THE HANDLING OF THE LAND pptx

Draining also improves the physical condition of the soil even when the land does not need the removal of superfluous water.. Drainage is particularly useful in dry but hard garden lands

THE HANDLING OF THE LAND

Almost any land contains enough food for the growing of good crops, but the food elements may be chemically unavailable, or there may be insufficient water to dissolve them It is too long a story to explain at this place, the philosophy of tillage and of enriching the land, and the reader who desires to make excursions into this delightful subject should consult King on "The Soil," Roberts on "The Fertility of the Land," and recent writings of many kinds The reader must accept my word for it that tilling the land renders it productive

I must call my reader's attention to the fact that this book is on the making of gardens, on the planning and the doing of the work from the year's end to end, not

on the appreciation of a completed garden I want the reader to know that a garden is not worth having unless he makes it with his own hands or helps to make it He must work himself into it He must know the pleasure of preparing the land, of contending with bugs and all other difficulties, for it is only thereby that he comes into appreciation of the real value of a garden

I am saying this to prepare the reader for the work that I lay out in this chapter I want him to know the real joy that there is in the simple processes of breaking the earth and fitting it for the seed The more pains he takes with these processes, naturally the keener will be his enjoyment of them No one can have any other satisfaction than that of mere manual exercise if he does not know the reasons for what he does with his soil I am sure that my keenest delight in a garden comes in the one month of the opening season and the other month of the closing season These are

the months when I work hardest and when I am nearest the soil To feel the thrust of the spade, to smell the sweet earth, to prepare for the young plants and then to prepare for the closing year, to handle the tools with discrimination, to guard against frost, to

be close with the rain and wind, to see the young things start into life and then to see them go down into winter, these are some of the best of the joys of gardening In this spirit we should take up the work of handling the land

The draining of the land

The first step in the preparation of land, after it has been thoroughly cleared and subdued of forest or previous vegetation, is to attend to the drainage All land that is springy, low, and "sour," or that holds the water in puddles for a day or two following heavy rains, should be thoroughly underdrained Draining also improves the physical condition of the soil even when the land does not need the removal of superfluous water In hard lands, it lowers the water-table, or tends to loosen and aerate the soil to

a greater depth, and thereby enables it to hold more water without injury to plants Drainage is particularly useful in dry but hard garden lands, because these lands are often in sod or permanently planted, and the soil cannot be broken up by deep tillage Tile drainage is permanent subsoiling

Hard-baked cylindrical tiles make the best and most permanent drains The ditches usually should not be less than two and half feet deep, and three or three and one-half feet is often better In most garden areas, drains may be laid with profit as often as every thirty feet Give all drains a good and continuous fall For single drains and for laterals not over four hundred or five hundred feet long, a two and one-half inch tile is sufficient, unless much water must be carried from swales or springs In stony countries, flat stones may be used in place of tiles, and persons who are skillful in laying them make drains as good and permanent as those constructed of tiles The tiles

or stones are covered with sods, straw, or paper, and the earth is then filled in This temporary cover keeps the loose dirt out of the tiles, and by the time it is rotted the earth has settled into place

In small places, ditching must ordinarily be done wholly with hand tools A common spade and pick are the implements usually employed, although a spade with

a long handle and narrow blade, as shown in Fig 79, is very useful for excavating the bottom of the ditch

[Illustration: Fig 80 How to use a spade.]

In most cases, much time and muscle are wasted in the use of the pick If the digging is properly done, a spade can be used to cut the soil, even in fairly hard clay land, with no great difficulty The essential point in the easy use of the spade is to manage so that one edge of the spade always cuts a free or exposed surface The illustration (Fig 80) will explain the method When the operator endeavors to cut the soil in the method shown at A, he is obliged to break both edges at every thrust of the tool; but when he cuts the slice diagonally, first throwing his spade to the right and then to the left, as shown at B, he cuts only one side and is able to make progress without the expenditure of useless effort These remarks will apply to any spading of the land

In large areas, horses may be used to facilitate the work of ditching There are ditching plows and machines, which, however, need not be discussed here; but three

or four furrows may be thrown out in either direction with a strong plow, and a subsoil plow be run behind to break up the hard-pan, and this may reduce the labor of digging

as much as one-half When the excavating is completed, the bottom of the ditch is evened up by means of a line or level, and the bed for the tiles is prepared by the use

of a goose-neck scoop, shown in Fig 79 It is very important that the outlets of drains

be kept free of weeds and litter If the outlet is built up with mason work, to hold the end of the tile intact, very much will be added to the permanency of the drain

[Illustration: VII Bedding with palms If a bricked-up pit is made about the porch, pot palms may be plunged in it in spring and pot conifers in winter; and fall bulbs in tin cans (so that the receptacles will not split with frost) may be plunged among the evergreens.]

Trenching and subsoiling

Although underdraining is the most important means of increasing the depth of the soil, it is not always practicable to lay drains through garden lands In such cases, recourse is had to very deep preparation of the land, either every year or every two or three years

[Illustration: 81 Trenching with a spade.]

In small garden areas, this deep preparation will ordinarily be done by trenching with a spade This operation of trenching consists in breaking up the earth two spades deep Figure 81 explains the operation The section at the left shows a single spading, the earth being thrown over to the right, leaving the subsoil exposed the whole width

of the bed The section at the right shows a similar operation, so far as the surface spading is concerned, but the subsoil has also been cut as fast as it has been exposed This under soil is not thrown out on the surface, and usually it is not inverted; but a spadeful is lifted and then allowed to drop so that it is thoroughly broken and pulverized in the manipulation

In all lands that have a hard and high subsoil, it is usually essential to practice trenching if the best results are to be secured; this is especially true when deep-rooted plants, as beets, parsnips, and other root-crops, are to be grown; it prepares the soil to hold moisture; and it allows the water of heavy rainfall to pass to greater depths rather than to be held as puddles and in mud on the surface

[Illustration: Fig 82 Home-made subsoil plow.]

[Illustration: Fig 83 Forms of subsoil plows.]

In places that can be entered with a team, deep and heavy plowing to the depth of seven to ten inches may be desirable on hard lands, especially if such lands cannot be plowed very often; and the depth of the pulverization is often extended by means of the subsoil plow This subsoil plow does not turn a furrow, but a second team draws

the implement behind the ordinary plow, and the bottom of the furrow is loosened and broken Figure 82 shows a home-made subsoil plow, and Fig 83 two types of commercial tools It must be remembered that it is the hardest lands that need subsoiling and that, therefore, the subsoil plow should be exceedingly strong

Preparation of the surface

Every pains should be taken to prevent the surface of the land from becoming crusty

or baked, for the hard surface establishes a capillary connection with the moist soil beneath, and is a means of passing off the water into the atmosphere Loose and mellow soil also has more free plant-food, and provides the most congenial conditions for the growth of plants The tools that one may use in preparing the surface soil are now so many and so well adapted to the work that the gardener should find special satisfaction in handling them

If the soil is a stiff clay, it is often advisable to plow it or dig it in the fall, allowing

it to lie rough and loose all winter, so that the weathering may pulverize and slake it

If the clay is very tenacious, it may be necessary to throw leafmold or litter over the surface before the spading is done, to prevent the soil from running together or cementing before spring With mellow and loamy lands, however, it is ordinarily best

to leave the preparation of the surface until spring

[Illustration: Fig 84 Improvising a spading-fork.]

In the preparation of the surface, the ordinary hand tools, or spades and shovels, may be used If, however, the soil is mellow, a fork is a better tool than a spade, from the fact that it does not slice the soil, but tends to break it up into smaller and more irregular masses The ordinary spading-fork, with strong flat tines, is a most serviceable tool; a spading-fork for soft ground may be made from an old manure fork

by cutting down the tines, as shown in Fig 84

It is important that the soil should not be sticky when it is prepared, as it is likely to become hard and baked and the physical condition be greatly injured However, land

that is too wet for the reception of seeds may still be thrown up loose with a spade or fork and allowed to dry, and after two or three days the surface preparation may be completed with the hoe and the rake In ordinary soils the hoe is the tool to follow the spading-fork or the spade, but for the final preparation of the surface a steel garden-rake is the ideal implement

[Illustration: Fig 85 Excellent types of surface plows.]

In areas, large enough to admit horse tools, the land can be fitted more economically by means of the various types of plows, harrows, and cultivators that are

to be had of any dealer in agricultural implements Figure 85 shows various types of model surface plows The one shown at the upper left-hand is considered by Roberts,

in his "Fertility of the Land," to be the ideal general-purpose plow, as respects shape and method of construction

The type of machine to be used must be determined wholly by the character of the land and the purposes for which it is to be fitted Lands that are hard and cloddy may

be reduced by the use of the disk or Acme harrows, shown in Fig 86; but those that are friable and mellow may not need such heavy and vigorous tools On these mellower lands, the spring-tooth harrow, types of which are shown in Fig 87, may follow the plow On very hard lands, these spring-tooth harrows may follow the disk and Acme types The final preparation of the land is accomplished by light implements of the pattern shown in Fig 88 These spike-tooth smoothing-harrows do for the field what the hand-rake does for the garden-bed

[Illustration: Fig 86 Disk and Acme harrows, for the first working of hard or cloddy land.]

[Illustration: Fig 87 Spring-tooth harrows.]

If it is desired to put a very fine finish on the surface of the ground by means of horse tools, implements like the Breed or Wiard weeder may be used These are

constructed on the principle of a spring-tooth horse hay-rake, and are most excellent, not only for fitting loose land for ordinary seeding, but also for subsequent tillage [Illustration: Fig 88 Spike-tooth harrow.]

[Illustration: Fig 89 Spike-tooth and spring-tooth cultivators.]

In areas that cannot be entered with a team, various one-horse implements may do the work that is accomplished by heavier tools in the field The spring-tooth cultivator, shown at the right in Fig 89, may do the kind of work that the spring-tooth harrows are expected to do on larger areas; and various adjustable spike-tooth cultivators, two

of which are shown in Fig 89, are useful for putting a finish on the land These tools are also available for the tilling of the surface when crops are growing The spring-tooth cultivator is a most useful tool for cultivating raspberries and blackberries, and other strong-rooted crops

[Illustration: Fig 90 Good type of wheel-hoe.]

[Illustration: Fig 91 A single-blade wheel-hoe.]

[Illustration: Fig 92 Double wheel-hoe, useful in straddling the row.]

For still smaller areas, in which horses cannot be used and which are still too large for tilling wholly by means of hoes and rakes, various types of wheel-hoes may be used These implements are now made in great variety of patterns, to suit any taste and almost any kind of tillage For the best results, it is essential that the wheel should

be large and with a broad tire, that it may override obstacles Figure 90 shows an excellent type of wheel-hoe with five blades, and Fig 91 shows one with a single blade and that may be used in very narrow rows Two-wheeled hoes (Fig 92) are often used, particularly when it is necessary to have the implement very steady, and

the wheels may straddle the rows of low plants Many of these wheel-hoes are provided with various shapes of blades, so that the implement may be adjusted to many kinds of work Nearly all the weeding of beds of onions and like plants can be done by means of these wheel-hoes, if the ground is well prepared in the beginning; but it must be remembered that they are of comparatively small use on very hard and cloddy and stony lands

The saving of moisture

The garden must have a liberal supply of moisture The first effort toward securing this supply should be the saving of the rainfall water

Proper preparation and tillage put the land in such condition that it holds the water

of rainfall Land that is very hard and compact may shed the rainfall, particularly if it

is sloping and if the surface is bare of vegetation If the hard-pan is near the surface, the land cannot hold much water, and any ordinary rainfall may fill it so full that it overflows, or puddles stand on the surface On land in good tilth, the water of rainfall sinks away, and is not visible as free water

As soon as the moisture begins to pass from the superincumbent atmosphere, evaporation begins from the surface of the land Any body interposed between the land and the air checks this evaporation; this is why there is moisture underneath a board It is impracticable, however, to floor over the garden with boards, but any covering will have similar effect, but in different degree A covering of sawdust or leaves or dry ashes will prevent the loss of moisture So will a covering of dry earth Now, inasmuch as the land is already covered with earth, it only remains to loosen up

a layer or stratum on top in order to secure the mulch

All this is only a roundabout way of saying that frequent shallow surface tillage conserves moisture The comparatively dry and loose mulch breaks up the capillary connection between the surface soil and the under soil, and while the mulch itself may

be useless as a foraging ground for roots, it more than pays its keep by its preventing

of the loss of moisture; and its own soluble plant-foods are washed down into the lower soil by the rains

As often as the surface becomes compact, the mulch should be renewed or repaired

by the use of the rake or cultivator or harrow Persons are deceived by supposing that

so long as the surface remains moist, the land is in the best possible condition; a moist surface may mean that water is rapidly passing off into the atmosphere A dry surface may mean that less evaporation is taking place, and there may be moister earth beneath it; and moisture is needed below the surface rather than on top A finely raked bed is dry on top; but the footprints of the cat remain moist, for the animal packed the soil wherever it stepped and a capillary connection was established with the water reservoir beneath Gardeners advise firming the earth over newly planted seeds to hasten germination This is essential in dry times; but what we gain in hastening germination we lose in the more rapid evaporation of moisture The lesson is that we should loosen the soil as soon as the seeds have germinated, to reduce evaporation to the minimum Large seeds, as beans and peas, may be planted deep and have the earth firmed about them, and then the rake may be applied to the surface to stop the rise of moisture before it reaches the air

Two illustrations, adapted from Roberts's "Fertility," show good and poor preparation of the land Figure 93 is a section of land twelve inches deep The under soil has been finely broken and pulverized and then compacted It is mellow but firm, and is an excellent water reservoir Three inches of the surface is a mulch of loose and dry earth Figure 94 shows an earth-mulch, but it is too shallow; and the under soil is

so open and cloddy that the water runs through it

[Illustration: Fig 93 To illustrate good preparation of ground.]

[Illustration: 94 To illustrate poor preparation of ground.]

When the land is once properly prepared, the soil-mulch is maintained by surface-working tools In field practice, these tools are harrows and horse cultivators of various kinds; in home garden practice they are wheel-hoes, rakes, and many patterns

of hand hoes and scarifiers, with finger-weeders and other small implements for work directly among the plants

A garden soil is not in good condition when it is hard and crusted on top The crust may be the cause of wasting water, it keeps out the air, and in general it is an uncongenial physical condition; but its evaporation of water is probably its chief defect Instead of pouring water on the land, therefore, we first attempt to keep the moisture in the land If, however, the soil becomes so dry in spite of you that the

plants do not thrive, then water the bed Do not sprinkle it, but water it Wet it clear

through at evening Then in the morning, when the earth begins to dry, loosen the surface again to keep the water from getting away Sprinkling the plants every day or two is one of the surest ways of spoiling them We may water the ground with a garden-rake

Hand tools for weeding and subsequent tillage and other hand work

Any of the cultivators and wheel-hoes are as useful for the subsequent tilling of the crop as for the initial preparation of the land, but there are other tools also that greatly facilitate the keeping of the plantation in order Yet wholly aside from the value of a tool as an implement of tillage and as a weapon for the pursuit of weeds, is its merit merely as a shapely and interesting instrument A man will take infinite pains to choose a gun or a fishing-rod to his liking, and a woman gives her best attention to the selecting of an umbrella; but a hoe is only a hoe and a rake only a rake If one puts his personal choice into the securing of plants for a garden, so should he discriminate in the choice of hand tools, to secure those that are light, trim, well made, and precisely adapted to the work to be accomplished A case of neat garden tools ought to be a great joy to a joyful gardener So I am willing to enlarge on the subject of hoes and their kind