510 E. 12th Street, Sedalia, Missouri
In the July-August Album, I see you are asking for information
about steaming tobacco beds. I never raised tobacco, but for a
number of years I raised garden plants for sale.
I used my Aultman-Taylor engine for 3 or 4 days each spring for
sterilizing the soil. I had two large boxes 6′ x 5′, 8′
the loose hot bed soil and steam at 80-100 lbs. run into them for
two hours, then they were moved on down the bed until completely
steamed.
To test the work, I always buried a potato 6 inches deep under
each box and if the potato was cooked soft at the end of two hours
the sterilization was complete. Result was no weeds to pull out of
the young plants and the beds were clear of weeds until late in
August except for wheat seed that blew in and sprouted after the
plant season was over. It was lots of work and the expense was
Quite large but we thought it was worth it for it is hard on young
plants to pull weeds out around them. Steaming also kills insects
and worm life and plant diseases.
Hope someone can make use of their engine in this way. I
don’t raise anything any more since I have gone into show
business, but I still have my engine which is now for sale as I am
selling out and going south with the show in September.
Hope this helps someone. I still read the ALBUM and enjoy it
and, as we Hawaiians say, Mahalo Nue and Aloha.
