Market Garpventne In New York STATE 1219 
STABLE MANURE AND TILLAGE 
All of the market gardeners use large quantities of manure. 
Very few of them understand the use of commercial fertilizer. 
Often forty to sixty tons of manure are applied to each acre each 
year. The result from this liberal manuring is that the soil 
has a very fine texture. Crops grow very rapidly, of large size, 
and are, therefore, very desirable. Most of the market gardeners 
practice deep preparation of the soil, following with thorough 
fining and smoothing, the preparation of the soil being of the 
utmost importance with these men. After the plowing and fitting 
many gardeners do not utilize the horse at all in their work, pre- 
ferring to use the man-power wheeled planters and cultivators. 
By this method the crops are planted very close together, result- 
ing in obtaining a larger yield from each acre. Much more hand 
labor is used than in any other line of farming. Often ten to 
fifteen workers are found at times on a five-acre garden, and on 
the larger gardens, such as a twenty or twenty-five acre farm, 
from three to five laborers per acre are often utilized profitably. 
HOME-GROWN SEED 
{In some places, particularly among the market gardeners of 
Long Island, a certain amount of seed is raised. Thus, to a certain 
extent, these gardeners are independent of the seed houses, es- 
pecially for particular vegetables. It would be indeed difficult 
to duplicate the celery raised by these Long Island men from 
seed produced by them, and this could also be said of the lettuce 
which they grow from their own seed in the hotbeds and cold 
frames. 
IRRIGATION AND MARKETING 
Slowly these market gardeners are realizing the importance of 
controlling one more factor — that is, water — and thus prevent- 
ing drought. On Long Island there are several men who have ten 
acres or more under irrigation. In other parts of New York 
State irrigation systems are being installed and successfully used, 
particularly at Irondequoit and Syracuse. Practically all of the 
material raised on these market gardening farms is carried to 
the cities on the teams or auto trucks owned by the market 
gardeners. Most of the teams have a certain place in the markets 
