HOW TO PRODUCE BETTER CROPS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 678, 1 June 1929, Page 12 (Supplement)

HOW TO PRODUCE BETTER CROPS

The decreasing available supplies of farm and stable manure are making the gardener more dependent upon the use of fertilisers, but these do not produce their maximum beneficial effect where organic matter is lacking in the soil. A necessary condition for the complete effectiveness of commercial fertilisers is a supply of available lime in the soil. Several conditions give us definite indication of lack of lime in tne soil, one of the most reliable being the appearance of club root among cabbage crops. Then the prevalence of certain weeds, such as sorrel, is also indicative of lime deficiency. The addition of lime has a good chemical effect on the soil. Sourness, which is decidedly injurious to the well-being of certain crops, is overcome by the free use of lime. Peas and beans and other members of this family are particularly sensitive to sour conditions, as are turnips and root crops generally. Potatoes are comparatively tolerant to a certain degree of sourness, and applications of lime previous to planting this crop are not advisable. The addition of lime to heavy clay

soils has the effect of granulating the ♦•lay particles, and so making the ground materially more friable and easy to work, and also improving the condition as a medium for root development. In the past, some gardens were manured until they were in a condition that might be termed manure-sick. Tn such a soil lime is usually deficient, and a single dressing would be of marked benefit. No doubt there may hr plenty of matter present in the soil, but it is unavailable for the crops. If the soil is kept constantly supplied with lime, not only are reserves of plant food gradually unlocked, but any manure applied quickly becomes available, and the formation of insoluble compounds is prevented. When there is a sufficiency of lime in the soil, commercial fertilisers, carefully balanced, may be depended