CHAPTER VII 



Fertilizers 



The experiences and opinions of different garden- 

 ers and writers vary greatly as to the amount and 

 kind of fertilizer necessary for the production of the 

 maximum crop of tomatoes. If the question were as to 

 the growth of vine all would agree that the more fer- 

 tilizer used and the richer the soil, the better. Some 

 growers act as if this were equally true as to fruit, 

 while others declare that one can easily use too much 

 fertilizer and get the ground too rich not only for a 

 maximum but for a profitable crop of fruit. I find 

 that the amount an acre recommended by successful 

 growers varies from 40 tons of well-rotted stable 

 manure, supplemented by 1,000 pounds of complete 

 fertilizer and 1,000 pounds of unleached ashes, to one 

 of only 300 pounds of potato fertilizer. 



In my own experience the largest yield that I can 

 recall was produced on what would be called rich 

 land, and the application of fertilizer for the tomato 

 crop was not in excess (unless possibly of potash) 

 of that of the usual annual dressing. I think that 

 in preparing a soil for tomatoes, as in selecting so- 

 cial acquaintances, the "new rich" are to be avoided. 

 A soil which is rich because of judicious manuring 

 and careful cropping for many years can scarcely be 

 too rich, while one that is made rich by a single appli- 

 cation of fertilizer, no matter how well proportioned, 



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