REMEMBER THESE DON'TS WHEN USING FERTILISERS

Te Ao Hou, December 1961, Page 57

REMEMBER THESE DON'TS WHEN USING FERTILISERS DON'T let farmyard, stable or poultry manure remain exposed to the weather. It will lose manurial value by leaching, oxidisation and bacterial reaction. Remember that the nutrient value lies largely in the urine and moisture content. If you can't fork it into the soil right away, compost it with other organic material and keep it covered to protect it from heavy rains. DON'T use slow acting fertilisers such as bone-meal, basic slag or ground limestone within one month of sowing or planting such crops as brassicas and leafy salads. DON'T let wood ashes get wet; they keep well if dry. DON'T mix nitrogenous fertilisers with lime, chalk or basic slag before application, or reaction will take place resulting in a loss of nitrogen. Sulphate of ammonia, nitro-chalk, poultry manure, farmyard or stable manure, soot and fine hoof and horn meal should not be mixed with lime. Other mixtures to avoid are superphosphate of lime with lime, chalk or basic slag, or with nitrate of soda, potash nitrate or nitrate of lime. If and when the fertilisers come together within the soil, no loss is entailed. DON'T attempt to store fertilisers too long. The best storehouse for slow-acting fertilisers is the soil. All fertilisers should be kept under dry conditions, otherwise they are apt to cake. Nitrate of soda should be kept in airtight containers. DON'T use acid reacting fertilisers—sulphate of ammonia, superphosphate of lime, dried blood, nitrate of soda, sulphate of potash—on acid and clay soils unless they have been limed liberally.