Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1920-03-02

it easy to place and replace the
cheese, cloth used to cover the bed.
An exposure to the south and east
will give the earliest plants. 1t is
a safe practice to have two beds,
one a little later than the other. The
land chosen should be as free from
weeds and grass seed as possible.
AS a guarantee against fungous
diseases and insects the bed should
be burned over before it is seeded.
Dry pine brush is one of the best
materials for burning the bed. About
II good loads of compact brush will
usually be necessary to heat the
soil to sufficient depth. If brush is
not available any kind of wood can
be used. Before the brush or wood
is piled on the bed all leaves and
trash should be raked from it. as
they hold moisture and prevent the
heat from penetrating the soil. The
bed should q be burned until the
soil is dried out to a depth of about
three inches. If poles or skids are
laid along the ground and the brush
piled on these the burning will be
more effective. The burning should
be done a few days before sowing
the seed The bed should not be
burned when the soil is wet.
In some instances, plant beds
have been placed in broom sedge
fields without burning, and by US
ing heavy applications of fertili-
zers and manure, splendid \ results
were obtained. If the bed is not
burned great care should be used to
ca1nnt
grass seed. In most cases the plants
on an unburned bed are slow in
| growing off, but when the weather
warns up they will get large enough
to transplant almost as quickly as
those on a burned bed. After burn
ing rake off all unburned wood and
litter. The bed should then be brok-
en- about four Or five inches deep
with a narrow rlow in order to
keep most of the burned soil on
top. When this is done harrow the
bed with a drag harrow until it is
in good filth.
Fertilize the plant bed literally
with some good fertilizer such as an
1913 or a 9-3-3 One and one-half
pounds Of fertilizer per square yard
! is a good application If the bed
has been burned the ashes will fur
| nish enough potash, but ammonia
and ,phosphoric acid will be re-
| quired. Hog manure is a good fer
| tflizer for plant beds as it contains
| no grass seed.
| Stable manure and fowl manure
contain grass seed and should not
be used. Well rotted compost con-
t9jnC Iyirj1n
be used with good results Pull
| ing weeds and grass from the bed
| is expensive and is also Injurious
to the young tobacco plants.
Cotton seed meal is a good fertili.
ger for plant beds if used in mod
crate quantities. Heavy applications
Of cotton seed meal are likely to
injure the termination of tobacco
seed if the meal is not thoroughly
mixed with the soil. Blood, tankage.
and fish scraps are also good sources
of nitrogen. If the bed is given a
top dressing of five pounds of fine
ly powdered nitrate of soda per one
hundred square yards at about the
time the plants come up, it will
start them to growing rapidly.
Unless the plants turn yellow and
stop growing, nitrate of soda should
not be applied to a bed after the
plants reach some size. If this is
done the plants will be forced into
a late tender growth at transplant
ing time and they will be less apt
to live.
The amount of seed used varies
from one to two heaping table
| SpoOnfulS per one hundred soua re
yards of bed. If too much seed is
used the plants will be spindling In
size from being too thick and will