The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1921-12-02
also 1OOo to 1900 pounds 5.s.s fertiIizers per

for the Spring crop ana september iUtH
to goth, for Fall crop, in hills to feet
apart each way.
The cost of producing and marketing an
acre of cucumbers is about SIS to $50. They
yield as high average as 300 crates or boxes
per acre, though as high as 700 boxes have
been grown. The average price is around
$125 per crate. Much higher prices are OBJ
tanned. The crop can usually be sold
on contract, or it can be sold to buyers
where the local acreage is large enough
to attract them.
Cueumbers require spraying for best re-
turns. The sections of the county that
specialize in cucumbers are those around
Fairfield, Blitchton, Fellowship, Fleming
ton, Lowell, Mcintosh. Orange Lake. and
Belleview.
Lettuce is one of Marion County's most
important truck crops. The seed are plant
ed in Fall from September to December and
the harvest extends from late December to
April.
THE Big Boston is practically the only
variety used. Some growers have at times
used California Ice Berg. White Cos is also
grown to limited extent.
Three hundred crates per acre is the aver
age yield, and 900 crates are the record.
The average price per crate F. Q. B. is $1.00.
Much better prices are obtained. 1t costs
about 500 an acre to make lettuce. A top
price of SO crate is reported.
The best lettuce soils are moist dark
sandy loans. The best growers try to pro-
vide stable manure for this crop; and in
addition use large quantity Of high grade
commercial fertilizer. Where the manure
is not available, cotton seed meal is used.
The grade of the commercial fertilizer is
something like 5-S-6 in analysis. 1000 to
1000 pounds per acre are used.
Lettuce is grown in is inch rows with
plants 12 inches in the drill. Some growers
plant 12x12 inches. The cultivation, as with
xkI, cI.o nr1y,, car,tin
The sections of the county specializing in
lettuce are Mcintosh, Orange Lake, Board
man, and Citra.
CantaIoupes
In three or four sections of Marion County
the growing of cantaloupes has been for
sometime one of the money crops of the
rotation system.
Al dark sandy loan, preferably those hav-
ing browniSh cast, is considered the best
soil for this crop. One grower states that
an sold field that has been uncultivated
for several years is his preference. How
ever, good soil that has not been in can
taloupes for three or more years will pro-
duce fine fruit with the aid of barnyard
manure and slight application of com
mercial fertilizers. Manure must be well
rotted. Seyenty-five to one hundred pounds
of nitrate of soda per acre is sometimes
used, though its use is likely to affect ship
ping quality and price if used too near
shipping time. Some form Of potash ferti-
lizers is desirable on certain soil types.
Catalogues are planted 18th to 25th of
February. Some growers plant few seed
each week in same hills so as to have plants
coming on in case the first seed get frosted.
The shipping season begins about May 18th.
In wet cloudy seasons especially the crop
is endangered by the drowning mildew dis
ease, and spraying with a simple fungi
eide such as 4-4-50 Bordeaux mixture is adj
yisable. Root knot disease also attacks can
taloupes and this crop should not be plant
ed on soil known to contain causes of this
trouble.
Yields range from 80 to $50 crates per
acre. The costs of production also vary,
running from $500 per acre up. A two
acre field near Anthony that had been we'll
supplied with barnyard manure in previous
years Melted the grower about 100000.
Catalogues can be grown in practically
every section of the county.
Squash
Yellow crook neck squash are raised in
several Of the trucking sections Of Marion.
The market is limited and the acreage is
never large. They are raised in both Spring
and Fall and shipped mostly to Southern
cities, tho quite a lot goes to New York
and other Northern points.
1t is a quick crop, and requires about 100
pounds per acre of readily soluble and
available truck fertilizer rich in nitrates
They are usually planted about February
18th.
lie yl6lu Is lou TO 0UU boxes Or hampers
per acre. 1t is very dependent on good
seasonable conditions. The average net re-
turns are about $100 per hamper.
Sugar Corn
This is a promising crop. 1t is planted here
about February 18th and is ready for the
market about eight weeks after planting
The favored varieties are Stowell Evergreen,
Country Gentlemen, and Adams Early The
planting is in three foot rows and thinned
to about IL to Is inches. Fertilizer used is
1853, about 200 pounds before planting and
200 pounds about time of tasseling The
yield is around 200 boxes of 100 ears. The
net return will average $1.00 per, box
Peppers
There are not many acres devoted to
peppers in Marion County, though soil con-
ditions would warrant their more extensive
s planting. There are some very successful
pepper growers, and the crop has the adj
vantage of very long bearing season; and
being not very perishable, peppers are prof
table
otra
Okra is quite widely grown in small acre
ages The markets for this crop are most
" Southern cities and consequently the de-
mand is not very heavy, especially after
the home and truck gardens around these
cities come into bearing. Still there are
thousands of crates of okra shipped out of
Marion each year.
FARM CROP VALUES IN MARION