CHAPTER XIX 



INDOOR AND OUTDOOR TOMATOES 



BOTANISTS may tell us that the tomato is not a 

 vegetable but a fruit and, therefore, a description of its 

 culture in these pages is superfluous. To such an 

 assertion we can only plead that this useful article of 

 food is largely grown in vegetable gardens and on allot- 

 ments and, consequently, we have no hesitation, as this 

 is not a botany book, in describing the usual methods 

 of cultivation. 



When all goes well few things are easier to grow than 

 the tomato, but and this is a very big but when con- 

 ditions are adverse or the weather is unseasonable, the 

 man who is rearing a score or more of plants will find that, 

 like the policeman in the play, his lot is not a happy one. 



The first point to note when dealing with tomatoes is 

 that they require a lengthy period of growth and, as 

 seeds cannot be sown in the ordinary way sooner than 

 April, there are few chances of getting a ripened crop 

 before the frosts set in unless sowings may be made in 

 heat early in the year, preferably during January. If 

 such is impossible, it will be advisable to buy good sturdy 

 seedlings in May or June at a cost of about fourpence 

 each and not to grow from seed. 



Those who wish to rear plants from seed should procure 

 one or two five-inch pots and almost fill them with a 



