Evening star., 1934-07-12
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES z. TRACEFELL.

agricultural lime IN the very early
Spring. or even the middle Of Febru-
airy. about the time OF the first crocus.
Subsequent rains Will make this
disappear, some Of II washed away,
no doubt. but some Of It integrated
with the soil
Then later. before planting time
whatever It is one plants there, good
coal ashes should be dug in freely,
the more freely the better. 1t IS al
most impossible TO overdo 1t.
No one should fear that the result
ing clay and ash mix will not be
good" for the plants. There is a
certain amount of fertility even in
these ashes, but the big thing they do
IS offer easy paths for the descending
roots. They also keep some water by
them, and since all the plant food
must be reduced to liquids before alb
sorption, this is important.
The really big thing the ashes do.
however. is to mix in with the clay
itself, and in time make an entirely
new soil out OF it.
| One must not expect this to hap
| pen overnight. or over season. 1t is
/ impossible to say just how long this
process will take. Too much depends
upon the exact consistency Of the
clay.
There are some clays which have
/ the very persistency Of the devil. 1t
would seem. in refusing to become
/ 'ameliorated. They are proud OF
themselves, evidently, and do not want
to become something else. At least,
/ that is the way the matter impressed
the hopeful young gardener.
One of the best methods Of reduc-
ing the consistency Of too thick clays
is mulching, or digging the soil re-
peatedly. In flower beds and borders
, this is best done with a trowel, or
small CLAW" device, on the end OF a
long handle, if one does not like to
squat. and who does?
This mulching is very old agricul-
tural trick, so old, in fact, that Of
recent years it has come into some
small disrepute. Its original purpose
was to conserve moisture. There are
other kinds of mulching. of course,
notably those achieved by spreading
some imperviouS material over the soil.
Mulching with instruments, as de-
Scribed above, was practiced for CEN
turies for the purpose of breaking up
the capillary action of the water by
interposing a broken, devious path
way for water in the soil in its long
ing to join water in the air.
A really more important result of
such mulching. however. is the afore-
mentioned amelioration. Nothing
else-not even some material such as
ashes-will do quite such a good job
at rendering clay soils fine and mel
low as consistent mulcing.
It must be consistent, however.
Clay soils cannot be worked as
quickly after rain as typical black
garden soil every one admits the best
of ALL
But as soon as the clay soil becomes
workable, after rain, 1t should be dug
up for a distance of about two inches
and thoroughly pulverized, even to
dust f1nesess, If one has the patience.
And this must be repeated every
time after a rain, or sprinkling.
Usually this will be about "a hours
after the end Of the rain.
If this is kept up for an entire
growing season, and then the ground
dug up with a spade in the Fall, and
allowed to lie as it falls, with large.
uneven surfaces exposed to the action
of the frost, the home gardener will
be surprised the next Spring to find
his stiff clay soil as soft and workable
as silly