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Show Scanty Fertilizing Only Crop Starter Soil Building Practices Needed for Best Results Scanty fertilizer applications are like a shot in the arm a doctor gives his patient. The treatment enables the patient to recover enough to take more nourishment. But in the case of scanty fertilizer applications, applica-tions, the "crop starter" gives the plant quick early growth and a strong root system, but fails to provide pro-vide enough nourshment to carry the crop through to healthy, high-yielding high-yielding maturity. Putting sufficient fertilizer In the ground isn't a cure-all. You have to be sure the soil is in condition to deliver all the plant nutrients, moisture mois-ture and oxygen the crop needs. To produce maximum crop results, fertilizer has to be teamed up with fill VXPLANTr?1pV7 To do all season job of feeding feed-ing a growing plant, the soil must have a reserve of nutrients. nutri-ents. Otherwise, the plant will starve in midsummer. other soil building practices. These include practices that will repair damaged soil structure, improve drainage and make the soil mellow and build tilth and water-holding capacity. When tilth, drainage and ventilation are good, crop roots can do their job of feeding the growing plant. You can fit the soil for maximum returns from fertilizer by building up its organic matter content. This can best be done by growing well-fed well-fed deep-rooted legumes regularly in the rotation. The legume roots and tops add organic matter and make a thicker layer of soil. A soil high in organic matter has plenty of water-storing capacity. |