Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1917-09-21
WINTER WHEAT HINTS FOR
FARMERS OF MINNESOTA

Wlnter-Wheat growing IN Minnesota
is increasing. The crop is not confined
to any section of the state. It has sue
ceeded in the northern part of the Red
River Valley, and in the north central
and the southern parts Of the state:
when the soil has been we'll chosen and
the seed we'll put in. It will succeed
in almost any part OF Minnesota, pro-
vided conditions are right. The soil
must be we'll drained, but not drouthy;
it must have some protection, either
from groves or from establishment on
a favorable slope, lying preferably to-
ward the north or northeast.
Does Best on Corn Land
Winter wheat succeeds best on corn
land. The best crops have been obtain
ed in many localities where the winter
wheat has been sown with a one-horse
drill about September l between the
rows of standing corn. In northwestern
| Minnesota this method is regarded as
the best. Winter wheat may also prop
erly follow some early crop such as
barley, early oats, or early potatoes. 1t
can follow wheat or late oats, provl.-
ed they are off the land early enough
to permit blowing and sowing in sea-
son.
Early Flowing Necessary
Early blowing Of stubble land is es-
sential to a good crop. It is import
| ant that contact be established as soon
as possible between the furrow slice
| and the soil beneath. To facilitate
| this, diskino the stubble previous to
blowing is advisable when time will
oil mir c1 IL
be disked and narrowed sufficiently to
firm the soil and to preserve the mois.
ture. Such treatment also helps to kill
the weeds and give good growing con.
ditions. During dry fall rolling OF
packing the soil. with a corrugated roll.
er will help to insure termination and
prompt growth. After the rolling the
| land should again be narrowed to leave
it loose and slightly ridged on the sur.
face. In some places winter wheat is
sown with disk drill in standing
wheat or oat stubble. The purpose OF
sowing it in this way is to gain the
protection Of the stubble for the win.
|, ter wheat. While the stubble undoubt.
| edly gives some protection this meth.
Cd cannot be generally advised for the
reason that wheat sown in this way is
likely to be weedy and sometimes ger,
inmates poorly. Sowing in the stubble
should be resorted to only in extreme
cases. It is essential that the soil be
in good condition, though it should not
be rich enough to cause the winter
wheat to lodge. Wheat sown on corn
land that has been MANFRED a year or
two previously should give no trouble
from this cause.
: Early Sowing Advisable
Early sowing of winter wheat is adj
visable if not absolutely necessary in
securing a stand. In Minnesota it should
be sown between August 20 and Sep
TENDER 10. The earlier date is prefer
able. After proper preparation of the
land the grain is best sown with a
drill. It should be sown deep enough
to insure reaching moisture, an inch
and a half or two inches being the u.s.
ual depth. At least a bushel and a
half of seed is required per acre and
indications are that better stand and
a greater likelihood of living over win
ter will be secured if a bushel and
three-fourths or two bushels of seed
are used. Something would depend on
the quality Of the seed, the size of the
kernels and its purity. One and three
fourths bushels per acre should be re-
garded as the proper seeding.-Andrew
Boss, University Farm, st. Paul, MINI.