282 



HORT1CU LT URE 



March 10, 1906 



Forcing Tomatoes 



Tomatoes are forced for winter, spring and earh 

 summer crops, commanding good prices, and giving fair 

 and often excellent returns. In the West winti r- 

 forcing has not been found as advantageous as the 

 spring, Imt in the East both crops give first rate returns. 



For a winter crop tin 1 s I is sown during tin 1 early 



part of August if the product is wanted the middle of 

 December; it taking about lour months to bring the 

 plants into bearing. In like manner, for a spring crop 

 in April, the seed is planted December 1. After the 

 plants begin to bear they keep it up for two or three 

 months. 



The management of both crops is the same. Care 

 must be exercised in heating, watering, and ventilating. 

 While not a very difficult crop to raise it is rather sensi- 

 tive to careless handling. The aim should lie to keep 

 up a steady growth but not fast enough to cause the 

 formation of soft, succulent tissue. 



Any house that t< light ami tight, with sufficient head 

 room, and a heating apparatus that will keep up the 

 required temperature will grow tomatoes. The darker 

 the house the wider should be the distance of planting. 

 The seed is sown in flats of rich, sandy loam and 

 when the seedlings show true leaves they are transferred 

 to 2 L-2-inch pots from which they are repotted into 4s. 

 The transplanting must he done on time in everv ease 

 so the seedlings and young plants will not become root- 

 bound. Short, stocky, vigorous plants are desired. 

 something root-bound plants never become, being 

 instead elongated, yellow, and spindling. They are 

 transplanted from the larger size into the beds when 

 the fruit buds form which should be in about ten weeks 

 from the time of seed sowing. Often the stock for tin' 

 winter crop is grown from cuttings taken from field 

 plants in August and rooted in sand. 



Raised benches, solid beds, boxes and pots are all used 

 for receptacles, advocates of the different kinds claim- 

 ing successful results in each ease. Considering the 

 nature of the plant, raised benches six to eight inches 

 deep, built directly over the heating pipes are to he pre- 

 ferred. It is possible, however, to get good crops in 

 boxes twelve to eighteen inches square with a depth of 

 eight inches, or in twelve-inch pots. 



The tomato is not particularly susceptible to varia- 

 tions in the kind of soil. A mixture of equal parts of 

 old pasture sod, loam, and horse or eow manure will 

 furnish the necessary elements to carry the plants to the 

 time they set their fruit. Then an addition of one- 

 quarter ground nitrate of soda, one pound of acid phos- 

 phate, and one-half pound of muriate of potash per 100 

 square feet of bed given once in two weeks, will supply 

 all the food necessary if the soil appears to be running 

 out. Or weekly applications of liquid manure is excel- 

 lent. Many growers differ from this; they advocate the 

 growing of a crop with no manure other than that con- 

 tained in the soil. However, the tomato is a gross 

 feeder and if the soil is at all deficient in any way ferti- 

 lizers should be applied. 



The tomato requires a high temperature, the range 

 lying between 60-G5 degrees at night and 85 degrees 

 during the day. all bough on continued warm clear days 

 it can go much higher without harm. The air should 

 he kept moist until the fruit begins to set, when the 

 house is run dryer to facilitate the production of pollen. 

 Thorough ventilation without drafts should he given. 



('arc must 1 xercised in watering to thoroughly 



saturate all layers of soil; often the top layer will be 

 soaking wet while the bottom of the bed will be dust 

 dry. Sub-irrigation is the ideal method; this will 

 reduce the blossom end rot. keep the soil porous, and 

 permit of complete saturation. Ordinarily 2-in. drain 

 pipe placed end to end six inches apart in the bottom 

 of the bed will do very well. One end of each line is 

 left projecting and turned up at an angle so it can be 

 filled with water, which, escaping through the joints, 

 will rise by capillary attraction thoroughly moistening 

 the whole lied without packing it down. 



It is necessary to train and prune tomato plants. 

 They are usually trained to one or two stems, the kind 

 depending on the variety, the distance of planting, and 

 whether they are grown with a companion crop. If set 

 one loot apart each way they are trained to a single 

 stalk and no companion crop is grown. But when the 

 distance is two feet the two-stem system can lie used, 

 and a quickly maturing crop such as lettuce, radishes, 

 or beans can lie taken off before the tomatoes require 

 all the space. If the tomatoes are the main crop it is 

 better to plant close and train to a single stem for the 

 yield is greater and comes earlier. 



Pruning consists in removing all secondary shoots 

 and suckers on the stems and in pinching the top when 

 the desired height is reached, i. e., six feet. Often 

 three or four leaves are taken off the base of the plant 

 to hasten fruiting. 



When the flowers open hand-fertilization is necessary 

 to procure a uniform crop. Choose clear days for this 

 work and have the air dry. Gently shake the pollen off 

 into a spoon and when a visible quantity is collected go 

 can fully over each flower and dip the stigmas into it, 

 at the same time tap off the pollen to replenish the 

 stock. As the amount of fruit set depends to a large 

 extent on the thoroughness with which the fertilizing 

 is done, plants, should he gone over every day or at 

 least once in two days. Extra pollen can be kept over 

 from day to day. All the pistils must be fertilized to 

 insure round, uniform, regular fruit. 



The yield will vary with the season. The winter 

 crop will average about one pound per square foot of 

 bed. while the spring crop will be double that. From 

 four to eight pounds per plant are obtained. 



The varieties best suited for forcing are the early 

 kinds making a moderate growth, of a uniform solid 

 texture and regular shape, such as Lorillard, Long 

 Keeper, Beauty and Stone. 



Tomatoes are best shipped wrapped in tissue paper, 

 packed in five pound boxes, stems down, one-half or 

 one dozen boxes to a crate. 



Here in the East the crop is especially remunerative, 

 bringing from 50 to 50 cents a pound according to the 

 season. There are hut few places where a sufficiently 

 high price cannot he obtained to make tomatoes a 

 paying crop. 



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