The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1914-12-31
PREPARING SEED BED
Get Rid Of Numerous Air Spaces
by Firming Soil.
Effective Work Should Be Done Just
After Flowing, Using Either Sub
surface Packer or Disk Set
Straight and Weighted.

Two general methods of preparing
the seed bed on dry land, are in
yogue-one by plowing, the other by
disking. We occasionally find other
methods, such as listing. but not COM
monty. Far more often we find q seed
bed with absolutely no preparation
at all and this is surely not good
farming where deep tillage is SO es-
sential. In preparing the seed bed
with the plow We must consider the
depth and the time to plow. The
depth Of plowing depends on the type
OF soil, the previous tillage. the crop
to be grown, the time the plowing is
done, the amount of water in the soil
and the prevailing climatic conditions.
When done shortly before seeding, es-
pecially in our dry regions, the plow-
ing should be shallow, unless the fur
row slice is sufficiently moist to per-
init of packing and plenty of help is
available to pack the furrow slice.
From observations during two ex-
tremely dry years | would say that
more crops are lost from a loose,
poorly prepared seed bed than from
lack of cultivation. II is abso-
lutely essential in dry land that the
seed bed be firm. A loose seed bed
dries out unless opportune rains keep
II moist. II II dries the crop suffers.
and the younger the crop and the
deeper the loose seed bed extends the
greater the extent of injury. When.
ever the soil is plowed, numerous air
spaces are found in the furrow slice,
where clods. weeds or litter are
turned under. writes w. w. Burr in
Denver Field and Farm. We must
get rid OF these air spaces by firming
the soil, for otherwise the movement
OF air through these larger open
spaces will very rapidly dry out the
soil
Aside from the larger open spaces
the soil particles falling from the plow
are not set close together. They have
comparatively few points OF contact.
Thus the movement of water from
one to the other is slow while the
passage of the air through the soil is
much greater than when the soil has
been firmed and as consequence the
ground dries out more quickly. This
Is Of vital Importance. If any crop is
sown on a seed bed prepared only by
the plow and harrow, there may be
sufficient water in the upper part OF
the soil-where the particles have
been brought quite closely together
by harrowing-to germinate the seed.
But the harrow stirs only two or
three inches of soil AS soon as the
crop has used the moisture in these
few inches it will suffer unless oppor-
tune rains come to supply II with
water until its roots can get through
the loose layer below. II light rains
keep the upper few inches moist, the
roots will probably tend to stay near
er the surface rather than push
through the loose soil The time to
firm the furrow slice is just after the
plowing is done. II the surface is al
lowed to dry out 1t cannot be packed.
IL there is sufficient moisture to plow
well there will be enough to pack.
The frming may be done with either
a subsurface packer or disk set
strS hit and weighted. This firming
Of the soil to get rid of air spaces and
bring the particles In closer contact
is more essential on soils that have
tendency to become loose and ashy
and In regions of scant rainfall. Heav-
Ter soils settle more readily than the
lighter ones. In regions of greater
rainfall. the rain falling upon the
plowed surface beats the particles
more closely together and washes the
finer particles down into the open
spaces and the soil may not need me-
chanical firming.