White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1929-11-01
FERTILIZER EXPERIMENTS
WITH FIELD CROPS

The question of fertilization of
many crops of the county is COM
ing to be a problem which growers
are seiving serious consideration. In
fact the fertilization problem is
becoming more general problem
throughout the west now that many
Of Our lands have been in cpltiva-
ton over a long period Of time. Re-
suits from alfalfa fertilization dur
ing the past year show that new
soils do not respond to even heavy
application of commercial fertilizers
/ while those soils which have been
in cultivation for 20 to rs years are
showing marked results from certain
elements of fertility.
In giving this problem thought and
study, the attempt has been to work
out a basic fertilizer which could be
recommended as a general fertilizer
tor almost any crop and on most
any soil Of the county. The. growing
OF specialized crops would demand
Che addition of one element or an
other to the soil over which the basic
fertilizer has been spread. Fertilizer
studies in the east have shown that
as rule entirely too many fertiliz-
ers have been put upon the market
tor special crops when more gen.
eral fertilizer would fill many of
these needs.
AS result Of the study of fer
tilizer applications during the
past two years and based upon our
study. of general fertilization prob
lems, we would be inclined to
recommend as basic fertil-
izer, one carrying from to 7
per cent of nitrates, 10 per cent of
phosphoric acid and from 2 to a
Per cent Of potash. Many are inclined
to feel that this percentage Of pot
ash particularly is too low and some
that the percentage of nitrogen is
too high especially if 7 per cent
were recommended. There is definite
experimental work to which we can
60 to secure definite information on
these problems and consequently
until more work has been done along
these lines, it will be necessary to
attempt general Recommendations
based on occasional work done by
farmers here and there.
Berry and truck growcrs of Kit
sap county have probably pointed
the way to farmers in other sections
OF the state in solving of some of the
fertilizer problems. Growers in this
section of the state for the last few
years pooled their orders for various
fertilizers ingredients and called for
bids upon these. They then purchased
these from the lowest bidder consid-
ering the elements of fertility within
the fertilizer and prepared their own
nixtuTes and later had them pre-
pared, by fertilizer concerns ac-
cording to formula which they have
worked out on the basis of bids re-
ceived on fertilizer material. In that
section for instance, on Strawberries,
they are using 3-1O-7 fertilizer
made up of Ar,mo-Phos, Super
n,uriate of potash and
with sheep manure as filler they
are able to secure this fertilizer at
a price Of $500 per ton which should
be abe to beat at this time. The cost
to growers here would be slightly
above this figure due to freight rates, /
however, we believe that farmers of
this county becoming interested now
in the fertilizer problem, could very /
well afford to look into the matter of
commercial fertilizers and attempt
to solve some of the problems by the
same means that farmers of Kitsap
county have been solving them. Farm
ers there apply 1000 pounds of that /
fertilizer per acre to Strawberries ear
ly in February.
Quite often fertilizer dealers seem
to feel that commercial fertilizers
carrying a larger percentage of or
ganic fertilizers such as fish scrap,
bud meal, tankage etc, give better
results. This question has been taken
up with persons familiar with the
situation in Kitsap county and they
say that farmers there are getting
just as good results and in some
cases, better, from the above mix
ture than they have secured from
other ready mixed commercial fer
tilizers analysing the same percent
age of fertilizer ingredients, that is
nitrates, phosphates, ard potash.
e. C. Durdle, County Agent.