HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1990-03-14, Page 65NW= If A. YAW 'waxes is
Cucumber
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As far as the need for f -• .1 • and
spraying ie concerned, acmegrowers do
and some dont: Tony Is one grower that
does both. He initially fertilizes the plot
with a combination of potash,pbospbete
and nitrogen, and follows this up with a
aide dressing of nitrogen. He also follow-
ed a regular program of insecticide
.
weekly bolds de coding en their pts
aehedule,
When asked about the amount of in-
vestment required to get into cucumber
growing, both Anne and Tony agreed
that it is a low investment venture. The
' Picldeg-Aid would probably rbe the big
gest investment but as Tony pointed out>
many growers could maanufacture their.
make topmoney for the 1wer%
growing
own. In their case they were able to'pur-
chase used ones quite inexpenrively.
The next obvious question is . > . "is it
�
a pventure?" Ci�y,»
Tony.tie nine years that the
Antis �y has been producing
cucumbers, they .have newer lost money.
Looking back over those years, they
e iuuite an average pistil o $1,000 per
acre.
So, why don't more people grow
cucumbers? Many look at it as being a
rather unattractive way to earn money.
As ment3aned earlier, for those who do
grow,
is find*
lam kilt pick.
For Annie and. Tony and their children,
it has been funl It has: given them over
the years an opportunity to work together
as a
no pme on to farther education act MMIC
thi* chorea cement. Beth Annie and
ing cucumbers have taught them
�dsve4op� a ability to nancial ansocial wore
he taught theca values. closely with others. More
huffy it
laiky Z a.•' e
�► Kraemer of R. 3, Walkerton is a
high school student who decided to grow
cucumbers that summer in order to awn
to further her education. It was
money_ year as a grower and as she
Gaya, there were those who were skep-
tical about her decision.
The most common advise was to
prepare h melf for the sore backs that
everyone was sure she would have. But
Kathy says, "It never once bothered my
back." What did bother her was the
frustration of keeping help. She estimates
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that she had about 10 pickers over the
season, and lady one that stayed for the
complete mean. She also paid her help
en an hoati r basis and offered a bonus to
these who would stay for the season.
Dining the peak of production, they
Picked every day, at 7 a.m. and
picking until noon, from Mondayto Fri-
day. As crop dwindled, they would
pick every other day and not start until
Ism.; again just
Kathy [lid use a P id noon.
pickers on it, and the MI covered five
rows at a time. Kathy was fortunate to
have tea brothers and a suer to assist
with the picking, and she did pay them.
She was quick to admit that mom and
dad helped too, but they "volunteered"
their labour.
When asked about the necessity of fer-
tilizing her crop, • 1 indicated that
there was an Initial . / 1 • 1 of regular
Held fertilizer, and t was it. There
Was no further side dreesing, nor was
there an attempt to irrigate. Although,
she did experience a brief bout with in-
sects, by the time she purchased the pro-
per spray and waited for suitable
. weather conditions, the insects had
disappeared. •
For these of us *who purchase just one
small jar of pickles, it's hard to imagine
picking these by the ton. In reviewing
Kathy's figures, the best picking off- her
two acres amounted to 3 1/2 tons at the
beginning of August.
Kathy Kraemer of It, 3 Walkerton grew
encumbers for the first time last summer
and found it to be a money-makingventure.
(Marg Burkhart photo)
When asked what her profit would be,
Kathy indicated.that she would be look-
ing
ooking at $1,000 per acre. Comparing this to
previous summers of babysitting, she has
found growing cucumbers to - be a much
better money -making opportunity. Besides
this she has developed management and
bookkeeping skills, and has a better in-
sight into human nature.
Kathy said she would be willing to try.
another season of cucumbers,'if she could
be sure of getting pickers that would be
willing to work and be reliable. As far as
Eathy herself was concerned, she enjoyed
picking but readily admits it's easier with
the Picking Aid than without.
Her mother summed it up quite nicely
When
I was�ai kited, I had to pick stocucumbers is nes by hand
... that isn't fun!"
20' YEARS IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
PHONE (519) 366-2661
FAX (51 9) 366-2331
R.R. 1 CHEPSTOW
NOK IKO
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•
The Wall Fly
Bob and Diane Wall acid their' three
daughters, of R. 1, Formosa, still pick by
hand. Having planted a small , acreage,
only 3/10 acre, picking by hand was no
problem. It wasstrictly a familyproject
with no outside help required. This past
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