POTASH IS IMPORTANT

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 560, 12 January 1929, Page 24

POTASH IS IMPORTANT

Potash is the fibre or skeleton builder. It is liable to be lacking in the soil where such crops as turnips, radish, carrot, beet and parsip are grown, but where ground has been regularly under cultivation* and liberally supplied with stable manure for several years, it will be found that the soil contains an abundance locked up, and all that is necessary is an application of lime, to a rich garden soil to liberate the potash, for unlike nitrogen, potash is not lost through drainage. The use of potash is a necessity in poor or sandy or where the ground has been worn out through constant cropping and regular manuring. If soil is deficient in lime it must first be supplied with this element before the potash is applied. As a general rule the best results from potash manures are obtained through an application in early Winter. The four principal sources from which it may be secured are muriate and sulphate of potash, kainit containing from 4 to 6 per cent, potash. Wood ashes are the easiest source of potash to secure and may be applied freely to the soil without doing any harm. The commercial potash fertilisers may be used dry at the rate of loz to the gallon of water.