One Thousand Questions in California Agriculture Answered Part 56

Gra.s.s for Green Manuring.

I wish to sow this fall some green gra.s.s to be plowed in next spring to improve the soil of part of my land. I read for that purpose a bulletin I had from the government, but the conditions are so different here in California that I am very much puzzled which kind to select.

There is no gra.s.s which grows quickly enough to be worth seeding in the fall for spring plowing. It is a good deal better to use a grain, either barley or rye, for the seed is cheap, the growth quick and you can get a good deal of green stuff to plow under. Legumes are, of course, better because of their ability to absorb atmospheric nitrogen, but any plant which makes a large green growth is good, and it is better to have a heavy weight of wild vegetation than to have a light growth of an introduced legume.

Manure with a Clover Crop.

I have an old apple orchard in which I intend to sow burr clover. In order to get the clover to grow I know that I shall have to use fertilizer of some kind and this is what I want your advice about.

If you can get it, use stable manure at the time of sowing the clover seed. Stable manure alone will restore the humus and overcome the rebellious behavior of the soil. Possibly you cannot secure sufficient quant.i.ties of it. In that case a little with the burr clover seed will give the plant a good start, or use a complete fertilizer to secure the growth of a legume in the freest and quickest way.

Fenugreek as a Cover Crop.

Fenugreek has been recommended to be as a nitrogen-gathering plant, but I cannot find information as to the amount of nitrogen it gathers in its roots and tops, nor the amount of crop per acre.

Fenugreek is a good nitrogen gatherer and is desirable for green manuring wherever you can get a good growth of the plant. You can count it worth as much as peas, vetches, etc., if you can get as much growth of the plant. It is most largely used in the lemon district near Santa Paula. The best way to proceed would be to try a small area of all the nitrogen gathering plants of which you can get the seed easily, and determine by your own observation which makes the best growth under your conditions.

Improvement of Cementing Soils.

I would like some advice in handling the "cementy" gravel soil. Manure is beneficial in loosening up the soil, but there is not enough available. Would the Canadian field pea make a satisfactory growth here if sown as soon as the rains begin? I would try to grow either peas or vetch and plow under in February or March and then set trees or vines on the land.

The way to mellow your soil is certainly to use stable manure or to plow under green stuff, as you propose. This increases the humus which the soil needs and imparts all the desirable characters and qualities which humus carries. You ought to get a good growth of Canadian field peas or common California field peas or the common Oregon vetch by sowing in the fall, as soon as the ground can be moistened by rain or irrigation, and, if the season is favorable, secure enough growth for plowing under in February to make it worth while. Be careful, however, not to defer planting trees and vines too late in order to let the green stuff grow, because this would hazard the success of your planting by the reduction of the moisture supply during the following summer by the amount which might be required to keep the covered-in stuff decaying, plus loss of moisture from the fact that the covered stuff prevented you from getting thorough surface cultivation during the dry season. For these reasons one is to be careful about planting on covered-in stuff which has not had a chance to decay. This consideration, of course, becomes negligible if you have water for summer irrigation, but if you expect to get the growth of your trees and vines with the rainfall of the previous winter, be careful not to waste it in either of the ways which have been indicated, and above all, do not plant trees and vines too late.

Theoretically, your position is perfect. The application of it, however, requires some care and judgment. Rather than plant too late, you had better grow the green stuff the winter after the trees have been planted.

Needs Organic Matter.

I have what I believe to be decomposed sandstone. Many rocks are still projecting out of land which I blast and break up. The soil works freely when moist or wet, but when dry it takes a pick-axe to dig it up; a plow won't touch it. Among my young fruit trees I tried to grow peas, beans, carrots and beets, and although I freely irrigated them during the summer and fall, and although I planted at different times, my peas and beans have been a total failure, and the beets, carrots and onions nearly so. For years the land has grown nothing but weeds.

Your soil needs organic matter which would make it more easy of cultivation, more retentive of moisture, and in every way better suited to the growth of plants. Liberal applications of stable manure would produce best effects. No commercial fertilizer would begin to be so desirable. If you can dig into the soil large amounts of weeds or other vegetable waste material, you would be proceeding along the same line, but stable manure is better on account of its greater fertilizing content. You ought to be thankful that the soil has s.p.u.n.k enough to grow weeds. The Immanent Creator is still doing the best he can to help you out; take a hand yourself on the same line.

Two Legumes in a Year.

I have land on which I wish to plant to fruits, and I wish to build up the soil all I can, by planting cover crops and plowing under. What would be the best to plant this fall, to be plowed under next spring, and to plant again next spring to plow under in the fall? I will not be able to plant any trees before next fall or the following spring.

Get in vetches as soon as the ground is in shape in the fall. Plow them under early in the spring and close the covering and compact the green stuff by running a straight disk over the ground after plowing. This will help decay and save moisture. Follow with cow peas as soon as you are out of the frost, disking in the seed so as not to disturb the stuff previously covered in. Do not wait to put under the winter growth until it is safe to put on the cowpeas, for, if you do, you will lose so much moisture that the cowpeas will not amount to much.

Handling Orchard Soil.

We average about 35 inches of rainfall. With this heavy rainfall, is there any advantage to be gained by early plowing and clean cultivation right through the winter? Would such plowing and cultivation result in any serious loss of plant food? Would you advise an early or late application of nitrogen, such as nitrate or guano? If there is any loss from an early application, can it be determined by any means?

The old policy of clean winter cultivation has been largely abandoned.

Nearly everyone is trying to grow something green during the rainy season to plow under toward the end of it. Even those who do not sow legumes for this purpose are plowing under as good a weed cover as they can get. This improves the soil both in plant food and in friability, which promotes summer pulverization and saves moisture from summer evaporation. Much less early plowing is done than formerly unless it be shallow to get in the seed for the cover crop; the deeper plowing being done to put it under. Guano can be applied earlier in the winter than nitrate, which can be turned in with the cover crop, while the former may be sown with the seed to promote the winter growth. Whether you are losing your nitrate or not the chemist might determine for you by before-and-after a.n.a.lyses. If you are a good observer you may detect loss by absence of the effects you desire to secure.

Soaking Seeds.

Do you think it a good practice to soak seeds before planting?

It is more desirable with some seeds than others and when the ground is rather dry or the sowing time rather late, than when sowing in moister ground or earlier in the rainy season, when heavy rains are to be expected. Soaking is simply a way to be sure that the seed covering has ample moisture for softening and the kernel has what it requires for awakening it germ and meeting its needs. The soil may not always have enough to spare for these purposes and germination may be delayed or started and arrested. Ordinarily seeds can be helped by soaking a few hours in water at ordinary temperatures. Some very hard seeds like those of acacia trees, etc., are helped by hot water - even near the boiling point.

Irrigating Palms.

My palms are quite small, but they do not seem to grow; they seem to be drying up.

The growth of palms is proportional to the amount of soil moisture available, providing it is not in excess and not too alkaline. Some palms are quite drouth-resisting, but it is a mistake to think of a palm as a desert plant and try to make a desert for it. A young palm, especially, needs regular and ample water supply until it gets well established. Your plants may be drying up, or they may have had too much frost or too much alkali. If they are not too far gone, they will come out later if you give them regular moisture and cultivation.

Water from Wells or Streams.

One of our neighbors insists that water from a well is, in the long run, very hard on the land, and that irrigation water is much to be preferred.

There is no characteristic and permanent difference between waters from wells and waters from streams so far as irrigation is concerned. The character depends upon the sources from which both are derived. Some wells may carry too much mineral matter in the form of salt, alkali, etc., and some stream waters sometimes carry considerable alkali. For this reason some wells may be better than streams and some streams better than wells. There is no general rule in the matter. Your neighbor may be right as applied to your location, and may know from his experience that the well water carries too much undesirable material.