A USEFUL FERTILISER

Wairarapa Times-Age, 30 June 1938, Page 12

A USEFUL FERTILISER

VALUE OF SOOT. Soot is one of the oldest of garden fertilisers. The food in it is sulphate of ammonia, which exists in small quantities, but just sufficient to give a gentle stimulus to growth. That is why it is always safe to use soot. If, in early spring, you were to apply some of the more forcing fertilisers the resulting growth would be rather spectacular, but would come a serious cropper if we had the sharp snap frosts we sometimes get in our fickle climate. Any kind of seedling —flower or vegetable —mixed border plants, lilies, perennial crops such as rhubarb, seakale, and asparagus, and a sickly-looking lawn, all benefit by occasional applications of soot. Give the lightest dressing, but don’t stir it in. Soot is a heat absorber and retainer. Thus, soil having a light covering is warmer than bare soil. As soil warmth is what we all crave for in spring, the advantage of allowing the material to lie on the top, and its ammonia to wash down, is obvious. Soot varies in value. Gritty samples are the least desirable. The lighter the soot the better it is. Never use it straight from the chimney. At least one month should elapse to give certain harmful sulphurous compounds a chance to escape. During this period store the soot in a dry place. If you have none by you, see your local chimney sweep, who will probably be able to let you have as much as you need.