Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1912-06-07
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
General
Farm
Notes

|
II you have a patch Of warm. loose
and friable soil. prepare 1t for sweet
potatoes. A sandy loan, or almost
pure sand, is good. The plants need
not be set out till rather late, but have
the soil worked up fine and clean.
If you never have had good success
with melons. try the use OF we'll de-
composed manure for the individual
hills, Place some Of the manure sew
eral inches below and some on the sur
race. When the young plants come up
and get started, thin to about three
stalks to the hill, and watch them
grow. Water when the soil Is dry. A
rapid and continuous growth with mel
| ons Is discouraging to bugs and dis
ease. Cultivate very clean till the
vines begin to run.
The common garden sage is hardy
perennial. yet It does best by resolving
every two or three years. Give 1t a
warm, fertile soil along the fence
line.
Every time you go among the fruit
tees, remove unnecessary young
sprouts and saEpy growth from the
trunks and larger branches Unde-
slraple growth. removed early, will
leave no scars and the vitality of the
trees will be saved. III
Soil for late potatoes should be pillow.
ed in the spring narrowed two or three
times to prevent escape Of soil moist
ure, and again plowed and worked
down fine before planting. The late
potato crop goes into the ground at a
time when much of the soils moisture
has been lost by summer evaporation:
| hence, all means must be taken to
keep as much as possible OF the spring
moisture in the soil. Frequent and
level cultivation will aid in this mat.
ter.
Peppers are tender while young, but
hardy later in the season, enduring
frost in the fall without injury. For
these reasons, the plants should not
be set out till rather late In spring.
Large peppers are mild; small ones
are hot.
The size and quality of the grape
crop may be increased by clean and
fine cultivation with careful removal
of surplus growth up to fruiting time.
All small fruits do better by conserv-
ing the soil moisture while fruits are
ripening.
Never be afraid Of making the gar
don coil ton rich with oil Ann0ro0noa1
home manures. Bone meal and nj
trate of soda are good commercial fer
tilizerS to use. Incorporate all fer.
filters we'll with the soil by disking or
narrowing before planting.
Always in transplanting cut off q
part OF the roots and top Of each
plant. Root pruning induces better
new root growth, and shortening the
top lessons evaporation when the
young plants are getting start
A cloudy day with moist soil is the
| best time and condition for transplant.
ing. A few plants can be handled safe.
ly in the evening when the sun is
low. Avoid exposing the roots to the
wind. Where transplanting must be
done In dry weather, water each plant
after it is set to settle the soil about
the roots, and rake the surface fine
about the plants to form a dust mulch
for holding moisture. Raking the
garden in dry weather is equivalent to
watering 1t.
Cultivate rhubarb, asparagus and
other perennial vegetables as you do
other crops if you would have large
growth. Spading decomposed manure
into the soil along the rows will slim.
ulate growth. Summer mulching for
this class of plants will aid in keeping
down weeds and holding soil moisture.
Plant parsnip seed in good SOIL free
from fresh manure, and cultivate for a
long season of growth. This crop need
not be harvested in the fall. The
roots may be allowed to remain in the
ground all fall and winter, digging
them In the winter and early spring
only as they are needed for use. Allow
ing them to remain, the open garden
SOIL during the winter makes the roots
more tender and better favored.
Celery plants should be started in a
cool situation with moist soil and par
| tial shade.
l have found that field that has
been packed by winter rains or by
pasturing and remains too wet for
working till late in spring will begin
to dry out nicely by giving the surface
disklng. The soil, which the dicks
turn up dries out quickly under the
sun and wind, and after day or two
Of drying the field will be in good
condition for blowing or deeper disk
ing On thin land for oats or corn,
dlsklng and cross-disking are equal
to good blowing, and better in some
cases. Where corn is to be planted
/ more power should be used, more
weight applied and the disks run
| deeper. II the soil can be disked six
inches deep in the same time it is
plowed to that depth, it is better to
! disk, as the soil will be ready for
planting and in perfect condition with
a narrowing for smoothing and level
ing the surface.
When blowing and narrowing or
disking Is to be done every available
horse and mule should be in harness
to make the work easy and move on
rapidly. Some allow one team to re-
main idle while the other Is pulling
the pillow. 1t would be better all
around to hitch three or four of them
to the pillow for deeper working and
rushing things for reasonable planting.
Better work four horses eight hours
of the day than two horses sixteen