CHAPTER VIII 



Preparation of the Soil 



The proper preparation of the soil before setting 

 the plants is one of the most essential points in suc- 

 cessful tomato culture. The soil should be put into 

 the best possible physical condition and to the greatest 

 practicable depth. How this can be best accomplished 

 will vary greatly with different soils and the facilities 

 at the command of the planter. My practice on a 

 heavy, dry soil is to plow shallow as early in the 

 spring as the ground is fit to work, and then work 

 and re-work the surface so as to make it as fine as 

 possible. 



If I am to use any manure which is at all coarse, 

 it is well worked in at this time. A week or lo days 

 before I expect to set the plants I again plow, and to 

 as great a depth as practicable, without turning up 

 much of the sub-soil, and if this has not been done 

 within two years, follow in the furrows with a sub-soil 

 plow which loosens, but does not bring the sub-soil to 

 the surface. Then I work and re-work the surface, at 

 the same time working in any dressing of well-rotted 

 manure, ashes or commercial fertilizer that I want to 

 use. I never regret going over the field again, if by 

 so doing I can improve its condition in the least. On a 

 lighter soil it might be better to compact rather than 

 loosen as much as would give the best results with 

 clay, but always and everywhere tlie soil should be 



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