Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1886-12-17
Truck Farming in Maine.

The growing of market garden crops
for city consumption, long ago came to be
termed truck farming" because the OPP
erations in this line of work to supply so
large cities as New York and Boston must
be on an extensive scale, really farming
instead of gardening; and because the
crops grown are at once carted or trucked
off to market instead of being stored and
changed into butter, cheese, beef, or 9TH
er products before being sold. Truck
farming, or raising crops usually only
grown in gardens for home use, as COM
mercial crops. is. in its present condition,
a system of modern methods. To take
market gardening in the vicinity OF Bos-
ton, as an example, we find that thous.
ands OF acres in the towns of Arlington,
Belmont, Newton, Watertown, and other
towns within radius OF ten miles of the
city, are devoted to the growing of such
cucumbers. tomatoes, spinach, dandelions,
kale, celery, melons, beans, parsley, rad
sh, peppers, lettuce, and similar crops.
To grow these crops successfully requires
skilled experience OF the highest order. as
each crop requires different treatment.
and generally a grower makes his money
on certain crop,as celery,to which fields
of ten to twenty acres are devoted in the
towns of Belmont and Arlington. For
successful market gardening warm,
quick, deep, fine loomy soil is required,
and to this must be applied an abundance
of manure. Thorough and clean cultiva-
ton is indispensable. Generally two, and
often three crops are taken from the land
in single season, and this of course de-
mands heavy fertilization.
In Maine there has been formerly but
little done in the line of truck farming.
In the first place we have not had the
large, densely populated cities which
make the best market for truck crops; our
farmers have not understood the business,
which is somewhat particular speciality
of itself; and transportation has been so
direct and cheap that for the small guam
titles consumed, local market-men could
send to Boston and purchase truck stuff
for the limited demand OF their customers
who wanted and would have it, when it
was simply impossible to purchase these
crops home grown because nobody knew
how to grow them. But in quite recent
years change has taken place in our
Maine agriculture or truck farming, in
this particular. The markets for this line
of crops have been steadily growing and
causing a demand for them. Every large
city, and especially every busy, prosper.
Gus manufacturing town is sure to demand
these truck crops; and then too, consump-
ton of them increases because of their
healthtuness, cheapness. and because city
people and town jewellers become educated
up to their use. 1t is found that the
use of celery, spinach, lettuce,
greens oil all kinds, tomatoes, cucumbers
and similar crops is largely on the in
crease. Take celery as single crop. 1t
was hardly known in our Maine markets
ten years ago; five years ago it was little
used now it is difficult to obtain enough
of it, impossible to do so from domestic
growers, and today Michigan grown
celery is on sale in Augusta and other
Meine cities.
The more our cities and manufacturing
towns are built up, and the larger the
number of wage workers in towns, the
better opportunities are afforded for en-
gaging in truck farming as a profitable
business. Portland, Brunswick, Bath,
Lewiston. Auburn, Waterville, Augusta,
Rockland. Bangor and numerous smaller
towns are beginning to be good markets
for truck. and market gardens near these
places are extending. changing the whole
business of farming within distances of
four to six miles from those towns and
cities. The farmers, too, are learning the
DuStueSs VI tTuCh fdI anu oOS ihuihs
to understand how to grow good onion
or cabbage, and raise good ''cukes" and
lettuce. To our knowledge there
are but few growers of celery,
spinach and similar crops yet well
established in the business in Maine.
One of the oldest localities of truck farm
ing in this State, are the cabbage and
strawberry farms of Cape Elizabeth, which
have for long term of years partially
supplied Portland with those crops. Rock
land aud towns on the Penobscot up 70
Bangor, have had too good connections
with Boston to aid the establishment of
market garden crops along its waters
and yet Mr.. Tolman of the former place
grows from three 10 five acres of straw
berries yearly. Mr.. Mckinney of Auburn
il one of the princes of truck farmers in