Gunnison news-champion., 1921-09-30

5000 or more feet in elevation There
are approximately 1000 acres of head
lettuce being grown this season in
our higher attitudes Over half Of
this acreage Is within the Buena
Vista district In practically all dis
triets some Of the plants are going to
seed and not 70 head. 1921 has given
even in this high altitude, some warm
days which have been conductive to
vegetable growth. and during the
same periods the nights have been -
cool as in former seasons Therefore,
the lettuce growth has gone To sod
rather than to head This renders
the plant vaiueless to grower and
handler alike. Growing these truck
crops in mountain attitudes is
I special business the same as il Is in
lower attitudes One must know tho
business in order to secure a crop
success
A grower in Wet Mountain Valley
told his neighbor this spring that he
would show him how TO grow head
lettuce most successfully. He made
special preparations for the seed
bed. working in well-rotted barnyard
manure and seeded a measured acre
age as early in May as he felt it
wise TO seed. This acreage of let
tuce was weeded, cultivated and irri-
gated with very great care Needless
to say, would-be lettuce growers
studied the growers success day by
day with growing interest. What
was the result A magnificent
plant growth. but not head formed.
II all went to seed. The trucker Is
still puzzled why his lettuce did not
head. The laugh is on him to
this day.
/ Other growers met with commercial
success. One dealer who has handled
lettuce in several different points for
a number of seasons told the writer
that Wet Mountain Valley had all
requirements for fine quality head let
tuce.
i A mining engineer who came into
Silver Cliff district to examine and re-
port upon certain mining properties,
made that report and then bought q
ranch and made a so acre crop OF
lettuce his first farm crop in that val
ley celebrated for its famous mining
activities and its present good quality
of beef cattle and high altitude hay.
Altho the mining mans crop was not
planted until the first week of July,
il headed well and gave promise of a
good commercial crop.
Production of high altitude vege-
tables is but in its infancy in Colora-
do. There are many problems yet to
be solved. Enough is now known to
state that superior quality and flavor
Is obtain;kble that cannot be equaled
in vegetables grown at sea level and
lower attitudes.
Enough work has now been done to
show that good soil, at our higher
elevations will produce quality in
vegetables. as il has for untold ages,
produced nutritious grasses. The man
who knows how to grow vegetables
has a most desirable field here, as
climatic conditions in these higher al
titudes Weld him remuperative re-
turns on his mountain lettuce, peas,
cauiifiower and celery, unequaled in
quality and flavor. 1t means intense,
persistent garden farming. The mo-
vice or horseback farmer better
not attempt it for he seldom "cashes
in" on this kind of farming in
mountain environment.
Spud digging has the right
on Gunnison ranches this week since
experience of years has demonstrated
that between the first and tenth OF
! October we get a freeze that pene-
trates the soil enough to badly dam
age the crop if left undug. The tub
ers are turning out well but the price
| is not so encouraging as few weeks
ago, partly because of lack of cars
/ for immediate shipment. This
however, is not such serious matter
in the Upper Gunnison valley as far
! ther west, since the mountain spuds
have unexcelled keeping qualities and
are largely stored till the spring mar
ket.