1 66 



GARDEN FARMING 



Harvesting and marketing the market-garden crop. The early 

 cabbage crop is usually harvested by cutting the heads from the 

 plants as soon as they have attained marketable size. If the land 

 is to be cleared, the plants may be pulled and the heads then cut 

 and trimmed of all loose leaves prior to marketing or crating for 

 shipment. When cabbage is not grown as a companion crop, the 

 heads are cut and hauled directly to the packing house and the 

 stumps then plowed under ; but when it is used as a companion 

 crop, the stumps cannot be treated in this way. A solid, compact, 



FIG. 57. Cabbage packed in ventilated barrels for shipment 



conical head of medium size is the type most desired in an early 

 cabbage. In shipping, the heads are usually placed in crates carry- 

 ing from 50 to 100 plants or in ventilated barrels like those in 

 figure 57. Crates are usually made from 8 to 10 inches wide, 

 24 inches deep, and from 3^ to 4 feet in length, and so arranged as 

 to have two compartments, as shown in figure 58. In " close-by " 

 marketing, however, cabbage is carried in bulk to the market stands 

 or to the wholesale market. Early cabbage deteriorates much more 

 quickly than late cabbage, due partly to its texture and stage of 

 maturity and partly to the season at which it must be marketed. 

 Great care is therefore necessary in handling this crop. 



