A B C OF FLORIDA TRUCKING 83 



CHAPTER XVI. 



CUCUMBERS. 



This has become one of the leading vegetables for Flori- 

 da growing. It stands shipment to distant markets re- 

 markably well. In the Central portion of the State, it is 

 one of the principal spring crops. 



The time for planting varies according to the section of 

 the State you are farming in. In the Northern and Cen- 

 tral portions for a fall crop plant in August ; for a spring 

 crop from January until March. In the Southern part of 

 the State from September until January. During the winter 

 months the truckers in this section supply the Northern 

 markets with nearly all the cucumbers used, and realize 

 good profits. Of course there are quite a few hot house 

 cukes raised in different parts of the country during the 

 winter, but these never interfere with the sale of the Flori- 

 da open air grown cukes. Hardly a year goes by that you 

 will not find cucumbers bringing $6.00 or more per crate, 

 sometime during the season. Of course, you understand 

 this is only when they are very scarce. If a grower can 

 average even $1.00 a crate f. o. b. his shipping point, he 

 can make good quick money out of this crop, as 600 crates 

 to the acre is only an average \'iel<l. Some truckers go so 

 far as to claim they can raise 1,000 crates to the acre, but 

 to do this all conditions will have to be perfect and the 

 crop raised on irrigated land. 



PREPARATION OF THE LAND. 



Prepare the land as directed in Chapter II. As cucum- 

 bers are over 90 per cent, water, it is very essential that 

 the land be irrigated. The majority of large growers prefer 

 the Skimier Overhead system, but either this or sub-irriga- 

 tion will work to perfection. If your land is low, plant on 



