THE GENESEE FARMER. 



91 



CULTIVATION OF TOMATOES. 



Haying been very successful in raising tomatoes 

 for market a few years ago, I thouglit myself capa- 

 ble of writing a few useful lines to the novice in 

 tomato culture ; but in attempting to do so I find I 

 have forgotten many of the small matters that cost 

 me much thought, time, practice and labor to learn. 

 As late tomatoes grow freely without much cultiva- 

 tion, I shall confine myself entirely to the extra 

 early crop. For a market crop select your ground 

 lying as warm as possible ; if protected on the north 

 and west by woods so much the better ; and be very 

 careful to choose ground not subject to late frosts, 

 such as dishing ground between hills and high ridges ; 

 such spots often suffer from frost when higher 

 ground escapes. 



By the month of February cast on the ground a 

 mixture of horse, hog, cow and sheep manure, if you 

 have them, at the rate of ten large two-liorse loads 

 per acre, for your compost heap ; if the ground is 

 open, cart on this the same bulk of rich earth — in 

 this section marl is used. As soon as frost is out in 

 the spring, cut this compost carefully over, heaping 

 up three or four feet high. It is very necessary to 

 have this compost thoroughly rotted, consequently 

 it will sometimes be necessary to work it over the 

 second time before the 1st of May. If your soil is 

 heavy, plow and work it in dry weather, so as to 

 bring it to as fine condition as possible ; but warm 

 sandy ground will [)rove nmch earlier. 



About the tenth of May mark out your ground 

 with a plow, four feet each way ; then with a hoe 

 dig out the hills, or the place for them, down to the 

 yellow earth, full fifteen inches in diameter. If 

 you can procure it easily, scatter a table spoonful 

 of Peruvian guano in the bottom of each hill ; im- 

 mediately put in your compost, the quantity so that 

 your ground will just use up your compost; then 

 with a hoe cover your manure at least six inches 

 deep, making you hills large and high. 



The most expense in raising early tomatoes con- 

 sists in the management of the plants before they 

 are set out in the open ground. If you are near a 

 good market it will j)ay to expend some capital in 

 hot-bed fixtures. Procure good sash and frames, 

 and as many pint pots as you wisli to raise plants. 

 But if you are near a pottery you had better order 

 your pots made five inches deep, and four inches 

 wide, inside measure. If I recollect, a sash six feet 

 by tln-eo covered 120 pots. Your sash, pots, mats, 

 and frames ready, about the 15th of February dig 

 a pit two feet deep as large as four sash ; fill this with 

 fresli stable manure, packed pretty solid so as to 

 hold heat longer, cover this with six inches of rich 

 soil ; place on your sash, and mats at night ; in three 

 or four sunny days your bed will be ready for the 

 seed. Make small drills for the seed four inches 

 apart; sjw your seed thickly — the large smooth is 

 the best market kind — cover near one inch deep. 

 In five or six days if j'our bed is in good condition, 

 they will be bursting through the ground. If the 

 weather is moderate, give air each sunny day l)y 

 opening the sash at the top. When about two inches 

 high, thin out to one inch apart. Be careful not to 

 let youi" plants grow too fast — six inches by the first 

 of April is as large as they should l)e ; aim at having 

 your plants stout — avoid spindling plaiits. About 

 the 20th of March pile the earth on each side of 

 your plants about four inches high, Avhich will cause 



them to throw out new roots. About the last of 

 March prepare your bed for hardening large enough 

 to hold all your pots; have ready enough rich mould 

 to fill your pots. In this second be<l, your manure 

 need not be over one foot thick ; after your manure 

 is in, fill your pots with the prepared earth ; place 

 them as close as possible in your bed ; fiU up all 

 space between the pots with loose earth; place on 

 your sash, and if the nights are cool put on mats. 

 xVs soon as you find any heat in the pots from the 

 manure, begin your transplanting from the seed bed 

 to the pots, putting one plant in each, placing them 

 in deeply. Water with warm water ; shade from 

 the sun two or three days, and if much heat rises 

 from the manure, air freely in all moderate weather. 



Your plants will need constant care to keep them 

 growing just right ; if too warm they will grow tall 

 and spindling ; keep them well wet. Your dirt in 

 the pots will settle much by wetting, and bo apt to 

 bake from the heat of the siin ; to prevent baking 

 fill your pots up with sand ; this will keep the rich 

 earth under moist, and the water wiU soak in bet- 

 ter when you wet the plants. 



Make it your aim now to have your plants very 

 hardy by exposing them to all the air possible, with- 

 out entirely checking their growth. By having 

 your plants thus wide in the beds, they will branch 

 much better than if left thick, and the branches will 

 often ripen fruit within a few days of the main stalk. 

 If your bed and plants have been well managed, so 

 as to cause a stout, stocky growth, four plants may 

 be allowed to reach ten or twelve inches high by 

 the first of May, and they should begin to show the 

 buds pretty freely. After this time remove the sash 

 each day, that the plants may become used to the 

 natural air ; but if the weather gets very warm, 

 don't be in a hurry to get your i)lants in the open 

 ground. I have known a very fine patch very much 

 injured by frost after the 12th of May. If your 

 plants are in pots never set them in the open ground 

 before the 20th of May. As that time draws near, 

 you may leave the sash off at night, if you are sure 

 there will be no frost. Keep your beds well wet 

 before the time of setting out ; much depends on 

 this ; if the dirt on the pots is dry and crumbly when 

 you transplant, and the weather shoidd be and con- 

 tinue dry, many of yom* earliest buds will blast and 

 set no fruit. About the 20th of Jtlay choose a wet 

 or damp, cloudy day if possible, to put out your 

 plants. But if your dirt is well wet in the pots, 

 tliey may be set out in the middle of a very hot day 

 without wilting in the least, if done by a careful 

 pei'son ; if it continues dry many of the buds wiU 

 blast. It is best if you have it, to use a spring wagon, 

 and if your patch is near your beds, only cart one 

 tier at once ; but if at a distance, cart a double tier. 



In setting out, let one or two hands cart them, and 

 one set them ; let the carters lay them pot and all 

 by the hills, the pot on the side; the person setting 

 out will learn to remove the plant, dirt and all, from 

 the pots with little trouble; dig a deep hole in the 

 hill with the hand, take the pot in the right hand, 

 give it a smart slap on tlie left, then holding it over the 

 hole, take the plant gently by the right thumb and 

 fingers, pull gently, let the dirt and roots all in a 

 solid ball, drop in the hole ; pull the dirt well up 

 annmd the plant with the hand, and it is done. No 

 sticks or tieing up is necessary if your plants have 

 been rightly managed. 



