MARICA 



MARKET-GARDENING 



1997 



inner segms. with violet tip and variegated claw. B.M. 

 654. I.H. 42:40 (var. splendem). Gt. 61, p. 91. G.L. 

 26:137. Gn. 65, p. 289. F.S.R. 3:52. Handsome; a 

 good subject for a basket. 



AA. Outer segms. blue. 



caer&lea, Ker. Lvs. 6-8, sword-shaped, 1-1 ^ in. 

 broad and 2-3 ft. long: peduncle long, as broad as the 

 Ivs., bearing 2-4 fl.-clusters: spathes 2-3 in. long, the 

 outer valves green and lanceolate: fls. 3^1 in. across, 

 bright blue or lilac, the outer segms. 1-1 ]/% in. across 

 and variegated at base with transverse bars of yellow, 

 white or brown, the inner segms. with recurved blue 

 point. Brazil. The African M. Sabinii, Lindl., Baker 

 considers to be probably only a form of M. casridea, and 

 intro. into Upper and Lower Guinea. B.M. 5612 (as 

 Cypella cserulea). B.R. 713. Gn. 25, p. 313; 33:56. 

 J.H. 111.49:17. 



Helenas, Worsley. Related to M. cserulea: fls. 

 nearly 5 in. across, blue and white, on long If.-like 

 scapes: drooping segms. or "falls" much longer than 

 in M. cserulea, somewhat narrower, indigo-blue, the 

 reflexed apices measuring 2^ in. long; standards much 

 more distinctly vittate, deep velvet-blue in 2 marginal 

 stripes with a keel of white of equal width between 

 them; plant also hardier, withstanding some frost. 

 Brazil. L. H. B. 



MARIGOLD. The original kind is the pot marigold, 

 the dried flowers of which are used to season soups. It is 

 also cultivated for ornament. See Calendula officinalis. 

 The French Marigold is Tagetes patula; the African, T. 

 erecia. The African marigolds are mostly pure lemon- 

 or orange-colored; the French ones have these colors 

 and brown also, and are often striped. For Cape M. 

 see Dimorphotheca. For Fig M. see Mesembryanthemum. 

 Marsh M. is Caltha palustris. 



MARIPOSA LILY: Calochortur. 

 MARIPOSA TULIP: Calochortus. 

 MARJORAM, SWEET: Origanum. 



MARKET-GARDENING is the growing of vegeta- 

 bles for commercial purposes by the employment of the 

 most skilful methods. It is one of the most intensive 

 types of vegetable-gardening. Land values, where 

 market-gardening is practised, are usually high, and it 

 is necessary to secure large returns to the acre in order 

 to realize a profit on the investment. The crops which 

 receive most consideration by market-gardeners are 

 beets, onions, celery, lettuce, radish, carrot, parsley, 

 endive, and other vegetables which are usually planted 

 close together and cultivated with hand wheel-hoes. 



Truck-gardening, or truck-farming, is the growing of 

 vegetables for market by the employment of extensive 

 methods. Less intensive methods are followed in 

 truck-gardening than hi market-gardening. Land 

 values are lower and it is unnecessary to obtain large 

 cash returns to the acre in order to make the business 

 profitable. The trucker relies mainly on such crops 

 as the cabbage, tomato, sweet corn, asparagus, pea, 

 bean, cucumber, watermelon, muskmelon, sweet potato, 

 and other crops which require liberal spacing and which 

 are usually cultivated by horse-power. * 



Market-gardeners are usually located near the towns 

 or cities in which the vegetables are sold, although 

 there are exceptions; truckers, as a rule, are remote 

 from market. The best examples, and the most exten- 

 sive areas, of market-gardeners are near the large cities 

 New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Balti- 

 more, Washington, San Francisco, Toronto, and Quebec. 



Vegetable-forcing is the growing of vegetables under 

 glass, or canvas, or in specially constructed houses 

 which are heated by artificial means. 



In choosing a location for market-gardening, too 



much attention cannot be given to the market demands 

 of the locality and how fully they are met by growers 

 already operating in the community. There should be 

 the best of roads and of transportation facilities to the 

 markets to be supplied. Liberal supplies of stable- 

 manure should be easily obtainable at reasonable 

 prices. A sandy soil is a distinct advantage; it is easily 

 cultivated, and with good management produces 

 vegetables of the highest quality early in the season. 

 On account of the uncertainty of an ample supply of 

 rain throughout the season, crop-production will be 

 made more certain and profitable by irrigation, and 

 there should be no shortage in the water-supply. An 

 abundance of pure water will also be needed in prepa- 

 ring the vegetables for market. The supply of labor 

 should also be taken into account in the choice of a 

 location. 



High fertility of the soil is a prime factor in the 

 successful operation of a market-garden. The land 

 must be in the proper physical condition if crop-yields 

 are to be satisfactory. Available plant-food must be 

 present in adequate quantity throughout the growing 

 season. Stable-manures are universally applied in 

 large amounts by market-gardeners. It is not uncom- 

 mon to apply forty or more tons to the acre. Such large 

 applications annually increase the percentage of organic 

 matter in the soil, thus providing the best physical, 

 chemical, and bacteriological conditions for plant 

 growth. While many gardeners rely wholly upon stable- 

 manures as a source of plant-food, others find it profit- 

 able to employ commercial fertilizers, varying in 

 amount from a few hundred pounds to two tons to the 

 acre. Complete fertilizers are generally employed, and 

 they usually contain about 4 per cent of nitrogen and 

 from 7 to 10 per cent of each of the mineral elements 

 potash and phosphoric acid. Lime is often used to 

 make heavy soils more friable, to prevent the ravages 

 of club-root, and to maintain an alkaline condition in 

 the soil, which is important from the standpoint of 

 avoiding mal-nutrition diseases. 



Market-gardeners usually do not attempt to culti- 

 vate large tracts of land. Occasionally, a man will 

 handle 50 to 75 acres, but most of the growers have less 

 than 25 acres and thousands of them less than 10 acres. 

 By the employment of the most intensive methods, a 

 living may be made on 2 or 3 acres, although most gar- 

 deners will do better on a larger area. Small areas 

 require the use of more glass, in the way of hotbeds and 

 coldframes or perhaps greenhouses. 



Inasmuch as a livelihood must be made from a small 

 area of land, it is necessary to keep every foot or inch 

 of the place occupied with a crop throughout the grow- 

 ing season. The first crops are started early in the 

 spring, just as soon as the ground is dry enough to 

 work, and they follow each other in close succession 

 until late in the fall. By skilful management, it is pos- 

 sible to grow four or five crops on the same land in one 

 season. Companion-cropping is common among mar- 

 ket-gardeners, and, in order to make the soil do its 

 maximum duty, one crop is often planted before the 

 preceding one is harvested. For example, immediately 

 after the last wheel-hoe cultivation of beets, planted in 

 rows a foot apart, rows of lettuce may be drilled midway 

 between the beets. When the lettuce is about ready to 

 harvest, carrots may be drilled between the rows, and 

 .these may be followed by some other small crop, and 

 so on until late autumn. When companion-cropping is 

 practised, it is important to have straight rows, so that 

 there will be uniformity in the spacing between the 

 rows. This is essential if wheel-hoes are to be used in 

 the most effective manner, and straight rows also make 

 a more attractive garden. 



The greatest variety of companion - cropping plans 

 may be practised. The following plan, with C repre- 

 senting cabbage, L, lettuce, and R, radish, shows the 

 possibilities of this system : 



