e-book:
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Ministry of Agriculture Allotment &
Garden Guide
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Click image
for
facsimile of page 3 January 1945
Page:
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2 / 3
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THE THREE ESSENTIAL PLANT
FOODS |
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MANURE IN ROTATION |
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"Organic" manures usually provide essential plant foods, the three most
important being Nitrogen, Phosphate and Potash. Plants need a balanced
ration of these foods. They take them in, dissolved in soil water, through
their roots. Most soils contain a certain amount of them. But if the plants
are to get enough, you must keep up the supply by manuring the soil. You can
do this most effectively by using both "organic" manures and mineral
fertilizers––popularly called "artificials".
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you may say, farmyard manure is very scarce and most difficult to get. That
is true ; but you can make compost yourself (Dig for Victory
Leaflet No. 7 tells you how––it is free), though maybe you could not make
enough from your garden waste to supply all the needs of your land in one
season. So it is a question of using wisely what little manure you can get
or the compost you can make. If you manured about one-third of your land
with farmyard manure or compost every year and practised crop rotation (as
recommended in the Ministry's free cropping plan), you would go some way to
keeping your soil in good heart. The one-third of the plot most suitable for
this treatment is the part where you are going to grow your onions, leeks,
peas and beans.* |
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About 'Artificials'**
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Now a word about "artificials"––or, what is a better term, "mineral
fertilizers". The use of the word "artificials" makes some people thank that
"artificials" are not as good as "organics". Both supply exactly the same
kind of plant foods in different quantities. The "organics" generally rot
down slowly and so supply steady though small amounts of plant foods during
the whole of the plant's growing period.
The well-known Sulphate of Ammonia, which comes from
gas works and coke ovens, is a good source of nitrogen. Superphosphate, made
from rock, is rich in phosphate; |
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basic
slag, which we get from iron works, also contains phosphate. Potash is dug
out of mines in France and Germany. |
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A SOUND GOVERNMENT FERTILIZER
To meet the needs of gardeners, the Government
arranged for the supply of a good standard fertilizer at a reasonable price.
It is called "National Growmore Fertilizer" and contains the three important
plant foods––the analysis being 7 per cent. N. (nitrogen), 7 per cent. P2O5
(phosphate) and 7 per cent. K2O (potash). |
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*
[ed. note]
According to Carrots Love Tomatoes,
beans and peas do not like onions and leeks and should not be planted close
to each other. |
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**
[ed. note] earthly pursuits
urges everyone to avoid "artificials" if possible and practice sustainable,
organic gardening. The articles are only presented as part of the historical
pamphlet. |
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