Rocky Ford enterprise., 1902-03-07
GARDENING FOR PROFIT
APspm b. D.X BurroA nDs1 Bs1sfs IL Reely Fstd
EofuDofs' hotl|utos

writing q paper on this subject n .
very diilicult task. NJ succees W tAe
market Garden depends upon nea08
continually with the plants and from
q proper study Of them being ali1e TO
Know their wants from their appear
Ance.
me first step u the proper selectioa
Of the sod. In this there arc ssv.
erni thinsn 10 consider. First. Il must
lDr under \ SURE ditch and near II. and
must have sufiicient supply Of water
for irrigation. IL must lay well to irrs'
cate. Il must not 6e steep enough 10
wash. ~ this would make it hard 70
get the seed bed moist add would al
low the fertility 10 be washed away.
il must NOT be- too dat, no ~ 10 Hood
the plautn, 40 flooding must always liz
avoided. II viii permanently injure
the growth Of the plantn- With the
proper alo,,e the silt carried down from
the mountains II deposited In the fur.
rows aud this keeps up the mineral
l,art of the plant food 70 that We have
only to supply tbs vegetable mold OF
heterogeneous parts.
II must be q loan Of aufllcicnt depth
To allow plowinx ten TO twelve Inches
deep, and this ioam must be well
nlled with vegetable mold. IL good
supply OF barnyartl or ahecp manure
cannot be had to supply this. part OF
the ground should be planted To peas
for market and .as soon ~ the oest
plrklngA arc harvested. turn tho VINES
under and plant wax beans fof sate
nhippIng, aud ~ soon ~ these arc
marketed plow these vines under. This
will ray well and the ground viii be
In flnc condition for some other crop
the next year.
For q quick acting fertilizer nitrate
Of soda viii supply nitrogen best and
cheapest. For q slow acting fcrtiiiacr
xro,ind tirIctl blood Ii best, IL 10 not
advisable TO unc ready mixed fcrtilixef,
us the soil already contains plenty
Of such a. potash and other minerals.
Thc second to consider h the proper
sec,i, II 10 very important to get the
best to bc had. and price 10 of only
secondary Importance. However, price
Itself often shows the poor quality OF
the seed, m peOpac are not usually 10
good M to select the very nncst 10:
seed. and sell II at much less than WHAT
the produce was worth without tnc
trouble Of saving the need. To tiIsis-
trair. II takes thirty-six cantaloupea 20
make a pound OF seed. Only . part OF
the choicest shippcfa are GOOD eeed naes.
ous, Just m with thc st0ck bscet1ef,
all calves that vii make good feeders
will not be good Individuals to select
for breeding purposes. Now these thirty
slx cnutaloupcs at 5 cents each arc
worth 81. .O6. and n per pound 10 cheap
enough for select seed from the Mne1t
melons. Seed seleceteti from culls y
worthless. a. no good seed melons
make culla. Again, one ounce OF to.
msto seed win make from 100 to 1.SOO
plants, which u nearly enough for an
acre. The crop results depend upon
this seed. A few cents saved ON the
seed may result In q loss Of the sum
mer'a labor. No matter bow fertile TIE
noIl. how good Q supply OF water. how
favorable the climate. or how carcful-
ly tended. failure - certain with poef
seed.
Given. then. the proper soll and seed.
the method of handling determines the
results. The ground must be stirred
at least ten or tWelve incAes desps and
thoroughly narrowed N deep Al posas.
BILE to make y fine, well settled seed
bed. II is not the square feet TILED
that gives the profit, but the cubic feet.
-Four acres we'll tended are worth more
tlinn twenty acres hnlf tended.
The seed bed well prepared, the time
OF planting depends upon the varieties
to bc planted. Some hardy .seetis Will
stand early planting. while the temper.
nture still goes below freezing Mt night,
and will Eermlnntc and grow well,
such ns early peas, beets. radlshea, let
tuce, etc. Other seeds require warm
ssOil and the plants would be cut down
by n very. slight frost. While II the
soil In damp and cold they would de-
cny before terminating. Such as beans.
melons. etc, great care should be taken
In planting NO aR to cover the seed to
the required depth and with the proper
soIl. which. as we have said before.
must bc fine and mellow. Use plenty
Of seed to get good stand. 1t IL better
to thin out part OF the plants than to
have only part OF stand. Never
use a roller to settle the soil, as under
irrigation the water soaking out from
the furrcw to and beyond the seed bed
will settle the soil sufficiently around
the, seed to insure termination.
Next comes cultivation and this is
very important. We may nsk, why do
we cultivate? Any one says, ITO keep
out the weeds" No, this Ii not the.
reason. ind here let me say weeds are
simply plants out Of place. and II
volunteer cantalOupe vine comes up In
the cantnloupe field by all means cut
1t out. 1t may be from the seed of q
Gull and the bloom will fertilize that
Of the other plants md the next year
your seed Will be run down just that
much For best results never allow
any plants to grow except those from
the seed you plant Have some set
rule to follow and don't vary from 1t.
1t is this that insures success. BUT
what Is the use to cultivate II not to
keep out the weeds? In answer will
sny by all means do not allow any
weeds to grow. Cultivation. however.
has another purpose to perform and
that IL to place and keep the soil In
the best possible condition. so that the.
plant can get the greatest amount OF
food. Nitrogen is one of the most cost
ly elements Of commercial fertilizers
and that which we hero need most.
yet four-fifth Of the air Is nitrogen, and