The Delta independent., 1909-05-14
Cabbage Growing.

SaDDaSSS INT lllC anu Ctlti
crops, is best adapted to cool, moist,
loamy soil. The cabbage is also a gross
feeder, so heavy manuring of the soil
is essential. This plant adapts itself
to a great range of climates. How
ever, we believe the very best product
is produced in the mountain valleys,
where the nights are always cool and
the days not very warm.
The preparation of land for cabbage
growing does not materially differ from
that of other garden crops. 1t should,
of course, be put in good tilth, and an
abundant supply of we'll rotted stable
manure is desirable.
Cabbage seed must be sown six or
seven weeks before it is desired to set
the plants in the field. The time for
planting varies somewhat with the sea-
son. Seed for early cabbage is sown
about the first of March, in flats, in
forcing house, or in hotbeds. If sown
in hotbeds, the seedlings are not usual
ly transplanted until they are set in
the field. The growing of plants in the
greenhouse, or in hotbeds, is trade in
itself, the details of which must be
carefully looked after. Seed for late
varieties is usually sown in the open
ground. Several sowings should be
made, the first being planted about the
10th of April.
OF recent years young cabbage
plants have suffered greatly from the
attacks of the flee beetle. In many
instances growers haye lost their en-
tire paintings by the ravages of this
pest. The only practical way to COM
bat this insect on the young cabbage
is to grow the plants in frames where
they may be covered with thin muslin.
The most critical time is when the
plantlets are pricking through the
ground. The shading afforded by the
muslin at this time does no harm.
A bed IL feet long by feet wide
will grow enough plants to set one half
acre of land. 1t is usually estimated
that one pound of seed will produce
plants enough for four or five acres of
land.
| Plants for the late crop are trans
|
month of June. After the land has
been put in good state of tilth, ditch
es are made IN the direction that will
make irrigation most easy. The dis
tance between the bitches will vary
from "a to 36 inches, according to the
variety grown. Rows % inches apart
are perhaps most common. After the
bitches are made, one man drops the
plants Is to 18 inches apart. and anoth-
| Is.r fnllnUa n dn bn rIa
plants are set OH the side of the ditch,
and as soon as possible water is turned
in to follow the planter.
Water is run through the rows from
four to eight days after the plants
have been set, and sometimes this irri-
CATION is repeated two or three times
before the bitches are filled. When
the plants have become well estab-
lished, the ground is leveled either by
hand or with a cultivator. While the
cabbage is an easy crop to grow, yet
it is quickly injured by improper irri-
CATION. 1t will not stand a water
logged soil.
There are few insect pests and dis
eases, and of this number the flee
beetle is the most injurious. 1t can be
controlled as mentioned above. Cab
bage lice and cabbage worms are not
usually abundant enough, under field
conditions, to seriously affect the crop.
The black rot of cabbage occurs some
seasons. Its presence is known by a
portion of all the cabbage head becom-
ing soft, dark colored, and foul SMELL
ing. There is no remedy for this trou-
BILE, except possibly in the rotation of
crops. However, it does not appear
every year upon the same land, as Is
common in the East.
The cost of growing cabbages is esti-
mated at about $33 an acre, and the
average price for the past ten years
has been As cents hundred pounds.
w. PADDOCK,
Colorado Agricultural College, Fort