Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-07

One OF the big problems In taking
care of the home garden Is TO know
what fertilizers 10 use. There are now
so many different kinds and brands Of
fertilizer that It is real confusing to
the average layman. The good old days
when all the fertility came in loads OF
stable manure were. In truth, golden
days for gardening. Now 1t is chemical
fertilizer or expensive manureS In
sacks, and then one is not certain
whether he is meeting the needs of the
soil adequately In the last two or
three years some very highly concern
trated kinds of fertilizer have come
upon the markets, accompanied by
equally high recommendations by the
manufacturers. These materials have
proved very satisfactory in the hands
of skilled gardeners, but have caused
serious burning of plants and lawns
when handled less intelligently. Gen.
orally speaking, the older, less concen-
trated types of fertilizer are safer to
use and, therefore. better for the
everyday gardener. A we'll proportioned
fertilizer, containing about 4 per cent
Of nitrogen, 8 per cent of phosphoric
acid and per cent of potash, is very
satisfactory for general purposes. There
are several garden fertilizers under
proprietary brands that contain just
about these proportions of active mate
rails and all are quite satisfactory. The
gardener can save money, however, by
buying less highly advertised materials
such as used by truck gardeners and
procurable from most garden supply
stores.
Nitrate of soda is q good fertilizer
to supplement the general application
of mixed material and should be used
along the rows or about single large
plants as a top dressing after growth
has begun. Nitrate of soda is con-
centrated material and can easily kill
plants If used to. freely. It is better
to use lightly and repeat week or
two later. Nitrate of soda contains its
nitrogen in a form that the plant can
take up at once If moisture is present,
and the plants response in new growth
may be often seen within few days.
One pound to $50 square feet of gar
den space Is a liberal application; or a
level spoonful dissolved in a pail of wa
ter makes a satisfactory liquid fertilizer
to use at intervals about slow-growing
plants.
Speaking of fertilizers, the gardener
usually thinks Of nitrogen, phosphorus
and potash, yet there are at least
dozen, and probably many more, ele-
menus IleCSSSdTy 10 pldLlI HE. All Vi
these others are generally present nat
urally in adequate amounts in the SOIL
Take, for example, boron, usually con-
sidered poisonous to plants. The physi-
ologists of the Maryland Experiment
Station found that tomatoes could not
develop or fruit normally without a
trace of boron being present. Yet the
home gardener will never have to
worry about this element, because
enough will come inadvertently with
other fertilizer or is already present in
the soil. Nevertheless, boron Is just
as much a plant food as is nitrogen.
The fertilizer problem is comph-
Gated affair since the passing of an
easily available manure supply. As
pointed out few weeks ago, chemicals
must be supplemented with decaying
plant refuse in order to keep the soil
productive. Rotted leaves, straw or
turned under green crops, such as rye,
oats and clovers, furnish this needed
plant material known sometimes as
organic matter, sometimes as humus.
Give the garden soil humns and mixed
commercial fertilizer and the productive
power will be maintained indefinitely
without stable manure.