication of 12O lbs. of nitrogen,
a lbs. Of phosphate, and 1925 lbs.
of potash. This is a. much nitro.
gen as can be gotten from three
tons of an 1922 fertilizer or 1e
tons of fresh COW manure. The
notash made available in the
amount Of straw is equal to tina,
in three tons of all 1922 fertilizer
or in II tons of fresh COW ma
nure..
Wheat straw. old hay, dead
weeds cut when cleaning feno.
rows, ditch banks, etc. should be
spread evenly over the pool
places in the field during the fal.
and allowed to weather and rot
during the winter. In the spring
this rough material may be easily
cut to pieces with a disc harrow
and plowed under.
Last year a good farmer ir
Davidson County spread q lot Of
rag weed, coarse grasses, etc., out
from around his tobacco barns
and COW stables, over a very pool
land in the fall on which he had
sown rye. He did this to get the
stuff out of the way and with
no thought of its possible ferti.
LIKING value. I saw the rye il
the spring just before it was cut
and the result was astonishing
The crop was as thick on tn,
I ground as it could stand, vel
filled, and about 5 feet high
, Just a few steps away where NJ
mulch of any kind was used tn
rye made but an Indifferent
growth and was thin on the land
Another farmer in Randolph
County last year thoughtlessly
: spread some old straw, wesds
and coarse, dirty grass over q gal
spot in his wheat field, and IN the
sprlng and at harvest time wal
surprised to find his crop looking
as though he had spread tons Of
stable manure over the land. In.
stances may be- multiplied.
In the future do not let your
old hay, old straw, flooded grass,
mixed weeds and coarse grass, lie
around and rot in the fence cor.
ners and gullies, but spread them
evenly over the poor spots in the
wheat or oat fields just after the
crop is sown. When the crop is
harvested, run a sharp disc har.
row over this mass of half rotten
vegetation onoe or twice and
pillow it under prior to seeding ths
field to soy beans or c,wpeas to
be plowed under if the land is
poor or cut and fed to live stock
if the land is not in need of fer
tility. We had intended to dis
cuss corn as a green manuring
crop this time but find our space
all occupied with the above DIS
cussion and We will have to defer
this crop for next week.-Bulle-
tin from N. G. Department. of
Agriculture.
Severe fighting between tho