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THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
March 2, 
SPRING WORK ON THE TRUCK FARM. 
Time to Start.— March 1 marks the 
beginning of real Spring work on most 
Gloucester County truck farms. Men 
hired for the season commence work, 
and everything is activity and hustle. 
Many things demand attention, and it 
requires planning to determine which 
shall bj done first. This is a greater 
problem here than elsewhere, for the 
light sandy soil warms quickly, and it is 
not exceptional for the season to be 
fully two weeks ahead of the northern 
part of the State. However, by pushing 
work connected with the growing of 
those crops dependent upon earliness for 
greatest profits, and availing ourselves 
of every opportunity to prepare for those 
crops less exacting as to time of plant¬ 
ing, things are usually kept moving in 
their proper order. 
The Principal Truck Crops on the 
sandier soils are tomatoes, sweet pota¬ 
toes, asparagus, eggplants, peppers, can¬ 
taloupes and watermelons. Tomatoes 
and sweet potatoes lead, however, in the 
area planted, and are usually the most 
profitable. Besides the above many 
truckers grow onions, peas, cabbage, 
string beans, Lima beans (mostly bush), 
cucumbers, squashes, sugar corn, beets, 
carrots, etc., as minor crops help fill 
out the season. As we grow more or 
less extensively all of the crops men¬ 
tioned, with the exception of beets and 
carrots, as well as several acres of 
Gandy strawberries, it may be of interest 
to review our own work at this season 
of the year. 
Frame Plants. —Our first work is on 
land intended for tomatoes, egg-plants 
and peppers. Ground for these crops 
is sown in rye in the Fall, and 10 tons 
of manure spread on the rye. If this 
rye and manure was not turned under 
in February, then one of the first things 
done in March is to plow it under. This 
avoids a heavy mat of material in the 
bottom of the furrow, which would re¬ 
sult if the rye got too large, and it also 
gives the ground time to settle before 
plants are set. Early plowing does not 
permit a heavy growth of vegetable mat¬ 
ter, but it is a distinct advantage in that 
it helps to hold the moisture that falls 
and leaves the ground in shape to keep 
the crop supplied with moisture from 
the underground supply throughout the 
growing season, thus promoting earli¬ 
ness. After plowing the ground is har¬ 
rowed at intervals until the crop is 
planted. Tomato, eggplant and pepper 
plants were started in the hothouse Feb¬ 
ruary 15 to 20. They are spotted in cold 
frames about March 25 and we try to be 
ready by having the frames prepared. 
We have one frame similar to those 
used everywhere by gardeners, with 
slope to the south, the north side 
boarded up to a height of 18 inches, the 
south side being a 12-inch board stood 
on edge and the whole well braced with 
posts set in the ground. The frame is 
6)4 feet wide; this is greater than the 
usual width, and is made so to use our 
2)4x7 feet sash which is the standard 
for this section. We also have a larger 
double sash frame. Both are good. 
Fitting Frame. —After frames are 
built we put two to three inches of finely 
turned stable manure or stable and hog 
manure mixed in the bottom and spread 
over it two inches of rich sandy loam. 
This forms the bed into which plants 
are set. After this is made the frame 
is covered with sash to await the first 
warm sunshiny day, when plants are 
transplanted from the hothouse. The 
distance of transplanting tomatoes in 
the cold frame will in the future be 4)4 
inches both ways. After several years 
of comparative tests with setting at 
greater distance we are satisfied that the 
added stoutness and size of plants does 
not compensate for the extra space al- 
loted to them. However, this work of 
making frames usually comes about 
March 20. Previous to this there is 
much else to claim our attention. The 
teams, after plowing under rye and any 
other plots that were not plowed in the 
Fall, are set to work disking, harrowing 
and fitting all fields intended for truck 
or berries. Manure applied in the Fall 
to the asparagus beds is cut in, and the 
fields harrowed to loosen and warm the 
soil, thus favoring an early growth from 
the crowns. 
The Watermelon Ground is the first 
to be marked out, or more correctly 
furrowed out. This furrowing is done 
very early in March with a two-horse 
plow, marking in checks eight feet apart 
each way. It is then manured by put¬ 
ting a large forkful of long barnyard 
manure in each cross or hill. A cartload 
of manure to 35 or 40 hills is about 
right. After manuring two furrows are 
thrown over the row to cover the ma¬ 
nure. This prevents it from becoming 
dry and also aids in its decay. This 
work accomplished the melon ground 
needs no more attention until planting 
time, when the hills are trodden and 
leveled off to firm them, and make easy 
planting. 
, Planting Onions. —About the same 
time peas are planted we prepared the 
ground for onions. We plant sets of the 
Yellow Danvers variety and let them 
mature rather than pulling for bunching 
purposes. They reach marketable size 
about July 1 and bring good prices at 
that time. The ground is plowed in the 
Fall and heavily manured. It is at this 
time first disked to cut in the manure, 
then harrowed with the Acme, and 
marked in rows 2)4 feet apart to permit 
horse cultivation. Then 1,000 to 1,200 
pounds of a high-grade fertilizer is 
drilled in the furrows and mixed with 
the soil by a tooth behind the drill. A 
small ridge is thrown over these rows 
with a ridger, the top is raked off, leav¬ 
ing a level surface, after which an onion 
marker is pushed down the rows, mak¬ 
ing holes two inches apart in which 
onions are placed by hand. The onion 
marker is similar to a wheelbarrow with 
pegs for making the holes placed two 
inches apart around the rim of the 
wheel. Planted at this distance seven 
to eight bushels of sets are required to 
set an acre, and as they are all stuck by 
hand it requires some time and patience. 
With practice, however, progress is fair¬ 
ly rapid. Boys do the work well, and 
in most instances will do it faster than 
men, for grown-ups often find their fin¬ 
gers are all thumbs when doing such 
work. 
Our Sweet Potato Beds are 12 feet 
wide and 50 or more feet long, warmed 
by furnace heat. They are made by ex¬ 
cavating two feet or more deep with a 
gradual slope from one end of the bed 
to the other, and deeper in the center 
than on the sides. A large brick fur¬ 
nace is built at the lower end beyond 
where the bed is to come, and a flue run 
from it up through the center of the bed 
about two-thirds of its length. Heavy 
sleepers are laid across every five feet 
and boards placed on them side by side 
an inch apart to form the bottom of the 
bed. The inch openings allow the heat 
from beneath to come through. Care is 
taken to keep the sleepers well above the 
flue, and the flue itself next to the fur¬ 
nace is covered with earth to prevent 
loss by fire. Boards are stood on edge 
and nailed around the bed; and a chim¬ 
ney is placed at the end opposite the fur¬ 
nace. In the bed thus made we firsl put 
six to eight inches of long horse ma¬ 
nure, then three to five inches of pure 
sand taken from well below the surface 
soil, so as to avoid getting any disease 
germs, and all is ready for the potatoes 
which go in as soon after March 20, as 
possible. Potatoes are laid in this soil; 
sprinkled lightly with warm ■ water; 
merely covered with subsoil sand; the 
bed covered with hay and a fire started 
in the furnace at once. In a few days, 
when sprouts start, the hay is removed 
and two inches or more of sand added 
so as to give sprouts or plants with plen¬ 
ty of root. Our experience is that there 
is much less rotting of potatoes in the 
bed by first sprinkling, then adding the 
sand on the installment plan. 
Don’t Use Cement. — One thing 
learned last year in connection with the 
potato beds was that it is not best to re¬ 
pair old furnaces with cement. We used 
it to fill up crevices in the flue and fur¬ 
nace where the old mortar had fallen 
out, and avoided a serious fire only by 
the timely intervention of some one who 
was present when it started. The heat 
in the furnace had caused the cement 
to crack and drop out. As others using 
cement experienced like trouble, only in 
some cases with more disastrous results, 
we will in the future use the ordinary 
lime mortar. This falls out in time, but 
is more lasting than the cement used last 
year. But to return to our work. If by 
the first of April we have the usual 
March planting done, most of the truck 
fields in process of fitting for the crops 
that are to go in them and the potato 
beds and cold frames well under way we 
feel that a good start has been made for 
a busy season, and that the work done 
in March has put us all in training for 
the still busier months of April and 
May. trucker, jr. 
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