Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-02-04

ss7s5 N<uK SOllS dEe aQU1lLJeOly heavy,
cases poorly drained. Because mos
they do grow and produce on the
soils which are far short Of giving
them optimum growing conditions.
Many gardeners seem willing to ac-
cept the situation as 1t exists and
make no effort to improve their soil.
However, we have numerous exam
Piles throughout this area OF gar
deners who have improved their
soils and who do have excellent re-
suits.
Soils can be improved. sometimes
at. a comparatively small cost. II
the work is to be done in a short
time 1t will probably cost several
times as much as improvements
which are spread over several years.
Some gardeners through the use OF
lime, green manures, ashes, or sand,
and q relatively small amount Of
fertilizer materially improved the
productiyeness and fertility, but this
takes from 8 to 5 years. Others
have bought considerable quantities
Of manure, peat moss, sand, and
fertilizer and enriched their soil In
single season.
Still others have had beds dug out
and the heavy clay replaced with
rich top soil, thus providing the
flowers and roses with favorable
growing conditions. However, such
a program only benefits the flower
borders, leaving the grass and trees
to struggle along on the infertile
clay. Grass and trees need fer
tile soil just as much as do the
flowers and roses.
Any program of soil improvement
should begin with soil test. There
is only one soil laboratory nearby,
the University Of Maryland, and
they are handicapped with more
work than they have facilities to
handle. However, they have in the
past been making soil tests for Is
cents each.
A soil analysis shows the acidity
This is important, since most COM
mon flowers and vegetables prefer
a soil that is only slightly acid
PHI SOTO. Thus a test showing
the soil to be quite acid will indicate
that it needs lime and the approx
innate quantity needed. Ground
dolomitic limestone is believed to be
the most desirable form to use in
correcting soil acidity in this area.
The second important fact will be
the amount Of plant food in the
soil-nitrogen, phosphate and pot
ash, the 3 major plant foods Most
of our soils are deficient in nitrogen
and phosphate. These may be sup
piled as chemical fertilizers such as
superphosphate and ammonium sui
phate. or as organic materials
bOnemeal, tankage or manure.
The analysis will probably indicate
that the soil badly needs humus
Most of our soils are low in this
important material, which is needed
to increase the water-holding capac-
|ity, to render the soil more workable
and to prevent its crusting. AS the
humus decays it helps to make the
plant food available to growing
plants. Humus is badly needed anc
too much can hardly be. incor.
porated Tests of rose culture al
Ithaca, N. Y, indicated that rose!
growing in soil mixture containing
SO per cent humus gave the best re.
suits. Few gardeners are in a posi-.
ton to incorporate that quantity Of
compost. peat moss or green manure
in their soil, but it does indicate
that they can add all available al1c
still not have enough.
In addition to the information
cleaned from the analysis, most gar.
deners with heavy clays will fine
that sand or ashes are needed to i'm
prove the texture of the soil. Sand
helps to keep the soil open, makes
1t work easier. Too much sand is
detrimental, but a little helps ma
terially. Moisture .soaks into an open
soil more readily than into a tight
clay. A sandy soil does not pack SC
easily. Coal ashes may be substi-
tuted for sand Sawdust, if supple
mented with nitrogen. may also be
used to improve the physical texture
of soil.
In addition to the soil texture and
richness there Is the question OF
drainage. Some of our soils have
little or no subsurface drainage and
this must be provided If excess
moisture is to be carried away. Such
soils need tile drains installed. In
soils with sufficiently porous SUBJ
soil the excess moisture soaks away
On sand and gravel soils there may
be too much subsoil drainage and
VICTORY Garden FRuITS