GROWING AND MARKETING 
CUCUMBERS 
Growing cucumber seed has had our careful 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 coim- 
try 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 mos^ 
successful growers fertilize heavily with barnyard manure, scattered evenly 
over the surface 2 to 3 inches deep, disced thoroughly, then plowed \mder 
to depth of 6 to 8 inches, then thoroughly harrowed and floated. This 
gives on excellent seed bed. 
You can now plant with your garden drill rows 4 feet apart, drilling 
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 andJ 
always cultivate between irrigations until the crop is laid by. Keep the 
cucumbers picked off as fast as they reach the size desired, as if any ore 
allowed to ripen the plants cease to set on more fruit. 
If bothered by the striped cucumber beetle or aphis, dust with APHICIDE. 
See page 98 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 rim 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 specimens. They 
look so much better—the demand is kept up—the consumer 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. 
See_ page 52 for discussion concerning the mixing of cucumber and 
other cucurbits. 
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WHAT IS NEW IN CUCUMBERS? 
SUCING VARIETIES 
Styles of cucumbers for shipping have changed rapidly the lost few 
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 dork green sorts is better 
appearance on the markets. Disadvantage being that usually mildness is 
sacrified 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 variation in stocks. Greenbac is very similar 
to these but with a tendency to be heavier toward the blossom end. Tax¬ 
payer is a new, very dark green type of Early Fortune. 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, contrary 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 probaby 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 spe¬ 
cial 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. 
{Continued on page 29) 
See page 100.for Special Prices to Market Growers. 
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