The gardeners around St. Louis have good success in growing cauliflower
on the bottom land. Professor L. R. Taft says, "During two of the years
I lived in Missouri it was very hot and dry and on the heavy clay soil
of most of the state cauliflower, as a field crop, was a failure. I had
good success, however, by planting one foot apart in cold frames from
which lettuce had been taken; they were watered as required and during
the hottest weather were protected to some extent by means of lath
screens."
One disadvantage in this uncertainty of a crop in the West is its effect
upon the market. A product which is rarely seen in the market brings a
low price when abundant and fails to bring a high price in times of
scarcity. Few people use it, and these do not become so accustomed to it
as to be willing to pay a high price for it when it is scarce.
Mr. Riche, of Iowa, tells in a report of the Iowa Horticultural Society,
how, in 1884, he overstocked the Dubuque market with 8000 heads. A Mr.
Smith relates how, a few years previous, he was obliged to sell 4000
heads for a little over one cent per head; yet in this same market more
familiar products often bring high prices. Another Iowa gardener grew a
field of cauliflower by mistake, having purchased the seed for cabbage,
and found himself unable to sell the crop at all!
In the irrigated districts of the West, cauliflower is grown to great
perfection. One of the largest cauliflowers on record, four feet three
inches in circumference, was grown in Colorado under irrigation in 1881.
A moist atmosphere is less important than plenty of water at the root,
especially at the time of heading, when it should be supplied, if
possible, in small amount every day. The somewhat saline character of
the soil in the dry regions also favors the growth of this crop whenever
a sufficient supply of water is given.
At the Colorado experiment station sixteen varieties were grown under
irrigation in 1888 (see table under Variety Tests), of which
Henderson's Snowball and Extra Early Erfurt gave the best results. At
the Arkansas station, the following year, out of twelve varieties these
two were the only ones that produced heads. At the South Dakota station,
Henderson's Snowball and Haskell's Favorite, a variety apparently
identical with it, gave good results.
CAULIFLOWER IN THE SOUTH.
The cauliflower, as a market crop, is but little grown in the South, but
there is no good reason why it should not become extensively cultivated
there. The chief hindrances to its cultivation in the South have been
the lack of high priced local markets, and the liability of the heads to
heat during transportation to the North.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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