316 



VEGETABLE FORCING 



pecially if fresh horse manure is to be applied as a mulch 

 after the plants have grown to a height of several feet. 



Planting distances. There are three distinct systems 

 of training cucumbers, and the proper spacing of the 

 plants in the beds will depend mainly on the plan to be 

 followed. 



When the upright 

 system is used (Figs. 

 110, 111 and 112), 

 the space between 

 rows varies with dif- 

 ferent growers from 

 2 to 4^ feet, and the 

 distance between 

 plants in the rows 

 ranges from 10 

 inches to 2 feet. A 

 prominent Boston 

 grower plants 2 by 

 4 feet apart, another 

 16 inches by 4 feet, 

 and a third grower 

 12 inches by 4 feet, 

 so that uniform 

 planting distances 

 are not followed in 

 any particular forc- 

 ingdistrict. A 

 grower at Cleveland, 

 Ohio, plants 18 inches 

 by 4 feet, one at New 

 Castle, Pa., 15 inches by 4 feet, another at Erie, Pa., 2 

 feet by 3 feet, and another at Toledo, Ohio, 16 inches by 

 4 feet. When two plants are grown in each pot, the 

 tendency is to allow more space between the pairs of 

 plants, though the average distance between plants may 

 be about the same as when they are planted singly. As 



Fig. 112. Single stem cucumber training. 

 Note how the plant has been twined about the 

 string. 



