3354 



TOMATO 



TOMATO 



season for the past fifty years many fields have been 

 known where the salable crop was from 30,000 to 40,000 

 pounds to the acre, with exceptional still larger yields. 

 Exposure is often an important factor in determining 

 the profit of a crop. Generally a gentle inclination to 

 the southward, with protection of higher land or forest 

 on the side from which cold and damp winds may be 

 expected will give the largest yield of the most marketa- 

 ble fruit, but a sharp inclination to the south, particu- 

 larly if it be steep or such as to form a hot pocket. 



coarse sharp-grained sand. Soils used in plant-boxes 

 or -beds should always be sterilized by spreading over 

 steam-pipes perforated on the lower side and filled with 

 live steam until a potato buried about 3 inches in the 

 soil is cooked soft. The seed can be sown rather thickly 

 and covered % to }/% inch deep. The boxes should be 

 well watered and set in the shade until the plantlets show 

 above the soil, when they should be set in full sunlight 

 and kept at a constant temperature between 65 and 80, 

 and given water as needed. The plants should develop 



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rarely produces a maximum crop, although, because of large seed-leaves and bud within ten to fifteen days, 



the early ripening of the fruit, it may be a profitable 

 one. 



The largest yields recorded were generally grown on 

 red clay loam. Large yields are often secured from 

 soils of very different compositions, from "gumbo" 



when they should be transplanted into the frames. The 

 soil of the frames should be 3 to 6 inches deep and freshly 

 made up and sterilized about as recommended for the 



Elant-boxes. The plants may be set twelve to twenty- 

 )ur to the square foot, according to the time they are 



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prairie, marsh muck, stiff clay, to a light sand provided expected to remain before setting in the field. The beds 



the conditions of drainage, fertility, and tilth are 



favorable, but a maximum crop can never and even a 



profitable one very seldom be grown on a cold soil, or 



one which is poorly 



drained, sodden, sour, 



or hard and solid from 



want of cultivation. A 



good crop of tomatoes 



very seldom follows 



one of tomatoes or 



potatoes. 



Tomatoes are rank 

 feeders and the use of 

 fresh stable manures 

 and those carrying a 

 large proportion of 

 nitrogen is likely to 

 result in a rank growth 

 of vines ripening a 

 small crop of fruit of 

 poor quality. The best 

 yields and quality of 

 fruit will usually be 

 from fields rich from 

 fertilizing in previous 

 years. On unfertile 

 fields where one is 

 obliged to use commer- 

 cial fertilizers, those 

 comparatively rich in 

 potash will generally 

 prove most profitable. 

 The largest yield and 



best fruit have gener- 3818 A contemporaneous American tomato, 



ally been from rich 



clover sods, which were plowed as early as practicable 

 in the spring, rolled, and made friable by repeated sur- 

 face cultivation. 



Although in all but the extreme northern part of the 

 United States, in very high altitudes and in some parts 

 of the Puget Sound country, tomatoes will generally 

 ripen a full crop from seed sown in the open ground!, 

 from Washington northward plants so grown will rarely 

 ripen their crop until past midsummer and much of it 

 will miss the long days of sunshine, which are essential 

 for the development of the best quality. On this 

 account it is desirable, in most cases, to start the 

 plants under glass, so as to give them fifty to sixty 

 days' growth by the time they can be set in the open 

 ground without danger from killing frosts. It is very 

 easy to grow plants to this age, but the character of 

 the growth and the condition in which they go into the 

 fields are most important factors in determining the 

 quantity and quality of the fruit. 



Starting the plants under glass is usually accom- 

 plished best by sowing the seed in boxes about 4 inches 

 deep and of convenient size for handling, filled with 

 soil made up of two-fifths potting earth or garden loam, 

 two-fifths old well-rotted cow-manure, and one-fifth 



should be closely watched and the sash opened as the air 

 in them becomes warmed by the sun to a 

 temperature above 60 and as promptly 

 closed as it cools below 

 40. The soil should 

 be watered as neces- 

 sary to prevent the 

 plants wilting, but this 

 should be done as far 

 as practicable in even- 

 ing or early morning, 

 rather than during 

 bright sunshine. If 

 necessary the beds may 

 be protected from frost 

 by covering the sash 

 with sacks, old carpets, 

 straw, or even a sprink- 

 ling of earth. An inex- 

 perienced person will 

 be surprised to see how 

 effective even a slight 

 covering often is. In 

 case frost does creep 

 in, it is best to keep 

 the beds covered until 

 they can warm up 

 without direct sun- 

 shine, even if this takes 

 a day or two. Cases 

 have been known in 

 which plants that 

 seemed to be killed 

 were saved by slow 

 warming up. For a few 



days before the plants are to be set in field, they should 

 be hardened off by scant watering and fuller exposure 

 both to the sun and night air, and the day before they 

 are to be set should be thoroughly sprayed with bor- 

 deaux mixture. The field, particularly if it has been a 

 clover sod, should be prepared and cutworms killed 

 by keeping it absolutely free of green vegetation for at 

 least a week before the plants are to be set and the 

 evening before scattering over the surface poisoned 

 bait made by thoroughly mixing one pound of paris 

 green or similar poison with fifty pounds of bran or 

 middlings moistened with sweetened water. The even- 

 ing after the plants are set, the poison should also be 

 scattered along the rows and the next day the plants 

 should be again sprayed with bordeaux. 



Field culture should begin the day after the plants 

 are set and be repeated every four or five days and as 

 soon after every rain as it can be done without puddling 

 the soil. At first the culture should be as close to the 

 plants and as deep as possible, but it should be farther 

 from the plants and shallower each time until it is a 

 mere stirring of the surface in the center of the row, 

 always taking care to disturb the vines as little as 

 possible. The plants should frequently be looked over 



