KEEPING LAND IN GOOD HEART

Evening Star, Issue 23325, 22 July 1939, Page 21

KEEPING LAND IN GOOD HEART

CORRECT TREATMENT The chief aim and object of the gardener is to keep his land clean and in a fertile state, suitable for the crops grown, and to do so economically. Neglect or wrong treatment may cause damage that is repaired only after many seasons. Where land is fair to heavy, much damage is often done by working it when' wet (writes “ Petunia ” in the ‘ Marlborough Express ’)• When planting or sowing is to be done it is hard to pass a suitable period on account of the land being wet, but it is better to plant late than to clod the land or get it into a state that forms a surface crust over seed beds. Where dry conditions are comparatively rare during winter and spring they should be closely watched and full advantage taken of them as they occur, as it is specially important to make an early start with digging and trenching. RESULTS OF LIMING. Under present conditions the use of lime demands more consideration in our district. Some crops make a marked response when lime is applied to an acid soil. Most responsive are cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, mustard, leeks, lettuce, onions, parsnips, spinach, and melons. Less responsive are carrots, cucumbers, kale, peas, pumpkins, marrows,' and rhubarb. Showing no response are kidney beans, sweet corn, parsley, radish, tomato, turnip, and water melon. To produce and maintain that friable condition so necessary when sowing fine seeds, or to obtain the best results from the soil with a crop of any kind, applications of lime are most effective- Again, to obtain the best results from the use of such fertilisers as superphosphate and sulphate of ammonia there must be a sufficient supply of lime in the soil to enable the necessary reactions to take place. For the prevention of the club root diseases, fungus which attacks plants of the cabbage family, applications of lime are effective if at the same time good drainage is provided. Used too liberally, lime has been proved to encourage the development of the disease known as potato scab, and has reduced production in such crops as water melons and blue lupine. Lime (calcium) is found in Nature as lime (carbonate of lime). Broken up and ground to a fine powder, it is the class of lime commonly used in agriculture. Burnt lime has the carbon driven off, and is known as quicklime; it is lighter in weight, absorbs water readily, and then breaks down into a powder, a process known as slaking. Such lime is caustic and more aggressive in its action than the ground, raw limestone On heavy clay loams of an acjd character, when used for the intensive production of market garden crops, 4oz of finely-ground carbonate of lime may be applied per square yard annually with advantage to the mechanical and chemical condition of the soil. This amount is equal to about half a ton of lime per acre. When crops of the cabbage family are to be grown, or others preferring an alkaline soil, the dressing may be increased substantially The action of the lime is temporary. What is not used up gradually leaches out and is carried away in the storm water. Lime is usually broadcast on the surface of the land after digging and then raked in, or is applied after digging and allowed to weather away until sowin and planting time comes round.