The Daily Alaska empire., 1943-05-25

they are not sure that all of these are necessary for growth. Of the ten elements that plants must have, three can be secured from the air. These are carbon, oxygen and hy- drogen. Four are found in practi- cally all soil so the gardener need not concern himself with supplying them. This leaves three that must be supplied by man. These are ni- trogen, phoSphorous and potassium. They are known as the Big Three" l" Some plants have the ability to take nitrogen directly from the air. These are the grains and legumes such as peas, clover and vetch. The nitrogen secured from the air is stored in small swellings or nodules on the root. When the plant dies this nitrogen is left in the soil and is in a form that plants can read fly use. This explains why crops known as green manures" are so beneficial to land. The crop for a green manure is plowed under be- fore it starts to ripen and furnish es both humus and nitrogen to the soil.
 These three elements that must be supplied by man can be furnish ed either by chemical fertilizers or by barnyard manure or by compost. Barnyard manure is recommended in most of the garden books as one of the best fertilizers obtainable Itis not only rich in vegetable mat ter but contains the excreta of anil mals which is rich in elements that plants need. Where chemical or commercial fertilizers are used. it is well to apply them often in small quantities. The humus in the soil acts as a reservoir so that when chemical fertilizers are used, more or less of it is retained in the soil until plants can use it. In this country of heavy rainfall it is quite likely that some of it teaches out so that applying it often and in small quantities should be the prac- tice. If you buy commercial fertil- izer by the sack or package you will notice some numbers like 4-12-6. This means there is percent ni- trogen, l2 percent phosphorus and 6 percent potash in the mixture, the balance being other ingredients that may be of benefit to plant growth and the rest is filler. It is a requirement. of law that the per- oentage of the elements be printed on the package and always in this order: nitrogen, phosphorus, po- tassium. A good all-around garden fertilizer should contain not less than percent nitrogen, 8 percent phosphoric acid and 5 percent of potash. These are called complete fertilizers as they contain the three important clements that must be supplied by man. Every gardener should have compost heap.
 This can be made by piling up the grass cuttings, weeds from the gar den, straw that has been used to protect your rose bed during the winter, sea weed, peat, herring, table scraps and almost any vege- table matter that is not woody. It should be turn>d over three or four times during the summer so that it will be well mixed. l sometimes add chemical fertilizers such as nitrate of soda, potash and super-phos- phate to my compost heap to give 1t added strength. I find it best to have two heaps, one that is more than one year old and ready to use and one that is being made. Ma terial not fully decomposed in the older heap is thrown onto the new one. The thoroughly decomposed compost material is worked into the beds in the spring before plant ing time.
 Peat Is Good
 Peat is almost pure humus and is readily available to most of you. In a sandy soil it gives it cohesiyeness while in clay soil it breaks it up and makes it friable. Peat in it's natural state has reached stage where further decomposition does not take place. Much of the his- tory of the world has been preserv- ed in peat bogs. When animals or vegetable matter is buried in a peat bog further decomposition is arrested. I have read that butter buried Tn a peat bog for hundred years still retained it's original form and texture. Peat in this sec tion of the world is strongly acid and needs aeration, sunlight and to be sweetened with lime to break it down into desirable humus. Some crops can be grown on peat beds within a year or two after stripping the moss from the top