CABBAGE GROWING ON THE IRRIGATED LANDS OF COLORADO 
By E. R. BENNETT 
As the irrigated tracts of land in Colorado have become more thickly 
settled the price of land has risen. With this the character of the crops 
grown has changed from the extensive to the intensive. That is, where a 
few years ago farmers depended on wheat, oats, and hay as their money¬ 
making corps they have found that at the present valuation of land in many 
places these crops do not pay a satisfactory interest. This condition has 
forced the extensive crops to a great extent to give place to such crops as 
sugar beets, potatoes, cabbage, and onions. 
The culture of these crops under irrigated conditions is a somewhat 
different problem from that of the unirrigated country, so that new comers 
may save considerable trouble and expense by following the system which 
has been worked out and found to give the best satisfaction here. 
HISTORY OR THE INDUSTRY. 
Cabbages have been grown for home consumption since the early set¬ 
tlement of the country. About 1880 the potato buyers of the Greeley dis¬ 
trict found there was a considerable demand for cabbage in the southern 
markets and that they could be shipped satisfactorily in the same cars with 
potatoes. From that time the industry has gradually grown till the output 
is now from five hundred to one thousand cars per year. Greeley is near 
the center of the industry, though more or less acreage is devoted to the 
crop throughout the northern Colorado districts. So far comparatively few 
have been grown in the mountain districts of the State, because of th'e lack 
of transportation facilities in the high mountain valleys. 
SOIL. 
The soil best adapted to the growth of the cabbage is a cool, moist 
loam. An abundant supply of available nitrogen tends to promote leaf 
growth at the expense of fruit or seed. As the edible portion of cabbage, 
lettuce, etc,, is the leaf rather than the seed, an excess of this element in 
the soil is beneficial. For this reason the bottom land or peaty lands are 
generally considered best for cabbage. Nearly any of the soils of this State, 
however, will grow cabbage successfully if sufficient decaying vegetable mat¬ 
ter and manure are added to put them in good condition and to provide the 
necessary fertility. 
CLIMATE. 
None of the horticultural products have a wider range as to climate 
than the cabbage. This vegetable is grown more or less successfully from 
the semi-tropics to the arctic circle in Alaska. When grown in the South it 
must be planted so as to mature before the extreme heat of summer. This 
is also true to a. less degree in the northern states and in Colorado, • except 
in the higher altitudes of the mountain valleys. The most favorable climate 
is found in this State at the altitudes between six and nine thousand feet 
where the nights are always cool and the days not extremely warm. 
PREPARATION OF THE LAND. 
Much of the land used for cabbage growing is considered too valuable 
to rotate in the usual way. If alfalfa sod is used the land may be sufficiently 
fertile to produce a crop without the addition of manure. In most cases, 
however, cabbage follow cabbage on the same soil for several years. One 
successful grower at Greeley has produced a crop of cabbages on the same 
land fourteen years in succession. In cases of this kind manure is added to 
the soil at the rate of twenty tons per acre every two years, or ten tons per 
acre each year. 
After the crop is taken off in the fall, the plow is run under each row, 
turning the old stumps and leaves of the cabbage under. This leaves the 
surface rough, so as to catch the snows of winter, and exposes more of the 
soil to the action of the frost. If manure is to be applied itf Is generally 
spread on this land during the winter. In the spring' before the soil becomes 
too hard and dry the harrow is run over the tract lengthwise of the fur¬ 
rows, which smooths the surface down to its original level. Following this 
the ground is plowed to a depth of from eight to twelve inches. 
SEEDING. 
Seed must be sown from six to seven weeks before it is desired to set 
the plants in the field. The time of setting early plants ncessarily varies 
