HOME PROJECTS 349 



rotted manure applied in each hill and covered with earth 

 will promote growth. 



Transplanting- the seedlings into the g-arden. After all 

 danger of frost is over, go over the tomato plot again, pre- 

 paring a clean, loose surface, and renewing the rows where 

 the plants are to be set. 



Select the healthiest, stockiest tomato plants from the hot- 

 bed to transplant. Do this work in the evening to prevent 

 excessive wilting. Have a plant trowel to dig up the seed- 

 lings with as much of the root-system as possible. The trowel 

 may also be used to dig out the hole in which to set the young 

 plants in the rows in the garden. 



Setting the tomato plants. Place the varieties together. 

 Using the trowel, prepare a place for each plant a little 

 deeper than it grew in the hotbed. The old garden practice 

 of pouring about a half-pint of water about the roots of the 

 seedling, just before the last bit of soil is placed about the 

 plant, is a very good plan, especially if the soil is a little dry. 

 Firm the soil well about the roots and have a loose mulch 

 over the surface "about the tomato plant. Set the plants 

 about three and a half feet apart in the row. 



Tomato plants may be sold if a market is found. 



Cultivating, pruning, and staking. Employ two methods 

 of soil culture on your plot after you have cultivated the 

 ground and kept down the weeds for a few weeks. On a part 

 of your plot cover all the ground with a mulch of straw; 

 on the rest continue cultivation to keep down weeds, and to 

 provide a loose soil mulch at all times. 



