Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1917-08-29
1t may at first glance seem a ra-

ther difncult problem to can an In
visible something hidden away in a
foot or so of garden soil which 1t
would take an expert chemical analy-
sis to find. But in reality 1t is much
easier than the kind of canning you
do in the kitchen. BY planting a
crop that will grow through the win
! ter and early spring the surplus
available foods will be stored up in
the roots, stems and leaves Of the
growing plants, and when these are
piowed or spaded under in the spring
ana decompose, you get your plant
loods back again, ready for use by
the vegetables you plant next spring.
In addition. you fill your garden soil
with "humus," or vegetable matter.
which Is almost as essential for the
healthy' vigorous growth of your
plants as having plenty Of plant food
III the soil. Humus keeps the soil
broken up and porous and absorbs
the surplus moisture, storing it up
for the future needs OF ths growing
pants during dry weather
For these reasons YOU can readiIv
see that the sowing of winter or
cover crops on every square foot of
your garden left uncovered before
ffeezing weather is not merely a
hobby, but just about as important
as putting manure on your garden in
the spring. In latitudes north of
rhlladelphia, the best crops to SOW
Tor this purpose are rye and winter
'etch. South of PHILADELPHIA either
these or crimson clover may be used.
both the vetch and the clover are
iesumes and not only conserve
plant food as described above, but
gather nitrogen from the air. actin
aliy enriching the garden soil on
winch they grow. The earlier these
can be sown the more growth thew
Will make before the ground freezes
up The best way is to have enough
seed on hand and SOW each patch of
ground as soon as 1t is available. in
stead Of waiting until you can clear
or all Of the garden. Next spring
the parts which were sown last can
be left for late crops, such as melons
ana beans, so that the cover crops
Will nave more of a chance to grow.
me clover can be sown any time up
to the first week Of September, and
the rye and vetch until early frost.
Clean the Garden Up Now.
100 many gardeners make the mis-
take Of leaving all the cleaning up
there may be to be done in the gar
den until spring. Dead vines, bad
fruits' brush, tomato poles, ETC., are
left where they are. This not only
makes a disreputable looking gar
den through the winter and early
spring, but furnishes the very finest
Kind Kind of a winter resort. for every
bug, beetle and blight spore on the
list that requires special quarters for
"wintering over" Make the slogan
Of the last weeks work in the gar
den out-of-doors before freezing
weather comes-"Clean up and
Burn" Don't be tempted, as it Is
sometimes advised, to use the leaves.
weeds and refuse from your garden
for the compost heap. 1t is true
they will help make humus, but
they may also help make trouble,
Pieces of sod, fallen leaves and ma
ter1ai of that kind may be rotted up
with manure If you have 1t to in
crease the fertility Of your garden
next spring, but burn everything
which by chance may carry over trou-
bic for another year.
FAN Trenching to Increase Fertility,
There is another opportunity to
make your garden for next year bet
ter by giving 1t an extra deep spad-
ing up this fall. If it Is q small one
and usually spaded or fodked up, you
can go over it now and dig 1t several
inches deeper than usual by throw
ing the soil out Of the first row and
then digging up the soil below that.
turning 1t over and breaking 1t IN
where 1t Is. The soil from the next
row, If thrown on top of this, will
leave another strip of the subsoil un-
covered so that it can be broken up.
This "trenching" or subsoifing of
the garden not only gives more room \
for the roots Of your plants to gather
their food in, but also makes it pos
sible to work it much sooner in the
spring, as the improved drainage en-
ables it to dry out more rapidly.