The Busy Woman s Garden Book 



be got to bearing in season to give a bountiful 

 crop before frost. It takes about four months 

 from the time the seed is sown to produce a crop 

 of the main crop tomato. Some of the very early 

 sorts will come into bearing early in July; un- 

 fortunately, however, these very early varieties 

 lack the full, delicious flavor of the later fruit. 



The tomatoes should not be set in the open 

 ground until all danger of frost is over; they 

 should be given rich soil and a spadeful of manure 

 added to the hill in which they are planted. If 

 the plants are allowed to lie on the ground make 

 the hills four feet apart each way, but if they are 

 to be staked or trained on a trellis three feet will 

 give sufficient room ; both methods of culture have 

 advantages; the latter keeps the fruit up off the 

 ground, makes j)ickling easy and perhaps 

 produces more perfect fruit ; less room is required 

 for growing the same number of plants than 

 would be required for the former method. The 

 first method has this advantage, — the plants suf- 

 fer least in a dry season as the vines shade the 

 ground, and prevent the excessive evaporation 



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