The French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1896-1912, 1906-05-24
To Grow Early Cabbage.

To Grow Early Cabbage
If you have it select a piece of me-
diumly low, we'll drained land. Dc not
put on any fertilizer in the fall or early
winter. Pillow this land as thoroughly
and as deep as you "a so long as you
do not turn up the sub-soil. 1 usually
pillow eight to ten inches deep, pulver-
ize thoroughly with good clod breaker
or harrow. Be sure that all Jumps are
broken and the soil is fine and soft.
Lay off your rows. east and west, If
you can, thirty inches apart, using a
bull-tongue pillow for the purpose. Just
before you order your plants make up
your beds by throwing two burrows to-
gether with q single horse turn plow.
Then firm the beds by rolling them
with q light roller, such as\you would
use in rolling hay land. SIN small gar
denS use a plank for frmlng them.
Remember that no fertilizer is to be
applied until after the plants are set.
When your plants arrive take the bas-
kets to the field, and as you take the
plants from the basket dip the roots In
water to moisten them. Then set your
plants on the south side of the bed FAR
enough down the side so that the top OF
the bed is above the top of the plant.
This is done to keep the cold north and
northwest winds from twisting and
breaking the plants while small Your
Dlants should be set twenty inches
apart in the row, md the entire stem
of the plant up to the first leaves
should be in the soil. Pack the SOIL
good and tight about the roots. Inc
soil should be so firm that the leaf OF
the plant would pull off before the
plant would pull out. In a climate
where the thermometer does not sc be-
low eighteen or twenty you can get
best results by setting your plants /
December and January. Where the
thermometer goes below eighteen 1t is
hest TO set them in February n
March. The object of setting in cold
weather is this: the top of the plant IS
dormant and will stand severe cold
without injury. The roots are in lana
where there is no fertilizer, and they
continue to grow and spread all winter.
About two weeks before your regular
spring weather opens up take a turn
plow of half shovel and throw a fur
row away from the plants in each al
+ernate row. Run the furroW as close
to the plants as you can. Then put IN
this furrow fertilizer analysing eight
per cent. ammonia, seven per cent
phosphoric acid, five per cent. potash,
at the rate of 1000 pounds to the acre,
and then throw the furrow back, work
ing dirt well up around the plants.
This working will have worked and
fortified one side of each row. About
ten days after the first working work
and fertilize the other alley in exactly
the same way. You will then have
worked both alleys and have put or
1000 pounds of fertilizer to the acre
From this time on keep both alleys
we'll cultivated and the soil as open a:
possible. using a diamond tooth harrow
and cultivat0r. The roots that have
been growing all winter will now take
up the fertilizer very rapidly and max
you a crop of cabbage two or three
weeks earlier than you can make then
by growing your own plants.
In purchasing your plants be SUR
that you get your plants from a relia
BILE grower, who uses nothing but higl
grade seed, as the success or failure o
your crop will depend upon the see'
from which the plants were grown
Reliable seed growers select their see'
from only the perfect heads of cab
bage. cutting out all imperfect head
before they seed. Some seasons the,
have to cut out over one-half of thei
seed crop. Other growers aLow tn
entire crop to make seed. Seed select
ed by the frst-class grower will cos
you three times as much as the see
grown by the second class. The cos
of seed is about two-thirds the cost O
growing plants, and for that reason tn
plant grower. who uses the better grad
seed cannot sell you plants at the sam
price as the growerwho uses the cheaI
er grade seeds. I use only the 1g
grade seeds in my business. N q
not attempt to meet the prices quote
by some of the plant growers VIM. {
Geraty, Young's Island, S. c.