Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1919-04-18
By R. w. Gill

VI AANANAA 0ANRNA &AA1NA A1NA0NA
their soils by crop rotation using a
plan that win include vegetables for
the cultivated crop.
How many Of the farms in the viii
lamette valley are in tip top condition
for vegetable growing and, if they are
not, are they in the proper condition
foI other crops.
Many of these soils, and especially
during the war, have been sowed to
grain year after year, In the haste to
make grain sowings early, many of
these fields have been plOwed too wet
and some have been pastured too wet
in winter. There is only one sure and
quick way of restoring these soils to a
good friable condition and that is by
growing some vegetable crop.
Many will say, however that this
entails too much labor, which at pres
emit is hard to secure. To those where
this situation applies l would recon-
Hend the growing of a squash crop,
this or pumpkin being the easiest of
ALI vegetable crops to grow and har-
vest. This crop is more profitable than
grain and the consequent cultivation
is of greatSvalue to the soil and will
afford a chance to clean the ground of
weeds.
Scope Of Markets
DehydratiOn plants and eanneries
are now in the market for large guam
titles of squash and nearly all of the
Willamette valley is afforded an OPP
~portunity to reach this class OF mar
kets. The direct consuming markets
handle a great many squash, but this
demand would not use a very large
acreage. Contracts can he secured and
the crop sold before planting, thus
eliminating all difficulty and uneer-
tainty regarding disposal of the yield.
Location
Squash are quite heavy feeders and
require considerable moisture. They dc
best in warm soil, especially those soils
containing a portion of sand. Beaver
dam soils will produce good squash if
they have good drainage and can be
planted by May goth, however the
general tendency ON this class of land
is for the squash to run to vine in
stead of fruit. Rich sandy river bot
tom soil is the ideal location for squash
and will not only give good yields, nut
will ripen early. Many upland soils
will produce good squash crops, the
main consideration being their adapt
ability to retain moisture.
Sbils that l|ave previously grown
some kind of lcgume, such as clover,
peas, beans, etc., will offer the best
condition for growing the crop.
Soil Preparation
If your soil is run together or clod-
dy | would recommend two plowings,
the first about April l to Is and the
second about May 10 or a few days
previous to planting. With soils that
are in good garden condition, one plow-
ing about April 18th will be suffi-
Gent. if the soil is well disced. The
ground should be disced over twice
the sedond operation running cross
ways to the first. The ground should
be narrowed after the first blowing
and occasionally thereafter to keep
down weeds and retain moisture. All
clods or Jumps should be broken up
and the soil be in q firm mellow con-
dition.
Fertilizer
One Of the first requisites is plenty
of humus, therefore barnyard manure
is of great value. Old straw Of any
| kind is also useful if well rotted.
Soil which naturally contains plenty
of potash will respond readily to the
use of land plaster and about 200
pounds per acre should be sown broad
cast and plowed in. Nearly all yege-
table crops are improved by the use of
land plaster as it win create better vi
| tality and assist in warding off disease
Nitrogen is Of great value in giving
the young plants u quick start, but too
liberal use will tend towards excessive
vine growth.
Phosphoric acid is the chemical most
needed and this can be secured by pur-
chasing tankage containing a high per
centage Of this ingredient.
Planting
Squash are very easy to plant since
the hills are planted quite far apart.
II prefer TO have the rows 10 feet apart
and the distance in the row will de-
pend somewhat on the soil, but should
be from 8 to 10 feet. Ten foot rows
allow plenty Of room for operating a
disc or harrw between. This is ais
wide enough to drive between when
harvesting the crop. About 10 seeds
! should be planted to each hill, this will
permit plenty of plants out Of which to
select two good strong plants to be
left in each hill. Some Of these plants
NAV be destroyed by birds, squirrels
or worms and it is best to nave plen-
ty. Thinning should not be done until
about two weeks after the plants are
up.
Another good way to grow squash,
and which is still easier is to use a
force feed type Of drill like the Co
lumbia or Acme. Use the largest cyl
inder and If this is not large enough,
have YOU blacksmith or auto repair
man bore out a special size for the
purpose. Set the drill TO drop the seed
about 81 to 4 feet apart. These can
be thinned to one plant. With this
plan each plant has an individual OPP
portunity to develop. The seed should
be covered from ~ inches to 2, ac-
cording to soil and weather conditions