All root crops delight in most liberal manuring and the highest of
cultivation. Carrots are no exception to this rule. With every crop,
other conditions being equal, _it is the last half of the manure
gives the profits_; and the more costly the cultivation required the
more important it is that this golden fact be borne in mind. Though
chemical analysis shows difference in the composition of all roots,
and that there is therefore an office for special manures, yet their
general composition is so nearly alike, and animal manures, most
of which contain in greater or less proportion, all the elements
required, are so difficult to handle in just the proportions that
would be required from the chemical standpoint, particularly when we
consider that soils on which root crops are grown are usually rich
in manures, varying in their chemical constituents, left over from
former crops;--for this reason I treat of manure by the cord and with
reference to its comparative strength, bulk for bulk, rather than of
its chemical elements.
Eight cords of good stable manure; nine cords of a compost made of
one part night soil to two parts muck or loam; eight cords of muscle
mud; six or eight cords of rotten kelp--either of these applied to
an acre of land in good condition by previous high cultivation would
be sufficient for a good crop of Carrots. Other manures might be
mentioned, but these will serve as a pretty good measure of value
for any kind accessible to farmers in general. To produce a very
large crop, such as one would like to be able to point to when
premium crops are called for, add from one-quarter to one-half to
the above quantities. The condition of the manure is a matter of
importance; the stable manure should be good; not half bedding, not
burnt, neither too coarse nor too new; the night soil should have
been well mixed with the soil in the compost heap, and have been
pitched over twice with sufficient intervals between to allow it to
develop some heat. The muscle mud should be rich in dead muscles. In
all farming, it is important that the manures applied should be in a
fine condition mechanically, and particularly is this true of root
crops. For the roots of all plants can take up only such parts of the
manures as are dissolved in water, and the firmer the manure is the
more readily can water penetrate it.
_A man who is unfortunately short of manures can materially increase
the capacity of what he has by working it over until it is very fine._
When short of a supply of animal manure, where the soil is already
in good condition, a good fertilizer can be used with success. Apply
fifteen hundred pounds to the acre. The famous fertilizer formulas of
Prof. Stockbridge have generally done so well I should be willing to
try them on an acre of Carrots, were I short of other manures.
There is another matter concerning our manures which requires
attention; if they are too fresh or crude they will be apt, if
applied to our long growing varieties, to drive the growth too
much into the top of the Carrot, to the loss of the root, giving
us tops to our knees with roots about the size of a hoe handle. It
is important therefore, when used liberally, that they should be
somewhat decomposed--that the mixtures should be _composts_, as
far as the time will allow, and not mere mixtures. To the shorter
varieties the crude manure may be applied with a degree of safety.
Here let me note a fact that I think is of general application in
farming, viz.:--that a style of manuring that will drive tall growing
varieties of vegetables nearly all to tops or vine, with dwarf
varieties of the same kind will work admirably. The Pea is a very
good illustration; to get a good crop of a dwarf variety, manure
liberally, but the same quantity applied to the taller sorts would
drive them excessively into vine at the expense of the crop.
Don’t make your compost heap on the ground where the crop is to
grow, for the result will be no crop where the heap stands. For the
same reason it is bad policy to cart out any strong manure to stand
on the land in heaps, no matter how small, over winter. There will
be nothing lost by spreading the manure over the surface before the
ground is frozen. In getting it into the soil, _keep it as near the
surface as possible_ without its interfering with the planting of the
seed, bearing in mind the nitrogen, that element in manures, about
the loss of which by evaporation there is much uncalled for anxiety,
tends to work down into the soil. If the manure is coarse it may be
applied to the surface in the Fall and be deeply ploughed in, and in
the Spring again brought to the surface by ploughing equally deep,
having meanwhile received the benefits of frost and moisture.
In applying fertilizers keep them near the surface, scattering them
broadcast and raking or harrowing in. It is better not to apply
these all at once. Apply about two-thirds at the time of sowing, the
remainder when the crop is about one-third grown--following it with
the slide hoe, which will tend to work it in just under the surface.
In applying all fertilizers in the Spring time, it is well to do
so early in the day, as winds are apt to rise as the day advances,
which seriously interfere with the economical application and even
distribution. Fertilizers tend to hasten the maturity of the crops
to which they are applied. There is one condition that has a very
important bearing on the cost of Carrots and all roots, viz.:--that
both the ground and manure should be as free from all weed seed as
possible. For this reason ground recently from the sod, the third
year, provided it has been kept under a high state of cultivation,
and such manures which from their very nature must be comparatively
free from the seed of weeds, such as fish composts, night soil, or
barn manure a year old, are to be preferred.
Dr. Voelcker gives the result of 10 analyses of the ashes of the
root and 2 of the ashes of the leaves of the Carrot, and from these
deduces the following as the number of pounds of mineral matter taken
from an acre of land, by 10 tons of roots and 4 tons of tops.
Potash, Soda, Lime, Phosphoric Acid,
116 lbs. 86 lbs. 101 lbs. 31 lbs.
Sulphuric Acid, Chlorine,
34 lbs. 31 lbs.
To those who desire to experiment with mineral manures this table
will be interesting as showing the kinds and proportion of each
needed. The potash is found in unleached ashes, from two to five
pounds to the bushel; or in the German Potash salts; the soda and
chlorine in common salt, (chloride of sodium); lime in the common
lime of the mason, the Phosphoric acid in the phosphates offered in
the markets, and the Sulphuric acid in that directly or in common
finely ground plaster known by chemists as Sulphate of Lime.
I shall have occasion to present some very valuable suggestions of
the learned Professor, under the head of “The Manure” in my article
on Mangolds, to which they more especially apply.
The greatest single item in the cost of any crop is the manure, but
this is an exceedingly varying element. Farmers near cities, and
particularly if they also reside near the sea-coast, as an off-set
for the greater cost of farming-land and expenses of living, have
the advantages of a city market and special facilities for collecting
manures, at a cost to them, much below the standard value of stable
manure. Night soil to almost an unlimited extent can be obtained for
the cost of collecting it, while the waste material of the fisheries,
Kelp, Rock Weed, Muscle Mud, Glue Waste, Sugar House Waste, and
the products of the distilleries, these and other rich fertilizers
can be procured at so low a figure, in proportion to their value,
that root crops can be raised considerably cheaper than in farming
districts not so favored. Many a man can be found in these favored
districts who thinks he is making a good business at farming, yet
could he but sell the manure he gathers so cheaply, at its market
value, barn manure being the standard, he would make money by doing
so and folding his arms the rest of the year. The fact is he is
really losing money at farming; but through his crops he is selling
what cost him but a trifle--at a price, indeed, below its real value,
but still so far in advance of cost as to leave a profit. Such a man
does wisely in the course he pursues though he makes a mistake in the
debtor and creditor side of the account, for it is most decidedly
wiser to be at work than idle, though the result makes no difference
in the dollars in a man’s pocket.