Cabbage 1417 



It takes as much fertility out of the soil to raise five tons of 

 cabbage per acre as it does to produce twenty bushels of wheat. 



Manure and commercial fertilizer make the best combination. 

 Ten tons of manure per acre, six to eight hundredweight of 

 10 per cent, phosphoric acid and 8 per cent, potash usually will 

 supply enough plant food. If no manure is at hand ten or twelve 

 hundredweight of 4-8-10 will answer. This fertilizer is only 

 suggestive. No rule can be given for all the varied conditions. 



It takes about one thousand parts of water to make one part of 

 commercial fertilizer all available for a plant. 



If the soil needs lime it is a good plan to apply a dressing to 

 the field, since the crop needs a liberal supply. Lime or fertilizer 

 should always be applied broadcast. Spreading the fertilizer has 

 a strong tendency to spread the root system. This is essential since 

 the plant is a gross feeder. 



SPACING AND SETTING PLANTS 



No one can give a definite rule for the proper spacing of cab- 

 bage. The distance apart will depend upon whether early or late 

 varieties are grown, the fertility of the soil, the size of head 

 desired and the moisture supply. It is probably best to raise all 

 early cabbage in drills, the plants set from twelve to eighteen 

 inches apart in rows thirty to thirty-six inches apart. Domestic 

 and Danish need more room. They should be placed from eighteen 

 to thirty inches in the row, the rows being thirty-six inches apart. 



Check rowing is practical in some places and meets with ex- 

 cellent results, especially if the ground is weedy. This method 

 reduces hand labor to a minimum, the only objection being that 

 the wide spacing which is generally practical produces very large 

 heads. Heads weighing from eight to twelve pounds are large 

 enough for city trade. The large heads may be avoided if one 

 will set closer and use a narrow cultivator when going the narrow 

 way. The writer very much prefers the check row method. 



Cabbage setting is more important than most of us think. 

 Too often there is a fight for a week or ten days before the 

 plants really start to grow. This is caused by spoiling their root 

 system or setting in too wet ground. It is best to loosen the plants 

 in the seed bed when taking them up. The more of the root 



