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Show B j HORTICULTURE M ORCHARD FERTILITY. H Prof. Wendell Paddock. H How to keep up the fertility of or- H chard lands is a problem which out H orchardists arc beginning to consider H more and morq. Not that there is yet H n crying need for fertilizers, but it H must be apparent to all thinking men H that the enormous drain on fertility H cannot be continued indefinitely. For- H tunatcly commercial fertilizers arc M out of reach on account of high prices. H Barnyard manure is no very big item H in the orchard districts, but fortunate-, m ly green manures arc within the m reach of oil. H Clean cultivation of orchards is all m right within certain limits, but in too m many sections of Colorado this prac- B ticc has certainly been carried too far. H All Colorado soils arc lacking in or- H ganic matter, and if it is added by H plowing' under, stubble, green crop3, H or manure, it docs not last for any H great length of time. So, the supply 1 must be constantly renewed. Green H manure lias been used in a few or- H chards here and there over the state H with good results, but in the majority H of instances the soil is puddled and H lifeless frpm long continued clean cul- H tivation. H Organic matter docs many things H for soils, but the one important thing H for us to consider in this connection H " is that it sets free some of the locked H up plant food elements. All our soils H contain an abundance of fertility, but H it is .mostly in forms wljich arc use-,. " H less to plants. H The decay of vegetable matter -gem-' H crates materials which decompose the H soil particles, and also promotes JM various soil activities. All these H working together arc continually ma.k- H ing food'Clcmcnts available. And the H family of plants which includes the H. clovers, beans, peas and alfalfa, act- H ualty add fertility to the soil. H The use of coyer crops in orchards H has become general in many states, H but so far Colorado orchardists have H givqn the matter little attention; how- H ever, many fruit growers are consid H erihg the subject. H It is impossible to give definite in.-- H structions as to what crop will be H best suited to Colorado conditions, or H jusj how it should be managed. The H only way these qu'elfiSnVcan be settled is for a number of men in the various localities to experiment with different crops, time of planting and methods of handling. If this is done, we will soon have a -mass of reliable data from which at Colorado system of green manuring may be evolved. |
