Museum the New Llano Colony

Farms and Gardens
Truck Gardening, Major Crops

"Vernon Parish Democrat," April 28, 1921

"The productivity of the land has been carefully investigated. Experience during three years proves that garden truck of almost every kind, many fruits, berries, cotton, sweet potatoes, beans, corn, sugar cane, and peanuts do well, while rice, potatoes and other crops may be grown for home uses.

In this connection, the Colony last year harvested 3000 bushels of fine sweet potatoes, which were put into the evaporator house and cured. They are now forming one of the staple food products of the colonists.

Recent harvests have proved to the colonists that soy beans, peanuts, and velvet beans make splendid crops and are rich in food value."

"Llano Colonist," August 5, 1922

"Llano's farms and gardens provide the bulk of the living for the colonists, the farmers specializing in sweet potatoes, sugar cane, peanuts, corn, beans, peas, etc., while the gardens provide greens and garden truck for the table the year round...

The farms and gardens of the Colony have provided the tables with most of the good things which nature offers."

"Shreveport Times," July 28, 1924

"Vernon Parish Farmers Learn of New Crops -- Special to the Times -- Newllano, La., July 27 -- Nearly 1,000 people, farmers, business men, parish officials and officials of several lumber companies attended the "Big Splash" at this place. A program of unique athletic events and contests, including a match game of "horse shoes" between picked teams from the officials of Vernon and Beauregard parishes, was a feature, resulting in a score of 146 to 109 in favor of the Vernon parish team. Particular interest was shown in a survey tour of the 700 acres of the Llano Co-operative colony.

The particular purpose of the program was to interest Vernon parish farmers in their own soil and country. This demonstration of many growing crops hitherto supposed to be unsuited to this section of Louisiana was a revelation to the visitors.

The Vernon Parish Democrat, a local weekly, which has for a year and a half been conducting an educational campaign to establish farming, dairying and reforestation on a large scale before the timber is cut out, organized and carried through this parish-wide meeting."

"Llano Colonist" (Gateway to Freedom), December 10, 1927

"Analysis of soils made by residents and others show that this land is capable of producing in far greater abundance and variety than most people believe... Here, as elsewhere, cultivation intelligently directed improves the land, so that its productiveness is increased...

While cotton has been grown to some extent in this parish and has been the chief commercial crop because of ease of marketing, the development shows that other crops are more profitable. Among these probably will be peanuts, sweet potatoes, berries, fruits, melons, and certain vegetables.

For local markets, for Colony use, and for home use, a great variety of products can be raised -- such as peanuts, sugar cane, corn, Irish potatoes, soy beans, all vegetables, plums, figs, peaches, persimmons and others."

"IRISH POTATOES -- Two crops of Irish potatoes can be produced here and can be made a profitable crop.

SWEET POTATOES -- These form one of the best adapted and best paying crops grown in this section, and there are a number of potato kilns, now built which care for these crops.

SUGAR CANE -- One of the main industries of Louisiana is the growing of sugar cane and the making of syrup and sugar. It does well on colony lands...

VEGETABLES -- One of the features in which this district can surpass, or at least equal, almost any place in the United States, is the production of vegetables. There are few that cannot be grown on Colony lands. Some have already been mentioned -- corn, beans, peas, sweet potatoes, peanuts, Irish potatoes, etc. -- but the list can be extended indefinitely. Tomatoes, beets, lettuce, radishes, cucumbers, carrots, turnips, onions, rutabagas, sweet corn, spinach, asparagus, celery, cauliflower, leek, cabbage, egg plant, artichoke, salsify, parsnips, string beans, okra, lima beans -- these vegetables are not only highly productive, but are easily grown as well."

"Llano Colonist," February 16, 1929

"For the benefit of readers who have not seen Llano Land, let me locate the principle Colony road going west from the Village of Newllano and out to several farm projects. As we leave the Hotel we pass Llano Library on the right hand and then immediately west of that, the garden with large acreage taken up with truck gardening, hot-beds, cold frames, straw-berry patches, nursery grounds and other things "too numerous to mention", while on the south of the road is the Park. A few rods west of the brook we come to the orchard on the left hand and some colonist hoses on the right. The land rises toward the west until we get just opposite the famous Kid Colony to the north located among a grove of stately pines about eighty rods from the road. The ground slopes gently to the south from the building and the whole makes a beautiful setting. The present dairy is located north east of the Kid Colony building but the proposed new dairy barn is to be built near the main road going west to the Poultry Ranch which is situated about a half mile further west than the Kid Colony. About a hundred rods west of the Poultry Ranch and on the same side of the road is the group of buildings known as the farm and here are big fields.

There was activity in every place we came to as we traveled along the road this afternoon. Black plowing with the tractor, Jernberg and VanDohlar finishing up a fine piece of ground near the poultry houses, Waters with his team at work on the hills to the north-west of the Farmstead while carpenters were rushing the work on the fixing up of the old farm house. These farmers were as busy as bees and as far as I could find out, without a worry of any kind. Quite a contrast, it seems to me for the mortgage and tax-ridden "independent" farmers who are going it alone.

"Llano Colonist," August 31, 1929

"The late corn has out-grown the worms and is now tasseling and wearing a rich dark green color. For a while it looked as if the worms had the best of it, but plenty of fertilizer and cultivation and hoeing together with timely rains all helped to carry it thru the trying stage. The poultry manure sure helps out a lot. This was all scattered by the boys with one mule and a sled.

The strawberries are clean and many runners are well rooted. The culvivators have been kept going in this crop by the three West brothers.

The peanuts do not appear to be damaged with the dry weather in the least. The sweet potatoes is the only crop that seems to have suffered at all but Hewett, after looking over the crop, thinks they will grow a lot yet.

Jernberg reports that in one field the pea vines have almost met in the row. The late pinto beans are coming up and looks as if there was going to be a good stand of them...

The late cantaloupes are thru with for this season but the watermelons are still coming in fast enough to supply our customers and give us a feed at the hotel five or six times a week. Caleb who is now in charge of this crop reports about 8 or 10 loads yet in the field.

Last Sunday when sweet potatoes were rather scarce around the hotel the cooks greatly appreciated a meal of sweet potatoes from Bill DeBoer's patch. These were the Triumph and were relished by all... I have done my best in trying to plant the crops so that they would not all be ready to harvest at the same time but it certainly looks now as if they are all coming in about the same time. I see where all the other departments will have to shut down about the middle of September and even the General Manager will have to close up his office and bring out all his office force to help the farm crew. B.C. Roe"

"Llano Colonist," April 12, 1930

"Our plant business is being looked after by Comrade Peecher, Senior, at the hot-beds near the store, along the highway and those beds near the garden house; Comrade Johnson and Paul Henry are tending to the beds near the mule barn and are producing wonderfully. Ben Roe says the first, fire-heated bed has already produced about 20 per cent more plants this year than all last season. Add to this two more fire-heated beds and several not warmed by fire and you can get an idea as to what we are doing in selling plants; because we have orders ahead to be filled every day. Clark is sure having his hands full to keep the packing and shipping going while Mrs. Dougherty and Mrs. Neill, assisted at times by Walt Fread, are mighty busy tending to the regular store business. Surely, they sell plants at the store too. Tens of thousands of sweet potato, onion, cabbage and tomato plants are sold at our store as well as thru the mail orders."

"Llano Colonist," April 26, 1930

"Comrade Peecher kept the fires going under the heated beds when the weather was bad; rain or cold never kept him from attending to his duties, every day he now waters the beds, properly shades them, pulls plants and is always on the job. Also let me tell you that Comrade Johnson, who has other hot-beds and cold-frames to look after is quietly bringing forth a big production of plants that are mostly used by our farmers and gardners [sic]. Paul Henry is his helper, while the other crews on the beds near the store are so varied in number that I cannot keep track of them."

"Llano Colonist," October 18, 1930

"Ben Roe and his crew have once more been running sweet potato vines and corn into the silos thru the ensilage cutter and at the same time they are drying sweet potatoes and also stacking peanuts."

"Llano Colonist," June 27, 1931

"If it had not been for the invention -- and a great invention it was -- of the production of synthetic fertilizers, I do not hesitate to say that the world today would be suffering from a famine, the population of the world would have declined and any further increases of population would have become practically impossible... Cuno"

"Llano Colonist," September 23, 1933

"This has been a perfect week for the peanut harvest. We all have been going after it heavy and strong. Ward Shoemaker has been driving the team on the peanut digger. Luhnow has been the big squeeze on the corn shocker. You understand many of our peanuts had corn growing in alternate rows with them. This necessitated the harvesting of the corn crop before we could stack the peanuts.

Rosseto has been picking most of the corn and whatever team was going to the house would take in a load. The efficient farmer never wastes a cornstalk, so we are conserving them for winter feed.

Schmidt and Rude are following along about a week after the shockers hauling the corn and peanuts to the new dairy barn. The storage room for feed at the farm is already overloaded and entirely inadequate."

"Llano Colonist," October 13, 1934

"I don't think I have ever seen an acre of green snap beans look as promising as the acre here at the farm house. They are in full bloom and just beginning to set on beans now. Warren has been working in the garden and has most of it looking fine. He gets a little help from the other boys when it is necessary. More garden being planted every week...

And then there are acres of soy beans and cow peas yet to mow for hay and then after that over ten acres of sweet potatoes to harvest. There is still some late corn to harvest and about ten acres of field peas to pick... Lloyd Potter with his crew... from the Kid Kolony ... get a lot of peas picked. They are on the job about five days a week and the peas are piling up. Mr. and Mrs. Archer are right there with the pea huller and take care of this end of the job...

Do you folks realize that a car load of peas, valued at over $2,000 came into Vernon Parish in one shipment this spring? We do not have to go far to find a market for our crops. And cow peas is one crop that will surely produce in this country. We should have a carload to see every year. They hay from this crop would go a long way towards feeding the cows. With a little more machinery we could eliminate a lot of the hand work. -- Ben C. Roe."

"Llano Colonist," November 10, 1934

"The Archers have caught up with the pea hulling just in time to start on the late crop. In this country you can pick a crop of peas, mow the crop of hay and then the plant shoots up again and makes another crop of peas and a second crop of vegetation that should be plowed under for the benefit of the next year's crop."

"Llano Colonist," June 8, 1935

"At the farm crops are doing fairly well, considering the small crew out there, available to attend to the many things that have to be done... The fruit trees, berry bushes, grape vines and garden are flourishing and contain a good supply of fruit. The field crops look fine, too, for this period of the year, but more help is required to do the farm work as it should be done... I met Eugene Carl and Horace Cronk... and told them of the needs of the farm...

John Szpila and Perry were gathering the last lettuce out of the front garden and delivering it to the hotel this morning. There is more growing in the big garden.

Charley Boydelatour is cultivating the tomatoes in the front garden. The okra also needs cultivating. In fact, the whole garden needs cultivating and John Szpila and his helpers are tackling the job with vim and vigor. But more help is needed in the garden. Crops are growing extra well, but so are the weeds and the grass among the sweet potatoes and the corn..."

"Llano Colonist," September 14, 1935

"Praise be, we have had that fine rain, just in the nick of time and now the plowing and sowing can proceed though owing to shortage of manpower, horsepower and proper machinery all farm and garden processes are sadly handicapped. Weeds and tangled wiry grasses grow and thrive despite lack of moisture and cultivation, so that now there are acres and acres of good soil overgrown with a mass of objectionable vegetation. To be sure if plowed under it will make good compost in time, and some of the grasses will make pretty fair hay, so Comrade Hoffman intends to store up forage to help out a few months for horse feed."

"Llano Colonist," November 2, 1935

"The garden crew have planted over an acre of turnips. From morning till night they are busy with the preparation of ground and planting of fall crops."

"Llano Colonist," September 12, 1936

"Planting of fall gardens is now under way and every bit of rain helps in germinating the seed and giving young plants a good start...

I stopped at [the Quipp home] and Mrs. Quipp pointed out the various gardens, sweet potatoes, peanuts, and other crops which were ing good shape...

About a mile or so farther on to the southwest I came to the Cothran farm, which still stands under the name of the "Hoag Ranch"... Mr. Cothran showed me around, pointing out his flock of Rhode Island Reds, his sweet potato, Irish potato, and late tomato beds, describing his fertilizing methods; simply using wood ashes and leaf mold with excellent results."