ON THE LAND

Stratford Evening Post, Issue 16, 14 August 1928, Page 3

ON THE LAND

FARM AM) GARDEN. IN STRATFORD AND DISTRICT. ' (By “ARARE.”) FARM. The mixing of manures is one tiiat shpulU exe |:-i>se the n ads cf bhe ibirmers more than at present. It not infrequently happens that farmers, with a view to say.ng expense and sometimes appearing wise, buy manures as several ingredients mid make up their own mixtures. Dr some aspects this i.s to be commended but before doing so, the farmer should have at lehst some elementary knowledge of this work or his well-intentioned effects may result in his liberating into the air, in gaseous form, one or more of the essential raanurial ingredients that lie is hoping or thinking he 5s adding to the soil

There are several manures that should never be m.xed if th© maximum results are desired; these: are:

Sulphite of ammonia and lime or basic slag- In this case the lime, which is also present in basic slag, will liberate the ammonia into the air, ‘2 Farmyard manure and meatwork manures w |bh lira© or basic: slag, for same reason as, in 1. 3. Superphosphate and lime if a quick result is desired as the lime will revert the superphosphate to a less soluble form and s o retard its action. 4. Superphosphate and nitrate of soda, unless they are to be applied at once, as the acid in the superphosphate will tend to liberate the nitrcr gen as a nitric acid from the nitrates of soda. 5. Superphosphate and basic slag unless they are to he used at once as the mixture ou standing is likely to form a hard mass. 6. Superphosphate and kainit if mixed and left for any length of time will form a sticky mas?. Generally speaking any other manures may be mixed with safety. GARDEN. Now that gprdenevs are beginning to get busy with digging and trimming up gardens after the winter’s rest, the question arises as to what is to lie done with the rubbish. Many gardeners wheel away to rubbish damns and dispose of many pounds worth cf valuable ingredients. Choose a suitable spot in your garden for im,king a compost heap. Place on this all the weeds, hedge-trimmings and refuse from th© garden and -also r.iio vegetable peelings from the lie-use, with certain very definite ex-

oopt.ons. (Jo not add to the compost heap, roach or plants of similar habits as these will grow and will always be a. source of trouble. Again do not adc\ weeds full of ripened seed. e.g. docks, sorrel, etc., as these seeds will retiiln their gormmative -energy and will grow when the compost is added I' to the so J. Build the heap up with perpendicular sides and press down well on top so that there will be not sufficient air to bring about complete decomposition. but only enough to convert the vegetable matter into humus. IThere is nothing Stratford soif locks as much as humus, land 1 it should he the aim of every gardener to return to the s°il as much humus as possible. Besijdes' producing valuable plant fcod R it gives the soil a better “bociy” or “torture” and so makes for better growth. During the last week the heavy frosts have called a. Milt on any

early planting and it would not be advisable to carry'on any solving for a week or so unless the weather takes a decided turn for the warmer. In the meantime, there is plenty of Work that can be Parried out in the pr J'lara.tioin of the isoil for future planting. In the flower-garden, a bed( for

pansies could be now prepared. Pansies require a rich soil, liberally treated .with ,‘feaf! imoujid.) pompefst or fowl manure, which is not too fresh. Paus es do very wmll here and will well repay for the work expended on them. Xlrench for sweet peps should also be prepared. Sweet peas require cfeep trenching and heavy feeding. It is well to remember that they belong to the family of legumes and so require lime for their growth. Avoid oversrnply of fowl manure as this tennis to cause the buds to drop off when flowering time approaches. It would be wise for all cottagegardeners to~rtudy. the notes .written above undter the h cud mg of “Farm”, as many are prone to add artificial fertilisers of any all types without a solitary thought given to the possible effect*