The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, February 23, 1920, Page 5

ved Pl s 2k, Preserving Moisture Saves Fertility Farmers in Areas Lacking Rainfall Can Secure Good Crops by Saving Snow ' Water and Proper Tlllage, Says Noted Practical Farmer The following article, the third of the Leader’s series on : meeting drouth conditions, is taken from Seager Wheeler's book, “Profitable Grain Growing.” Mr. Wheeler, Swho farms+ under conditions similar to our dry regions of the Northwest, is one of the world’s most successful growers of prize wheat, barley, oats and potatoes. . His book is published by the Grain Growers’ Guide, Winnipeg, Canada, —‘and sells for $3, postpaid. % BY SEAGER WHEELER shall have reference only to the -humus, as this is one of the principal constituents. Without a proper sup- - ply of humus one can not expect good crgps. Humus is the home of soil bacteria that are essential in building up plant food: “Many fields are depleted of humus and many D ALING with fertility of the soil | light yields are due partly .to the fact that the: humus is worked out of the soil by indifferent and careless handling of the soil.. The depletion of this organic matter leads to impoverishment of the soil, and when this takes place-it must be restored if we expect to obtain satisfactory returns. « One of the chief logses of humus is by the run-off . of heavy rains and melting snow in the spring. The object in view when preparing a summer fallow is to conserve moisture and keep the weeds in check. The chief object is to conserve moisture by plowing early in the rainy season to catch and —hold all the rains that fall in the summer time; but & “.packers are of no use in his dis- - packer is condemned. The fault " since ‘the first plowing. The no thought is given to conserve the snow that falls during the winter time. = This is allowed to run off the fields in the spring and little or no attempt is made to check this waste and hold it in the soil. Except on specially favored fields that lie completely fiat, considerable of the snow water runs to waste. This occurs-especially on the summer fallow, prepared fall plowing and to some extent on the stubble fields. Apart from _the loss of the valuable snow water, it carries away with it the finer particles of soil, principally the humus, from the higher to the lower levels, or from off the field altogether into the waste places. These very fine particles are the richest and most valuable part of the soil and every time they are carried away the field is depleted of plant food. . LACK OF FIBRE A CAUSE OF BLOWING v Under our, western conditions, where the pre- vailing high winds in the spring, especially during the month of May, not only evaporate considerable moisture but carry away soil into the atmosphere —not. only soil grains proper but also valuable humus is carried away. In many fields nearly all the top soil has blown away, leavmg only the bare subsoil.. While these losses occur in some districts : more than others, it is'mainly due to a lack of fibre that is essential to bind the soil grains together. Burning the stubble is responsible for much of the loss, and while T am not going to condemn this practice altogether it is well to “point: out the danger. Under. our conditions, where straight grain growing is.the rule, where there are few or no. .crops ‘of rotation, such as grasses or legumes to return some of the organic matter, this deple- tion of the fibre is being intensified by burning off the stubble. Another of the causes is continual shallow plow- ing in the spring for crop. It is a common practice to plow shallow in the spring and sow a crop on plowing three or four inches deep. Many fields ' have not been deepened condition of these fields may be termed porous, puffy or loose, almost the consistency of ashes. Advise a farmer to use a packer and you will be con- fronted with the statement that trict as the soil blows whether a packer is used or not; so the . lies not with the packer but with the soil; The humus or life’ is worked out of it; the binding matter—the heart, the hfe——ls not there. Usua]ly 2 summer fallow 1s 'percolates down into-the soil. “The season of 1914,” says Seager Wheeler in his book, “Profitable Grain “Growing,” “was unusually dry in my district (Rosthern, Saskatchewan), ~when only about three inches of rain fell during the growing season. I har- vested from spring-plowed stubble lands a field of oats of 80 bushels per acre as well as a fine crop of wheat and the heaviest ecrop of potatoes I ever grew. “In the season of 1915 another dry summer, with . only three inches of ‘rainfall; on spring-plowed stubble fields barley yielded 50 bushels per acre; oats - on two different fields, 80 bushels per acre, besides other good crops of wheat, potatoes, etc. 2 compacted throughout the season by cultivation, and in some cases by the trampling of stock put on the field to keep down weed growth.. With some the object is to firm the field and make it solid. ~While this is done with reason, it is a wrong practice to allow the field to go into the winter in this condi- tion. When the snow melts rapidly the soil is so compact that the water does not penetrate easily and consfderably more runs off to the lower levels and off the field altogether, and as I have already pointed out carries away some of the humus. Instead of leaving the summer fallow to go into the winter as the harrows or the trampling stock leave it, it will be found that the very best condi- tion to leave the field is in a corrugated condition. There is a reason. It is this corrugation of the field that prevents the waste of snow water, and when rightly understood and followed in practice it will lead to a marked improvement of the soil. When it is done across the slope of the field or on the level the ridges of the corrugations act as miniature dams and hold back the water until it The amount of water that is held depends on’ the ridges made. Those -made by the drag harrows are insignificant, al- - the subsurface packer. though better than the smooth surface. The disc harrow may be used, but it:leaves the soil too loose and porous. The implement that does the best service is the spring-tooth cultxvator, providing the teeth are about two inches in width.. Using it over the field that has been well firmed previously will throw up ridges and open up furrows. This single operation doubles the storage of mois- ture in the field. What is held of the melted snow is added to that stored the previous summer. The best results are obtained by the use of a good culti- vator, equipped with teeth adjusted to- open the soil only to the depth of two to two and a half inches, not more than three inches. This is important. No more or less, if possible. If used any deeper it will interfere with the firm root bed. When plowing the fallow, or whatever field is under consideration, the principal object to be con- sidered is to provide a depth of not less than six The plcture at the left shows the seed bed (the dark stnp of soil at the top), the root bed, below it, and the moisture laden earth at the bottom, as they are left by ordinary plowing. The large air spaces left in the root bed prevent moisture coming up from below and plant roots from going down. The picture at the nght shows the effect of the use of AP A PAGE FIVE - Hollows are pressed out and moisture can come from below. Dry farlmng advocates hold that this root bed preparation to use the meisture stored - below is as lmportant as the surface preparation to hold the moisture. inches, preferably eight inches. If the plowing is eight inches deep and well firmed it will allow a six-inch-deep root bed and-a two-inch seed bed. The bottom portion, the root bed, should be firm, while the upper portion, the seed bed, should be loose. In some seasons one may plow very shallow in the spring and still harvest a satisfactory crop; but it is not because the plowing was shallow. In plow- ing three to four inches one can hardly expect to provide a seed bed and a root bed. It is either all seed bed or all root bed. By plowing seven to eight inches deep one may have the top two or three inches for the seed bed and the lower four, five or six inches for the root bed. Many good, well-mean- ing' authorities advocate deep plowing and others shallow plowing. Many follow the advice to plow deeply and it is two chances to one that they go to the extreme and plow too deep and do not realize the results anticipated, and so condemn it. DEEPENING OF SOIL SHOULD BE GRADUAL It should be thoroughly understood that whenever the deepening of the soil is done it should be done gradually and at no time should there be more than two inches of new soil brought to the surface. This bringing up of new soil is beneficial for sev- eral reasons. There are many who have the gen- eral idea that if two inches of raw soil were brought to the surface in spring plowing and seeded to a grain crop, it would be a failure and that the crop would not materialize.. I want to dispel this idea, as:it ‘must not be overlooked that the seed is not planted in the raw soil but below it. The raw soil is.left on the surface, and I know of no better ma- terial to constitute a mulch to prevent evaporation or soil drifting. Soil will not blow or drift that has one inch or two inches of raw soil on the surface. The winds have little effect on it and it is not inter- fering with the crop growth. Lying at the surface, this raw soil is rich in plant food, but it is locked up; it is insoluble, it can not feed the plant, and it is not intended to at this time. It is exposed to the influence of the elements that will pulverize and break it down and unlock some of the plant food, and. it is the right place for this to be done. I have pointed out the beneficlal effect of the deepening-of the soil and the providing of a sound root and seed bed on stubble lands in the spring. The small packer attachment to the plow plays an important part. The beneficial effect on the soil, the direct effect in conserving the moisture, the indirect effect in keeping the soil in condition to prevent the waste of fertility, makes it one of the most profitable implements neeessary to tillage. I am now writing as a farmer to farmers. I have no axe to grind. I am advocating, and have advo- cated in the past, the use of the small packer at- tachment to the plow. Years ago I used a home- made roller behind the plow and when the small packer was ifitroduced I was one of the first to use it. I have used it consistently on all occasions in_plowing, except in special cases that called for special treatment, where the object was to eradi- cate patches of couch grass or where the prairie rose had taken a hold on the soil. In these cases when summer fallowing it is well not to use the packer, as the object is to leave the soil loose to dry, especially in the hot weather, when in a few days the roots will dry quickly ard die. In using this small packsy one should do so with the uu- derstanding that the object is not to firm or pack the furrow slice, -as "the ‘larger packer should be used for this purpose, but for the firming of the top soil, to prevent evaporation and to pave the way for the largel packer to follow. I have emphasized two points —corrugating the land in the fall and deeper plowing to pre- vent loss of humus and to add _ture and you save your fertility. some fertility. Save the mois-