The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1920-08-06
MANY GROWERS
ATTEND PEShAST|N
SOILS SURVEY
CAREFUL STUDY OF CROPS
AND SOIL CONDITION ON \
NUMBER OF ORCHARDS WERE
MADE DURING THE DAY.

Great interest was shown by the big
attendance at the Orchard Soil Dem
onstration at Peshastin, July Both.
After making careful study of
crops and soil condition on number
of orchards the following conclusions
were reached:
l. Heavy coVer-crops are an alb
solute necessity on the Peshastn type
of orchard soil and give regular
heavy production.
2. Cutting alfalfa cover-crops for
hay destroys the soil texture, robS
the tree of plant food and results in
light crops of apples.
3. Summer discing of cover-crops
| reduces the stand of cover-crop and
| destroys surface feeder roots and is
very injurious to soil texture
a. Clean cultivation is destructive
to soils and produces low vitality in
trees.
S. In seeding to cover-crop the
i"ii SeSuiiiS Is peSt anu IL trees are IN
poor vigor good dressing of manure
| or commercial nitrogen fertilizer is
advisable.
Promptly at 80 a large number
of orchardists from Dryden, Peshas-
tin, Leavenworth, Cashmere and a
few from Wenatchee met at the cross
roads by the Grange hall From
here J. A. Warman led the party to
his ten year old orchard on the Hill
near the county farm.
Mr.. Warman called attention to
the fact that his orchard had been in
alfalfa for five years and for three
years none had been cut. Summer
discing was tried and later discon-
tinued. The alfalfa is left unmoleSt-
ed during the entire growing season.
| This young orchard is a heavy pro-
ducer and is steadily increasing
Across the road from Warman>
orchard an orchard where hay was
being cut showed a very light crop.
Near Mr.. Warmans heavy produc-
| ing orchard was seen an orchard the
| same age in clean cultivation. Trees
looked sick and had no crop
Mr.. Larsen next took the visitors
to orchard soil investigation tract
in NJ. w. Starks orchard. Here the
different soil and fertilizer tests be
| ing made were eXplained
From the Starks orchard Frank
Wingate took the crowd over to his
wonderfully productive orchard.
In explaining his methods of soil
management Mr.. Wingate said that
the best producing part of his OF
chard had not been disced or cult
waited either summer or fall for the
past five years. Only irrigation
bitches are made. Mr.. Wingate said
give years ago | started out to pro
duce 1000 boxes per acre. | quit cut
ting hay or discing. ! use all the
manure fertilizer | can get and my
yield has steadily increased"
It was shown that the entire sur
face soil just beneath the alfalfa
mulch was solid mass of feeder
roots. Every one entered into a gen
eral discussion as to how to handle
cover-crops and it was generally con
ceded that summer discing and cut
ting hay were bad practices.
| From Wingate's orchard the visit
ors went across the road and inspect
ed a newly disced orchard on similar
soil. The soil was dry, trees wiltcd
and ground hard and impervious to
water. The loose disced portion wa
full of dry feeder roots cut off in
dscing.
A. W. Erase took the visitors into
the Joe Conn orchard which he man
ages and showed them the result Of
making post holes to revive dried
trees. Instead of discing the dried
soil four deep holes were made witt
a post hole digger in the irrigation
bitches near the trees. Upon water
ing the trees revived immediately
and look as well as any trees nearby
The last orchard visited was Har-
ry Havey's. Here it was shown that
heavy summer discing during 1919
practically killed out a heavy stand
of alfalfa.
Mr.. Harvey will reseed to alfalfa
and fertilize the soil to invigorate
the alfalfa. He will attempt to Sc
cure heavy stand of alfalfa and cut
no hay or do no summer discing.