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Updated: June 6, 2025
There is not much difference in the plant food required by the two crops you mention, but both evidently need a freshened soil and an increase of humus. We should apply a half ton to the acre of a complete fertilizer, of which any dealer can give you descriptions and prices. If you wish to do a good job, start a growth of peas or vetches or burr clover, and sow the fertilizer evenly with the seed.
The growth of a strip of alfalfa, if one is careful not to submerge the trees by over-irrigation, would be the best thing one could undertake for the purpose of improving the soil by increasing the humus content, reducing the amount of reflected heat from a clean surface, and is otherwise desirable wherever moisture is available for it.
"If you could make stable manure enough to cover the cleared acres a foot deep, you could raise almost any crop you might name and make money by it. The land is impoverished by the use of commercial fertilizers, unbalanced by humus." "Well, I guess You know, Hiram," admitted Mrs. Atterson. "And that calf certainly is a pretty creeter. It would be too bad to turn it into veal."
It is this which makes the garden soil different from sand, or the rich soil different from the sterile soil. If the soil is cultivated year after year, its food ingredients are slowly but surely exhausted. Something is taken from the humus each year, and unless this be replaced the soil ceases to be able to support life.
Furthermore, ground limestone can be applied in any amount with no injurious results, while caustic lime destroys the organic matter or humus of the soil, dissipates soil nitrogen, is disagreeable to handle, and may injure the crop unless applied in limited amounts or several months before the crop is to be planted.
There is believed to be what is called "a burning out of humus," by long exposure of the soil to the intense heat of our interior districts. It is probable that the reduction of humus is due more to the lack of effort to maintain the supply than to the actual destruction of it by culture methods.
"Our problem is even more difficult, because we must not only increase the supply of active organic matter, although we have a reserve of old humus far above that contained in the Terry or West farms; but in addition we need more limestone than Mr. West and then we must add the phosphorus. Of course the surface washing is a serious factor on Westover, but perhaps our tight clay subsoil is worse.
The ground must be rich loam and plenty of humus, well drained, with a southern exposure. Well-grown plants set out in the open will bear a small crop the first season, but will not become of maximum bearing till the second year. After the crop is taken off in the fall a mulch of straw or leaves should be placed over the plants to protect them during the winter.
Can I send you a little soil out of my one-year-old pear orchard so that you can advise me what I can do to improve its fertility. The trees are fairly thrifty, but as fruit growing is my pleasure I wish to make it a model orchard and add whatever it requires of nitrogen, humus, etc., immediately so as to increase the growth for this summer.
In order to get the clover to grow I know that I shall have to use fertilizer of some kind and this is what I want your advice about. If you can get it, use stable manure at the time of sowing the clover seed. Stable manure alone will restore the humus and overcome the rebellious behavior of the soil. Possibly you cannot secure sufficient quantities of it.
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