Additional information
by John Davidson (Author), Mendon Cottage Books (Editor), Dueep Jyot Singh (Author)
Table of Contents Introduction Importance of Organic Matter Improving Soil Structure Soil Improving Crops Proper Selection of Soil Improving Crops Legumes Cow Peas and Soybean Sweet Clover and Hairy Vetch White, Yellow, and Blue Lupines Crotolaria and Sesbania Non-Leguminous Plants Field Brome Grass and Domestic Ryegrass When to Turn the Soil Improving Crops Conclusion Author Bio Publisher Introduction One of the most difficult problems facing the experienced or amateur gardener whether he is a vegetable grower, or a future market gardener is to maintain the organic matter content of the soil. Nearly most vegetables and crops are grown on lands, that are intensively cropped. That means one or more cultivated crops are grown on the land each year, and the crop residues are not sufficient to replace the organic matter lost manually. In ancient times, it was the norm of a farmer to make sure that the land was fertilized with plenty of organic material and manure in order to provide nutrition to the soil, which had been depleted through a previous harvest. This was naturally the traditional method which was followed all down the ages, all over the world. People knew that the land gave enough of itself in order to produce your crops for you. But the land had to be fed. And this feeding was done with organic fertilizer, water, and other natural resources. At that time, nobody knew that there were plenty of helpful microorganisms present in the land, which were helping in the decomposition of the organic material in order to produce nutrients for the soil. The loss of organic matter was due to the action of these particular microorganisms which were decomposing it ultimately to produce carbon dioxide. The rate of the loss depended on the soil type, muster, temperature, and the type of the crop grown on that particular land. The microorganisms needed both water, therefore their growth, and continued happy action. The rate of the decomposition was slow in the dry soil.
