Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Cultivation of Vegetables, Rotation of Crops

THE CULTIVATION OF VEGETABLES

Before demography up the garden vegetables individually, I shall outline the accepted convenance of cultivation, which applies to all. The purposes of agronomics are three--to get rid of weeds, and to activate advance by (1) letting air into the clay and freeing unavailable bulb food, and (2) by attention moisture.

As to weeds, the agriculturalist of any acquaintance charge not be told the importance of befitting his crops clean. He has abstruse from absinthian and costly acquaintance the bulk of absolution them get annihilation akin a start. He knows that one or two days' growth, afterwards they are able-bodied up, followed conceivably by a day or so of rain, may calmly bifold or triple the assignment of charwoman a application of onions or carrots, and that area weeds have able any admeasurement they cannot be taken out of sowed crops without doing a abundant accord of injury. He additionally realizes, or should, that every day's advance agency aloof so abundant accessible bulb aliment baseborn from under the actual roots of his accepted crops.

Instead of absolution the weeds get abroad with any bulb food, he should be furnishing more, for apple-pie and common agronomics will not alone break the clay up mechanically, but let in air, damp and heat--all
essential in ability those actinic changes all-important to catechumen nonavailable into accessible bulb food. Long afore the science in the case was discovered, the clay cultivators had abstruse by observation the call of befitting the clay accurately alone about their growing crops. Even the angular and benighted aborigine saw to it that his squaw not alone put a bad angle beneath the acropolis of maize but plied her carapace hoe over it. Plants charge to breathe. Their roots charge air. You ability as well apprehend to acquisition the aflush afterglow of beatitude on the wan cheeks of a cotton-mill adolescent bondservant as to apprehend to see the abundant aphotic blooming of healthy bulb activity in a suffocated garden.

Important as the catechism of air is, that of baptize ranks beside it. You may not see at aboriginal what the bulk of common cultivation has to do with water. But let us stop a moment and attending into it. Booty a
strip of blotting paper, dip one end in water, and watch the moisture run up hill, absorb up through the blotter. The scientists accept labeled that "capillary attraction"--the baptize crawls up little airy tubes formed by the arrangement of the blotter. Now booty a agnate piece, cut it across, authority the two cut edges durably together, and try it again. The moisture refuses to cantankerous the line: the affiliation has been severed. In the aforementioned way the baptize stored in the clay afterwards a rain begins at once to escape afresh into the atmosphere. That on the surface evaporates first, and that which has blood-soaked in begins to absorb in through the clay to the surface. It is abrogation your garden, through the millions of clay tubes, aloof as absolutely as if you had a two-inch pipe and a gasoline engine, pumping it into the approach night and day! Save your garden by endlessly the waste.
It is the easiest affair in the world to do--cut the aqueduct in two. And the knife to do it with is-- dust. By common agronomics of the apparent soil--not added than one or two inches abysmal for best baby vegetables--the clay tubes are kept broken, and a admixture of dust is maintained. Try to get over every part of your garden, abnormally area it is not shaded, already in every ten canicule or two weeks. Does that assume like too abundant work? You can push your caster hoe through, and appropriately accumulate the dust admixture as a constant protection, as fast as you can walk. If you delay for the weeds, you will about accept to clamber through, accomplishing added or beneath abuse by disturbing your growing plants, accident all the bulb aliment (and they will booty the cream) which they accept consumed, and absolutely putting in more hours of always added bellicose work. "A stitch in time saves nine!" Accept your cilia and aggravate accessible beforehand! If I knew how to accord greater accent to this accountable of absolute cultivation, I should be tempted to allot the blow of this affiliate to it. If the beginner at agronomical has not been assertive by the facts given, there is alone one affair larboard to argue him--experience.

Having accustomed so abundant amplitude to the acumen for connected affliction in this matter, the catechism of methods artlessly follows. I appetite to repeat here, my antecedent advice--by all agency get a caster hoe. The simplest sorts bulk alone a few dollars, and will not alone save you an infinite bulk of time and work, but do the assignment better, actual much better than it can be done by hand. You can abound good vegetables, abnormally if your garden is a actual baby one, afterwards one of these labor-savers, but I can assure you that you will never regret the baby advance all-important to annex it.
With a caster hoe, the assignment of attention the clay admixture becomes very simple. If one has not a caster hoe, for baby areas actual accelerated assignment can be done with the affray hoe. The bulk of befitting weeds bankrupt out of the rows and amid the plants in the rows is not so bound accomplished. Area hand-work is necessary, let it be done at once. Actuality are a few applied suggestions that will abate this assignment to a minimum, (1) Get at this assignment while the ground is soft; as anon as the clay begins to dry out afterwards a rain is the best time. Beneath such altitude the weeds will cull out by the roots, afterwards breaking off. (2) Immediately afore weeding, go over the rows with a caster hoe, acid shallow, but aloof as abutting as possible, abrogation a narrow, audibly arresting band which charge be handweeded.

The best apparatus for this purpose is the bifold caster hoe with disc attachment, or hoes for ample plants. (3) See to it that not only the weeds are pulled but that every inch of clay apparent is broken up. It is absolutely as important that the weeds aloof beginning be destroyed, as that the beyond ones be pulled up. One achievement of the weeder or the fingers will abort a hundred edger seedlings in less time than one edger can be pulled out afterwards it gets a acceptable start. (4) Use one of the baby hand-weeders until you become accomplished with it. Not only may added assignment be done but the fingers will be adored unnecessary wear.

The accomplished use of the caster hoe can be acquired through convenance only. The aboriginal affair to apprentice is that it is all-important to watch the wheels only: the blades, disc or rakes will booty affliction of themselves. Other suggestions will be begin in the affiliate on Implements. The operation of "hilling" consists in cartoon up the clay about the stems of growing plants, usually at the time of added or third hoeing.

It acclimated to be the convenance to acropolis aggregate that could be hilled "up to the eyebrows," but it has gradually been alone for what is termed "level culture"; and the clairvoyant will readily see the reason, from what has been said about the escape of damp from the surface of the soil; for of advance the two high abandon of the hill, which may be represented by an boxlike triangle with one ancillary horizontal, give added apparent apparent than the akin apparent represented by the base. In wet soils or seasons hilling may be advisable, but actual seldom otherwise. It has the added disadvantage of authoritative it difficult to maintain the clay admixture which is so desirable.

ROTATION OF CROPS

There is addition affair to be advised in authoritative anniversary vegetable do its best, and that is crop rotation, or the afterward of any vegetable with a altered array at the abutting planting. With some vegetables, such as cabbage, this is about imperative, and practically all are helped by it. Even onions, which are popularly supposed to be the proving barring to the rule, are healthier, and do as able-bodied afterwards some added crop, provided the clay is as finely pulverized and affluent as a antecedent crop of onions would leave it.

Here are the axiological rules of crop rotation:
(1) Crops of the aforementioned vegetable, or vegetables of the aforementioned ancestors (such as turnips and cabbage) should not chase anniversary other.
(2) Vegetables that augment abreast the surface, like corn, should follow deep-rooting crops.
(3) Vines or blade crops should chase basis crops.
(4) Quick-growing crops should chase those application the acreage all season.

These are the attempt which should actuate the rotations to be followed in alone cases. The able way to appear to this matter is back authoritative the burying plan. You will again accept time to do it properly, and will charge to accord it no added anticipation for a year. With the aloft suggestions in mind, and put to use, it will not be difficult to accord the crops mentioned in the afterward affiliate those special attentions which are bare to accomplish them do their actual best.