Rocky Ford enterprise., 1899-04-20
FRUIT GROWING
AT ROCKY FORD.
Paper Read by Hon. J. b. Crowley
at the Farmers Institute.

Twelve years ago I started to grow
vegetables and start fruit on the Fair
view fruit farm. My 100 was supposed
to be the poorest under the Catlin ditch.
l was called crazy or a fool. "Crowley,
You will starve. This u no fruit coun-
try. There is no wild fruit here" 9th
ers said that Mr.. Linigger Of Las Ami
mas had tried il for II years and said all
that would grow was wild plums. Others
said the trees winter killed, the sun
scalded them and that the wind would
blow all the fruit Oh. I grew trees to
sell. but, OF course, could not sell them
to such people, % kept most OF my trees
and am yet making stove wood out Of the
surplus.
I bad NO place 70 60 for information.
II was failure hero and failure there.
Canon City was growing fruit, but Rocky
Ford was thought to be too Tar out on
the plains.
We sst out 90 varieties Of apples, IS Of
grapes, 6 Of currants, 18 OF cherries, 10 Of
pears, Of ounce, 8 Of raspbsrries, 10 OF
strawberrieo, 3 OF goosoborries, 2 Of nee
tsrines, 40 Of plums and prunes, l OF a.
We have fruited IS varieties Of apples.
We Get apples Is feet apart each way,
70 trees per acre. The first year we irri.
Rate every two weeks, and cultivate after
each irrigation. We stir the ground once
each year with 12.inch plow. For cul.
tivation We use . double shovel, 6-shov.
81, Q 2-horse cultivator, an Acme harrow,
y lever harrow and disc adjustable and
reversible harrow. We do not allow q
crust TO form 70 reflect the suns rays,
but keep the surface fine 30 as In absorb
the heat.
For irrigation We use single.shovel
plow, making furrow on each side Of
the row from to 3. feet from trees, ac-
cording to size OF trees, md about every
feet between rows. Do not flood any
thing. To regulate the water in each
furrOw We use box made Of lath-one
for each furrow. In our soil this head
will run 5O0 feet in twelve hours and
soak 2 feet each side. For loose or dry
soil I would double the head. This
small amount Of water does not wash on
steep land, or clog up and run over II
furrow Ii partly full OF trash.
In cultivation we pay no attention to
irrigation iurrows. Our oldest orchard
is i3 years old, but we still cultivate.
Heretofore wo grew small fruit in Or
chard, but have dug all out.
It would be impossible to give direc.
tions for pruning to the satisfaction OF
the audience or myself.
Out Of So varieties OF apples, the fol.
lowing have done we'll: Mo. Pippin at 8
years old. best tree, l2Il bus, average 6;
Ben Davis, best tree ~ BUS, average 8;
Jonathan, best tree 10 bus, average 6;
Winesap, best tr.e 0 bus. average 6.
Other trees av-rnge MS follows: Rambo
4, Maiden Blush 4, Rawl's Jenette 4,
Mammoth Black Twig 3. Arkansas Black
Twig 2, Duchess Of Oldenburg 4. The
Yellow Transparent has done well with
us, but ~ subject to blight. Pewaukee
tofsky biixhts. The keswick Codling is
a good summer variety. or course,
some one will ask about Bellfiower. Life
is too short. 1t takes II years to get the
first fruit here.
We hand.pick our apples and make
grades gilt edge. No. |, No. 2, and the
culis or cider apples. Pack in barrels or
boxes, mark grade, put name and name
Of apple on package.
or pears our experience and knowledge
is limited. Most OF ours have blighted.
We set 20 feet apart for standards; ;dwarfs
II to Is feet, and cultivate and irrigate
same as apples.
Ounce We have only in tho nursery
row. II blights badly will dig it out
Peaches we have had 8 full crops in Il
years and peaches IN OF tho years. We
have fruited Alexander, Waterloo, Old
Nixon cling. Crawford late, Wheatland
ElDerta, Heath cling, Arkansas Traveller
aud several seedlings. We sent to Chi.
cago box OF AZ peaclies weighing y
pounds. They were Elberta aud Nixon.
1 would set peaches 10 to ~ feet apart