Spring plowing; if practiced,
should be done as early as possible in the season.
Follow the plow, whether in the fall or spring, with the disk and
that with the smoothing harrow, if crops are to be sown soon
afterward. If the land plowed in the fall is to lie fallow for the
winter, leave it in the rough condition, except in localities where
there is little or no snow and the winter temperature is high.
Always disk the land in early spring, to prevent evaporation. Follow
the disk with the harrow. Harrow, or in some other way stir the
surface of the soil after every rain. If crops are on the land,
harrow as long as the plants will stand it. If hoed crops, like corn
or potatoes, are grown, use the cultivator throughout the season. A
deep mulch or dry soil should cover the land as far as possible
throughout the summer. Immediately after harvest disk the soil
thoroughly.
Destroy weeds as soon as they show themselves. A weedy dry-farm is
doomed to failure.
Give the land an occasional rest, that is, a clean summer fallow.
Under a rainfall of less than fifteen inches, the land should be
summer fallowed every other year; under an annual rainfall of
fifteen to twenty inches, the summer fallow should occur every third
or fourth year.
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