Unless your ground is deeply wet down by the rains which are now coming, irrigate it once, and do not plow before irrigating.  The point is to get as much water into the ground and as much grass growth on top as you can before the spring plowing.  Never mind about the swelling of the buds.  The trees will not be affected injuriously by getting a good supply of winter water into the soil.  There might be some danger with trees which bloom late in the spring, like citrus trees or olives, because by that time the ground has become warm and the roots very active.  At the blooming time of deciduous trees less danger would threaten, because there is less difference between the temperature of the ground and the water which you were then applying from a running stream.  If you irrigated in furrows and, therefore, did not collect the water in mass, its temperature would rise by contact with air, which would be another reason for not apprehending trouble from it.

How Much Water for Oranges?

How much water would you consider absolutely necessary to carry to full-bearing citrus trees an clay loam-that is, how many acres to a miner’s inch, figuring nine gallons per minute to the inch?

It would, of course, depend upon the age of the trees, as old bearing trees may require twice as much as young trees.  We would estimate for bearing trees, on such retentive soil, 30-acre inches per year applied in the way best for the soil.

Damping-off.

My orange seed-bed stack has “damp-off.”  Same say “too much water;” “not enough water;” “put on lime;” etc.  I use a medium amount of water and more of my stack is affected than that of any other grower.  One man has kept his well soaked since planting, and only about six plants were affected.  Another has used but little water, keeping them very dry; he has lost none.

Damping-off is due to a fungus which attacks the tender growth when there is too much surface moisture.  It may be produced by rather a small amount of water, providing the soil is heavy and the water is not rapidly absorbed and distributed.  On the other hand, a lighter soil taking water more easily may grow plants without damping-off, even though a great deal more water has been used than on the heavier soil.  Too much shade, which prevents the sun from drying the surface soil, is also likely to produce damping-off, therefore, one has to provide just the right amount of shade and the right amount of ventilation through circulation of the air, etc.  The use of sand on the surface of a heavier soil may save plants from damping-off, because the sand passes the water quickly and dries, while a heavier surface soil would remain soggy.  Lime may be of advantage if not used in too great quantities because it disintegrates the surface of the soil and helps to produce a dryness which is desirable.  Keeping the surface dry enough and yet providing the seedlings with moisture for a free and satisfactory growth is a matter which must be determined by experience and good judgment.