Commercial Plant Food Use Pays Off
With Superior Qualify, Fast Growth
By producing more vegetables
from the same area, and en
couraging fast growth with su
perior quality, commercial plant
food will easily pay its way. It
is one of the few things which
has risen little in cost, since pre
war days.
It saves labor, too, especially
Precision Sowing
Of Garden Helps
At Harvest Time
While seed sowing isnot a pre
cision job especially when na
ture does it' gardeners soon
learn that much can be saved if
it is done with some skill and
judgment.
If sown too thinly, there may
be vacant spaces in the row,
caused by local mishaps such as
drowning, or washing out, or an
attack of fungus. If sown too
thickly, seedlings will come up
crowded, and there will be extra
work in thinning out the excess
plant.
Some seeds are often sown so
thickly that 90 per cent of the
plants must be sacrificed, in or
der to give the remainder room
enough to mature. This is waste
of both seed and labor. Then
what will serve as a guide to
follow?
As a general rule, not more
than 15 seeds to an inch should
be needed, when seed is of stan
dard germination, and the soil
is fairly porous. Start with that
rule, and then make these ex
ceptions: Double Rate
If seed is of sub-standard ger
mination, or known to be old,
double that rate. Carrot seed
lings arc feeble, and often have
difficulty breaking through the
soil if it is at all inclined to
crust. Use twice as much carrot
seed if you have doubts about
your soil being porous enough.
In the case of large seeds, such
as beet, swiss chard, and peas,
which can be spaced precisely,
sow them an inch apart.
Bush beans usually are al
lowed to grow four inches apart
in the row. If you wish to avoid
vacant spaces, a good way is to
sow beans in pairs, spaced four
inches apart. Seldom will both
seeds fail to grow. If both grow,
one can easily be pulled up. or
let them both develop, since
twin plants will do as well as
singles.
in the vegetable plot, which may
be reduced in area if the crops
are well fed. Of course,' if plen
ty of animal manure is avail
able, less commercial plant food
will be needed, but the amateur
who has the former is rare.
Good feeding increases humus
in the soil, because it stimulates
rooth growth, and most humus
comes from roots rather than the
tops of plants. Heavy crops may
use up some food elements, but
they leave behind more humus
than they found.
Rules Given
The best way to apply com
mercial plant food depends
somewhat on the acidity of the
soil.
1. On soils which are acid,
testing below pH6, plant food
should be concentrated in bands
or pockets, not touching plant
roots but within each reach.
2. On sweet soils, testing
above pH6, spade plant food
thoroughly into the soil, evenly
and deeply.
If you are in doubt about the
acidity of your garden soil, use
the first method, especially if
the soil contains considerable
clay. To apply, stretch the line
to mark the row in which seeds
are to be planted. Then not less
than two inches away on either
side, make a furrow four inches
deep. Pour plant food into each
furrow at the rate of one pound
(or pint) for 50 feet, and cover
it with earth. Then make the
drill into which seeds are to be
sown and proceed with planting
as usual.
The standard application of a
balanced plant food is 4 pounds
per 100 square feet (a space
10x10 feet square). You may fig
ure one pound per pint, so an
area 10 by 10 feet requires two
quarts. One quart will feed 50
square feet and one pint 25
square feet.
Amounts
Where smaller quantities are
required use a rounded table
spoon per square foot. For con
venience, here is a table show
ing some common areas and the
standard balanced plant food
application for each:
5'x5' equals 25 sq. ft. re
quires 1 lb. (or 1 pint).
5'xl0' equals 50 sq. ft. re
quires 2 lbs. (or I quart).
10'xlO' equals 100 sq. ft. re
quires 4 lbs. (or 2 quarts).
20'x30' equals 600 sq. ft. re
quires 24 lbs.
'25'xl00' equals 2,500 sq. ft.
requires 100 lbs.
For plants which are not
grown in rows, spread the cor
rect amount of plant food evenly
over the area and rake it into
the top soil.
mmwE NOW
Is the Time to Plant
Both Fruit and Shade Trees
SPECIAL
6 Fruit Trees
00
ELMS 45c
WEEPING WILLOWS
98
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ALSO
A Complete Assortment or
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NOW
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4 YEAR OLD
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TREES
Complete assortment
Grown at Our Nurs
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Acclimated to Local
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Its your turn now.
Park Landscape Co,
West Bank of Evans Creek Rogue River, Ore.
ALL NEW ITEMS
LAWN GROOMER, Moksnes 89c
HAN DEE HOE $1.19
Hoe and Cultivator Combination
GARDEN HOE $1.00
GARDEN CULTIVATOR, Utility. $1 .29
BAMBOO
LAWN
RAKES
39c
LONG HANDLE
SHOVELS
USED
50c - 75c
$1.00
Medford Surplus Store
1 Door North of Big Y Medford
1950 North Pacific Phone 2-9008
Time Saved When
Garden Rows Are
Straight, Even
When vegetables or flowers
are grown in rows, every five
minutes you spend in making
the rows straight, parallel, and
the whole layout square and pre
cise will save an hour In the
work of caring for the garden
later on.
Payment in pride will be even
greater, since an orderly garden
is pleasant to work in, and to
show your neighbors. An excep
tion to the rule for straight rows
may be made in hilly country,
where the wash of soil may be
checked by contour planting.
Here rows should run at right
angles to the slope, but they
should still be parallel, though
on rounded slopes they will be
curved.
Double Work
Serpentine, slanting or un
even rows will double the work
of cultivation, and give an ap
pearance of incompetence to the
garden.
Rows are spaced with varying
distances between them, depend
ing on two factors: The needs of
the crop, and the convenience of
cultivation. In rich soil vegeta
bles may be spaced more closely
than in poor; but when spaced
too close together, it is difficult
to cultivate between the rows.
For crops growing 12 inches
tall or less, rows may be spaced
10 inches to a foot apart and
cultivated with hand tools. For
cultivation with a wheel hoe, 18
inches is likely to be found a
minimum distance, since it is
necessary to avoid disturbing
the roots of the vegetables, what
ever tool is used.
Taller vegetables and those
that make vines, large busbes, or
have a sprawling habit, must De
given more distance between
rows. In small gardens. 4 feet
will usually be the maximum
distance. Riven only for such
crops as bush squash and cu
cumbers. Decide on Crops
First, decide on the crops you
will grow, which should be
those that your family likes, or
ought to like. Next, determine
the quantity .of each which you
will try to produce, which should
be the amount you will eat in
the fresh state, plus what you
will put up for next winter.
In the case of the short-harvest
crops, plan for several
plantings of each, spaced so that
one harvest will follow another
throughout the season.
Having prepared your produc
tion schedule, make a simple
plan of your garden and pro
ceed to lay it out accurately be
fore beginning to sow. This plan
should be kept through the sea
son, to guide you in second plant
ings, and enable you to note
upon it errors in planning you
may have committed, and which
can be corrected another year.
Symptoms Of Little
Known Illness Told
Dr. A. Erin Mcrkel, county
health officer, said today that
five cases of infectious mononu
cleosis have been reported in the
county the past week. In describ
ing the little known disease, Dr.
Merkcl said it is an acute infec
tious disease frequently-confused
with upper respiratory infec
tions. Symptoms usually follow
the line of headache, sore throat,
fever, and weakness and ex
haustion. Diagnosis is confirmed
by a blood test which determines
whether there is a disturbance
among the components of the
white corpuscles in the blood
stream.
Dr. Merkcl said the Incidence
of fatality from the disease is
"practically nil." Last year, he
said, from 12 to 14 cases were
reported in the county. It Is not
definitely known if the disease
is contagious though there ap
pears to be some aspects of com
municabiiity present. It is most
common among children and
young adults.
Convalescence sometimes
drags on from six weeks to
three months, according to Dr.
Merkel.
MECHANIZE
YOUR PLANTING
... FOR THISI
PERFECT SIM HO SI
Uu the tame power implement that
preparei perfect teed bedi in one
operation to mechanize your plant
ing. The Rototiller planter attach
ment handles any common crop or
vegetable seed in wide rows or mul
tiple narrow rowi. Come in or call
ui for details about ihil attach
ment available with two or more
planting units.
Mil
Trad. M.rk R.f. U.S. P.I Off.
POWIt TILII Of A HUH0II0 UMI
We are happy to announce
that we now have the Agency
for Rototiller, Rotoette and
Terra-Tractor. The Terra
Tractor it the new crawler
tiller you can ride.
PACIFIC FEED
& SEED CO.
MEDFORD PHONE 2-2413
Cranti Past Phone 3122
g-L . fat X ;
&zlr:?i$ m w i I ' fv HI
0M$ HI
PROPER SEEDING METHODS AID PRODUCTION GraDhi
cally shown in the pictures above are methods which will aid the
home gardener in achieving good yields. At top, hoe handle is
used as a drill for medium sized seeds. In small pictures at top,
the edge of a board pressed into the ground is used for small seeds,
and the corner of a hoe makes a deeper trench for large seeds. In
the middle is shown how beans should be sown in pairs, properly
spaced, for a good stand. . At bottom is demonstrated the proper
way of covering seeds with a special porous mixture for use in
heavy soils to prevent crusting.
Wednesday. March IS, 1950
MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE NINE
Shallow Planting Favored
In Modern Garden Practice
I 0 lowe Brothers
M VTtd lh Unvr4,, F,nIsh .
f Retitti boiling Resists burning
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morkil eating acidl )
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r finish for many household articles. What's more, it's S
) fun to use PLAX, for it flows on freely and levels to
a porcelain-like finish without brushmarks! It hides i
so effectively that most surfaces may be finished with
just one coat. The beauty of PLAX remains after )
r repeated cleanings. Comes in a wide range of STYLE )
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ftfVo"''' Mn kpeP'n8 wi'h 'he la )
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Big Pines Lumber Go,
SIXTH and Fill STREETS
PHONE 2-6251
Modern practice in sowing
seeds favors shallow planting.
Just how deep to place them is
not loo important, provided
they are not too deep. And the
maximum depth in the vegetable
garden may be considered to be
one to two inches.
Don't bother to measure the
depth you plant exactly, as some
beginners nave been known to
do. A good way is to have three
depths of "drill," that being the
gardeners' word for the shallow
trench into which the seed is
dropped. The shallowest drill is
made by pressing the edge of a
narrow board into the soil. This
takes the smallest seeds, which
nre harplv pnvpppH wilh eril
The middle depth drill is made
wun tne noe handle, and is
about half an inch deep. The
deepst drill is made with the
corner of the hoe blade, and
runs one to two inches.
Old Rule Good
The old rule that seeds should
be sown at a depth equal to four
times their diameter is a fairly
good one, though impractical to
apply witli accuracy, of course.
It does convey the idea that the
larger the seed, the deeper it
should be. To some extent the
depth of the larger seeds will de
pend upon the nature of the soil.
In sandy loam they may go a
little deeper than in heavy clay;
and in hot weather they should
be at least twice as deep as in
the moist spring weather.
Keep Straight
Above all, in making a drill,
keep It straight. Some gardeners
use a narrow plank as a ruler. A
garden line is easier to handle,
heavy cords on reels are handy,
but any stout cord stretched be
tween two stakes will serve.
But use the line as a guide,
and never press the hoe against
it, for it will bend, and your
garden row may turn out to be
serpentine. If this happens, fill
up the drill and try it over again.
You will soon acquire the knack.
You quickly learn to mark the
drill in the well prepared soil
with very little pressure, almost
as though you were drawing a
line on paper.
2 M "imnm...
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1 SPRAYING
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Zinnia Favorite
In U. 5. Gardens
Among the flowers which
amateurs grow from seed the
zinnia stands first in this cotin-1
try. It is a native American
which thrives in our hot, drv i
summers. The seed germinates
in a few days, and plants pro-:
duce their flowers in six weeks. 1
But they could be more so if j
gardeners in general knew what !
a variety of colors and forms the i
zinnia family includes. Too
many grow only the giant dou-1
ble kinds lovely, it is true 1
but lovier when accompanied by j
those of smaller size, which i
bloom even more freely and
make a better, effect in the bor
der. So many colors, sizes and
shapes are found in the long list
of zinnias, that an entire garden
could be planted with them with
excellent effect. They have all i
the colors except blue; in size I
their blossoms range from half I
an inch to six inches across; in 1
height plants grow from six
inches to four feet.
One of the most decorative
forms is the fantasy type, in
which the petals depart wholly
from the formal regularity of
outer aouDies, to iwist ana curl,
something like a cactus dahlia.
They are charming in flower ar
rangements, and a group of them
In the garden makes a pleasing
contrast to neighbors of more
sedate behavior.
Zinnias may be started in
doors or outdoors, in seed boxes
or sown direct in the garden.
Use Mull Tribune wnnl Ad
M j, in i i ii , i
BRING BUG TROUBLES TO US
There's scarcely a bug in the world . . . especially the
garden variety beetles, worms, aphids and slugs . . . that
isn't an easy mark for the new insecticides.
Yes, those insect dusts, sprays and repellents are strong
medicine.
But, you have to know what you're after and which of the
new products will do the job best.
That's what we're here for. We know all your common
garden pests, and how to get rid of them. Come in and let
us bring you up-to-date on insect control.
SPRAYERS
FOR EVERY
JOB
IT HAPPENS EVERY SPRING!-that urge fo clean up, and paint up.
Here are supplies to use when you start your clean-up campaign!
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3 WIST SIXTH STREET
TELEPHONE 2-3201