Eastern North Carolina Encyclopedia
Truck and Fruit Growing in Eastern Carolina
By C. D. Matthews,
Chief, Division of Horticulture, N. C. Agricultural Experiment Station and Extension Service
There is probably no branch of agriculture that has developed in the past thirty years so strikingly as that of horticulture. It has grown in a quarter of a century from a more or less general and relatively unimportant line of agriculture to a highly specialized type of great importance. As a result of changing conditions, such as the concentration of population in the cities, the decrease of food producers in the rural sections, improved railroad facilities, the possibilities of truck transportation because of good roads, the development of varieties suitable for long distance transportation, and with the development of improved canning, handling, and storing facilities, the production of horticultural crops is of increasing importance. The economic advantages of comparatively cheap lands, and close proximity to the consuming markets of the East and South make horticultural development in Eastern Carolina an alluring opportunity.
The climate of the Coastal Plain Section is mild and equable, being suited to a large variety of fruit and vegetable crops. The rainfall is ample and fairly well distributed throughout the year. The temperature seldom goes above 100 degrees or drops below zero. The summers are long, but the heat in the counties bordering the coast and sounds is tempered by the sea breeze. The growing season is long enough for the tenderest vegetation. The modifying influence of the waters of Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds and the broad tidewater streams have an appreciable effect upon the climate and lessens the danger from late and early frosts. This fact accounts largely for the preferable use of the soils in these localities for trucking purposes, and for the production of certain fruits. The winter and early spring months are sufficiently mild for the growth of many vegetables for early market. Both the climate and the soil make this section admirably adapted to truck growing.
TRUCKING IN EASTERN CAROLINA
The improvement of transportation facilities and the increased knowledge of commercial fertilizer uses, together with ideal soil, climatic conditions, and cheap lands has made truck growing in the Coastal Plain Section of North Carolina one of the most important branches of horticultural work.
The rapid growth of our northern cities long ago demonstrated that local gardens could not produce the needed supply. With improved transportation facilities, the production of early vegetables naturally moved southward.
Climatic conditions in the Coastal Plain, with its level, mellow, sandy loam, easy of cultivation, and retentive of moisture, cause it to be highly adapted to the production of early vegetables for northern markets. With these unsurpassed natural conditions and the use of frames covered with cloth or glass, and in some cases the installation of modern steam-heated greenhouses and irrigation systems, the trucking industry has made wonderful strides, the production of vegetable crops in winter and early spring being conducted with great success.
IRISH POTATOES
Irish potatoes are generally grown through the State for home use and for local markets, but the commercial industry is localized in the Coastal Plain Section with the production of the early truck crop. The Irish potato industry brings more money into the State than any other horticultural crop.
The production of the early crop in the Coastal Plain Section is the most important commercial truck industry in the State. The climate and soil of the section make it possible to produce large crops of early potatoes so that they reach the market at a time between the Charleston section of South Carolina and the Norfolk section of Virginia. The counties of Pasquotank, Beaufort, Currituck, Carteret, Craven, Wayne and Pamlico are the chief producers of early potatoes, shipping approximately 4,500 cars during the 1922 season.
A second crop of Irish potatoes is often produced in the Coastal Plain Section of the State. This crop is planted in August from "seed" of the first crop, or from cold storage seed, which generally gives much better results. The second crop is allowed to grow until frost. Potatoes from this crop are sometimes used for seed in growing the early crop.
SWEET POTATOES
Sweet potatoes are the most important horticultural crop in the State from the standpoint of volume and value. However, in comparison with the total production, the commercial production is a comparatively small amount, but the crop is becoming of more commercial importance each year, and within the next few years it is expected to surpass the Irish potato as a commercial crop.
Sweet potatoes are grown for home use and local markets more or less in all parts of the State, with the exception of the highest portions in the Mountain Section. For market purposes they are produced principally in the Coastal Plain Section. The commercial sweet potato industry in this State is of two distinct types, being developed around different types of potatoes and different methods of growing.
