Читать книгу Make Your Garden Feed You - E. Brown T. - Страница 33

Natural manures may not be obtainable, but all vegetable matter is capable of supplying humus, so the war-time gardener must take stock of what is available in his own district. But before dealing with the numerous substitutes which can be used successfully something may be said about the two manures which are produced by poultry and rabbits.

Poultry manure is first-class. When fowls are kept on the intensive system in a scratching-shed the droppings are available in two forms. There are the neat droppings (or mixed with a little dry earth or sand) from the droppings-board placed beneath the perches; there is also the manure-impregnated litter from the poultry-house floor. The latter is invaluable for digging into the soil in the autumn or winter when the vegetable plots are being treated to their annual digging, a useful dressing being 1 cwt. to one-sixth of an acre. The straw or dried leaves used as litter supply humus; the droppings supply other plant foods, nitrogen, potash and phosphorus. But since poultry manure is rather deficient in the last-mentioned, it is advisable to add a fifth part by weight of mineral superphosphates to the litter manure.

The neat droppings are best used for top-dressing; that is, applying to the crops as they are actually growing, in the same way as chemical fertilisers are employed. A satisfactory dressing is ¹/₂ oz. per yard of row.

Rabbit manure is not very rich in plant food, but it is very durable and so supplies nourishment for many months on end. It should be dug into the soil in the autumn or winter at the rate of 28 lb. per rod. It will be necessary to collect this manure for a whole year as it is only applied at digging time in the autumn or winter. To store it, cover with vegetable refuse or mix with the compost heap.