GROWING AND MARKETING CUCUMBERS 
Growing cucumber seed has had our careful study for over 50 
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 is grown here in the Rocky Ford district and 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. If 
available fertilize heavily with barnyard manure, scattered evenly 
over the surface 2 or 3 inches deep, disced thoroughly, plowed 
under, and thoroughly harrowed and floated. If commercial fer- 
tilizer is used, this will vary according to your soil’s needs. Here 
at Rocky Ford 12-24-12 seems best suited to vine crops. 
You can plant with drill rows 3 to 5 feet apart, 3 pounds of seed 
per acre, covering about 
1 inch. You can follow 
the drill mark and 
cultivate before the 
plants come up. Culti- 
vate 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 un- 
til the crop is laid by. 
Keep the cucumbers 
picked off as fast as 
they reach the size de- 
sired, as if any are al- 
lowed to ripen the plants 
cease to set on more 
fruit. 
Always cut off the cu- 
cumbers and handle very 
carefully. Do not ship 
any culls. Throw them 
away and ship only the 
first-class specimens. 
They look so much bet- 
ter — the demand is kept 
up — the consumer is 
willing to pay a better 
price. There is less ex- 
press and package ex- 
pense and your reputa- 
tion for a first-class pack 
is kept up, to the advan- 
tage of your bank ac- 
count. 
DDT CAUTION. Do 
not dust or spray using 
DDT on beans, cucum- 
bers, cantaloupes, or 
watermelons. Use Mar- 
late for’ control of 
beetles and a good nico- 
tine dust for aphis. 
Dennis Burrell and a good 
specimen Marketer 
Cucumber 
24 D. V. Burrell Seed Growers Co., Rocky Ford, Colo. 
