64 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



March, 1910 



Tomatoes in Western Home Gardens' 



Brenda E. Neville, Cottonwood, Saskatchewan 



A FEW yciirs ago it was a matter of 

 doubt as to whether or not ripe to- 

 matoes could be grown with any 

 degree of certainty in Saskatchewan. 

 Even yet the "very best" methods are 

 being sought, and much greater success 

 awaits the future tomato grower than 

 has been attained hitherto. 



There are two methods of raising to- 

 matoes here. Both deserve a trial, as 

 one method may suit some soils better 

 than the other. 



The first method to be considered is 

 that of early planting of seed, and trans- 

 planting of plants. I will not touch on 

 the method to be followed by market 

 gardeners, or by wholesale tomato grow- 

 ers. The instructions given are merely 

 for home gardens. 



Selection of seed is important. The 

 earliest varieties only should be chosen. 

 I have found Spark's Earliana to be 

 the best. June Pink is good, also Early 

 Ruby, and several others. But Earliana 

 is the surest. 



A sandy loam is the best soil in which 

 to plant the seeds. If planted in soil 

 very rich in leaf-mold the young plants 

 are apt to make too rank a growth, and 

 are harder to transplant. 



Boxes four inches deep, ten inches 

 wide and twelve inches long, will be 

 found most convenient for the first sow- 

 ing. Each box should be fitted with a 

 pane of glass on top. Fill the boxes 

 three inches deep with finely sifted soil, 

 pressed rather firmly, and very level. 



Mark with the edge of a thin board, 

 drills one-quarter of an inch deep and 

 one inch apart. Sow the seeds in these 

 drills, quite thickly. One-eighth of an 

 inch is far enough apart for the seeds 

 to lie. Cover the seeds evenly, and press 

 the surface of the soil down with a flat 

 board. Now place the box in a large 

 pan of water at a little higher than blood 

 heat. The water should come nearly to 

 the top of the box. It will gradually 

 permeate the soil until it is all thor- 

 oughly saturated, and is better than 

 watering from the top, as it does not 

 disturb the seeds. When the soil is well 

 soaked, lift from the pan and allow to 

 drain. 



After the free water has drained out 

 of the box, cover the box closely with 

 the glass, and place the box in a warm, 

 sunny window. The seeds should ger- 

 minate in from eight to twelve days, 

 and should require very little water until 

 up. If the room is very dry, a little 

 water may be very gently sprinkled on 

 the surface of the soil if it is in danger 



•Although this article was written by Mies 

 Neville for amateur gardeners In the western 

 provinces, the information that is given is equal- 

 ly applicable to conditions in many other parts 

 of Canada. Amateurs in eastern Canada can 

 follow it with profit. Further information will 

 be given in next issue.— Editor. 



of drying out too much. The soil should 

 be kept soft and moist all the time. 



The glass should not be removed un- 

 til the plants crowd against it. It should 

 be raised a little to admit air, and final- 

 ly be removed altogether. 



The plants can be left in this box un- 

 til they have grown several inches high, 

 and have four or five leaves. Then they 

 should be moved. It is best to place 

 them in separate pots if possible. If 

 this is impossible, larger boxes, with 

 about five inches of soil in, will do nice- 

 ly ; or I have used tomato cans with 

 holes punched in the bottom, filled with 

 soil. Three plants can be placed in each 

 tomato can if desired. 



When transplanting, the plants may 

 be lifted by means of a sharp table-fork 

 run well under them, commencing at 

 the end of each row of plants. Then 

 hold each plant by the leaves ; gently 

 fill in a little earth over the roots ; add 

 a quantity of cool water; fill up the can 

 with earth, leaving the roots in a wet 

 bed, while the surface of the soil is loose 

 and comparatively dry. Do not place 

 the plants in hot sunshine for a day or 

 two; but avoid chilling, as that will rot 

 them very quickly. 



The plants may be kept in these sep- 

 arate pots until the beginning of April. 

 They may be showing flower-beds, and 

 will seem quite large. By this time, if 

 spring opens in reasonable time, the 

 weather will be safe for making hotbeds. 



Potato Planting by Machinery 



W. A. BroDghteo, Sunia, Ont. 



Labor is higher and harder to get now 

 than it was before the advent of the po- 

 tato planter, which was ten or twelve 

 years ago. In 1897, my brother and my- 

 self planted ten acres of potatoes bv 

 hand, costing about $1.25 per acre 

 (marking, planting and covering). The 

 weather set in dry, and there was a lit- 

 tle delay in the potatoes starting owing 

 to the fact that in covering with the cul- 

 tivator nearly all the soil was dry that 

 covered the seed. 



The potatoes came up fairly even, but 

 a week or ten days late. The growing 

 season was good and they looked fine 

 (new land). Some parties driving past 

 told me they never saw such a fine look- 

 ing field of potatoes. About the middle 

 of August the blight struck the field and 

 the yield was only seventy bushels per 

 acre ; whereas, had the potatoes started 

 a week or ten days sooner the crop would 

 have nearly doubled. 



The point I wish to make is this : Had 

 the potatoes been planted with a planter 

 they would have been put in moist soil 

 and covered at once and would have 

 come up a week sooner besides getting 

 them planted in less time. After using 



a potato planter for eleven years we 

 would not have them planted by hand if 

 it were done without charge. 



.Some of the advantages of using a 

 machine for planting are : Any depth 

 desired, evenness in depth, light or 

 heavy covering, saving in time in get- 

 ling crop in (this is important in both 

 early or late planting, as the weather 

 may change and the land become too wet 

 causing delay in finishing field), and the 

 planter puts the seed in moist soil, thus 

 ensuring the best possible condition for 

 seed to start. 



Another point in favor of the planter 

 (I use the two-men planter) is that the 

 seed is spaced in the row at the distance 

 you desire — from twelve inches- to twen- 

 ty-four inches, two inches in each change 

 of gear. Whereas, if you hire boys to 

 plant, the spaces will be irregular — from 

 one to three feet. 



The planter we use requires a team 

 and two men (or a man and a boy) and 

 makes the row, opens the furrow, drops 

 the seed and covers it in one operation, 

 and will plant 100 per cent perfect work. 

 It has also a fertilizer attachment which 

 spreads the fertilizer in the furrow and 

 mixes it with the soil before the seed is 

 dropped. From four to six acres a day 

 can be planted with the machine. 



If one or more growers plant ten acres 

 a potato planter will pay ten per cent, 

 interest on the investment. My planter 

 paid me seventy-five per cent, of cost in 

 the first season, my boys planting fifty 

 acres for neighbors. 



Onion Culture 



E. G. Malcolm, Scotland, Out. 



Each grower must do a certain amount 

 of experimental work for himself before 

 he can find out what will be the most 

 economical fertilizer for him to use for 

 onions, because the soils differ in their 

 chemical as well as in their physical com- 

 position. Onions require a good loam or 

 sandy loam soil with loam predominat- 

 ing. It should be made as rich as pos- 

 sible, and I know of nothing better than 

 a heavy application of barn yard manure, 

 well rotted. Plow as early in the spring 

 as possible. 



Prepare the seed bed by using a heavy 

 roller and working it up with harrows. 

 Then use a scraper of plank to level the 

 ground. . Have the ground thoroughly 

 warmed before sowing. The more work 

 there is done before sowing, the less 

 labor there will be after the onion has 

 started to grow as you can then bet- 

 ter keep the weeds in control. 



.Sow in rows from twelve to fourteen 

 inches apart. About three pounds of 

 seed to the acre is sufficient if No. i seed 

 is used, but if you are doubtful of the 

 seed, sow more. Always test the seed 

 before sowing. 



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