30 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



TOMATO GKOWING COMMERCIALLY. 



MR. C. W. WAID^ M. A. C, EAST LANSING. 



We liear and read a great deal these days about ''Profits in Ap])le 

 Culture'' and I do not wish to say a word against that important in- 

 dustry. However, the tomato crop has some advantages over the apple 

 crop, especially for the person with limited capital. 



The growing of tomatoes in the field necessitates a smaller money out- 

 lay than the growing of apples. The returns from tomatoes begin to 

 come in a very few months after the plants are set and the crop continues 

 to give an annual return as long as tomatoes are grown. A newly set 

 apple orchard will produce few if any profitable croi)s in less than ten 

 years from the time the trees are planted. If a late frost kills the 

 apple blossoms, the returns for that year is cut off entirely but if it 

 kills the tomato plants they can usually be reset. It is, as a rule, easier 

 to secure satisfactory help for the handling of the tomato crop than for 

 the apple crop. 



POSSIBLE RETURNS. 



The returns from tomatoes are so variable that accurate figures can- 

 not be given. Early tomatoes usually give better returns than late ones 

 grown for the city markets and tomatoes grown for the canning factory 

 usually give a smaller return per acre than where grown for the city 

 market. All tomato growers are not situated so they can grow tomatoes 

 l)rofitably for market and therefore, must rely on the factory. If a ])er- 

 son is near a factory and some distance from a city market, it will often 

 pay him better to grow tomatoes for the factory rather than for the 

 city market. This is a problem which must be worked out by each 

 grower for himself. 



A Virginia tomato grower recently made the statement in print "that 

 to his mind success with early tomatoes means a gross return of 

 from |750 to |1,250 per acre." Such returns are possible but only an 

 occasional grower will realize them and then only during favorable 

 seasons. So far as I have been able to secure figures, good growers near 

 large cities get from |400 to |500 ]»er acre gross from their early cro]>s. 

 The net returns are seldom obtainable. Probably 50% of the gross sales 

 are realized in some cases. Those who grow tomatoes for a canning 

 factory feel quite well satisfied with a yield of from 8 to 10 tons per 

 acre. The price per ton varies from eight to ten dollars. 



SOILS. 



A sandy or sandy loam with a southern exposure is most desirable 

 for the early crop. Late tomatoes can be grown profitably on many 

 types of soils if other conditions are right. Tomatoes should never be 

 planted on a poorly drained soil. They will not do well at least during 

 dry seasons unless irrigated, on a soil which is underlaid with a very 

 open porus subsoil. 



