Growing and Market- Growing cucumber seed has had our careful 
ing Cucumbers study for nearly 40 years. Some years our 
production of seed has been nearly half of 
that grown in the United States. A very large 
portion of the cucumber seed of the country is grown here in the 
Rocky Ford district and we come to you for your orders knowing that 
what we have to offer is not surpassed in quality. 
Cucumbers thrive best in a very rich, loamy soil, not containing too 
much sand. A rather heavy soil is preferable to sandy soil. The most 
successful growers fertilize heavily with barnyard manure, scattered 
evenly over the surface 2 to 3 inches deep, disced thoroughly, then 
plowed under to depth of 6 to 8 inches, then thoroughly harrowed and 
floated. This gives an excellent seed bed. 
You can now plant with your garden drill rows 4 feet apart, drill¬ 
ing in about 3 pounds of seed per acre, covering the seed about 1 inch 
in depth. You can follow the drill mark and cultivate before the plants 
come up. Cultivate often. When the plants have four to six leaves 
thin to one plant every 18 inches. Keep the cultivator going as long as 
you can get through the rows. If under irrigation, water once a week 
lightly and always cultivate between irrigations until the crop is laid 
by. Keep the cucumbers picked off as fast as they reach the size de¬ 
sired, as if any are allowed to ripen the plants cease to set on more 
fruit. 
If bothered by the striped cucumber beetle or aphis, dust with 
Aphidde. See page 88 for information and prices. This is a great help 
for all gardeners. 
Be careful not to put too much lime or ashes on the plants, as this 
will injure them. Keep them growing rapidly and insects have less 
chance to damage them. 
In picking to ship for slicing it is a good plan to divide the field 
into thirds and pick one-third each day. If under irrigation, lay off 
the lands in short rows and run the water along the rows very lightly 
after each picking. 
Always cut off the cucumbers and handle very carefully. Do not 
ship any culls. Throw them away and ship only the first-class speci¬ 
mens. They look so much better—the demand is kept up—the con¬ 
sumer is willing to pay a better price. There is less express and 
package expense and your reputation for a first-class pack is kept up, 
to the advantage of your bank account. 
When the market is high, many are tempted to ship seconds. 
Don’t do it; keep the market up with quality. 
Slicing Varieties Styles of cucumbers for shipping have changed 
rapidly the last couple of years. New sorts are 
being developed that carry their very dark green 
color well around the tip or blossom end of the fruit, and the pale 
stripes more or less eliminated. Advantage of these very dark green 
sorts is better appearance on the markets. Disadvantage being that 
usually mildness is sacrificed and fruits more inclined to be bitter. 
Even with this disadvantage, the tendency of shippers is to plant these 
very dark green varieties. This class includes A. & C., Colorado and 
Ace which are all practically the same although there is some varia¬ 
tion in stocks. Greenbac is very similar to these but with a tendency 
to be heavier toward the blossom end. Straight-8 is a well bred, early 
variety and a very heavy yielder. Our new stock of Black Diamond 
has been developed along these lines and can be included with these 
new sorts. Deltus and Longfellow were probably the first of these 
very dark green sorts to attain wide spread popularity. Deltus, con¬ 
trary to others of this type is very mild. 
Of the milder but lighter colored varieties, Burrell’s Earliest of 
All, Early Fortune and Clark’s Special will probably continue to hold 
first place in cucumber seed sales for several years to come. Chinese 
Evergreen is claimed by some to be quite resistant to Mosaic. We 
would like to hear from Associations and large shippers giving a list 
of requirements for special quotation. Some years we have grown 
nearly half of the cucumber seed produced in the United States and 
are well equipped to take care of your requirements. 
See Page 90 for Special Prices to Market Growers 
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