LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS I29> 



cabbage. The cabbage plant is a gross feeder and 

 requires almost unlimited amounts of available 

 plant food. 



Nitrogen is especially important on account of 

 the heavy vegetative character of the growth. It 

 is generally conceded that stable manures are the 

 most desirable form of fertilizer for the cabbage,, 

 but commercial growers usually supplement heavy 

 applications of this material with from 1,000 to 2,ooO' 

 pounds of high-grade fertilizer per acre, especially 

 on the early crops. A formula of 4-8-10 may gen- 

 erally be considered standard. 



Fall plowing for the early crop is especially im- 

 portant. The cabbage is a hardy plant not easily 

 injured by frosts, which makes it possible to trans- 

 plant to field conditions extremely early, provided 

 the soil is dry enough to work. Fall plowing per- 

 mits the soil to become dry much earlier than would 

 otherwise be the case. The soil is frequently left 

 ridged or listed in the fall of the year, which still 

 further hastens drying in the springtime, thus ad- 

 vancing the time when the soil may be properly 

 prepared and the crop started. 



Various methods of growing the plants in prep- 

 aration for the field are employed in different sec- 

 tions of the country. The common method is to- 

 sow the seed in the hotbeds or greenhouses in Feb- 

 ruary, hardening them off well, by the last of March 

 or first of April, when they can be transplanted to- 

 the field in most localities, except in extreme north- 

 ern sections. The plan of sowing the seed in the fall 

 of the year and carrying the plants over the winter 

 in cold frames gives earlier crdps, but is not now 

 commonly followed on account of the great expense 

 of caring for the frames over such a long period of 



