Tomatoes and Cucumbers for E-arly MarKets 



"W. 'W. Hilborn, {Leamington. Ont. 



ON growing early cucumbers and to- 

 matoes for market two special 

 local conditions are requisite for the 

 most profitable production of the crop. 

 The first is a high, warm, sandy soil ; the 

 second is nearness to a large body of 

 water to prevent late spring frosts. 

 Within the last few years this phase of 

 vegetable growing has become an ex- 

 tensive industry in this locality. Early 

 tomatoes receive the most attention. 



The plants are grown in greenhouses. 

 I have four houses 10 feet wide and 50 

 feet long, and one house 52 feet wide and 

 80 feet long. They are cheaply made 

 and cheaply heated, but specially adapt- 

 ed to the growing and hardening of 

 early vegetable plants. The construc- 

 tion and heating of these houses may be 

 a subject for a future article. 



The seeds are planted about March 

 1 to 15, in trays or flats one foot wide, 

 two feet long and four inches deep. In 

 these is put about two and a half inches 

 of good garden loam which is thorough- 

 ly saturated with water, and covered 

 with about an inch of soil. This makes 

 an ideal bed on which to sow the seeds. 

 Make small drills across the tray one 

 quarter inch deep and one and a half 

 inches apart, and in them sow the seeds 

 thinly. By having the soil wet in the 

 bottom of the tray, enough moisture is 

 usually supplied to last until the plants 

 come up. They should be watched 

 carefully at this period, and not al- 

 lowed to get too dry, nor should they 

 have too much water as they are very 

 easily destroyed from the time they 

 begin to germinate until they come 

 through the ground. 



When the seedlings have developed 

 two rough leaves, transplant them two 

 inches apart each way. When they 

 begin to crowd each other, transplant 

 about three inches apart, and when 

 they again crowd, give them their final 

 shift into individual boxes five or six 

 inches square, or to positions five or 

 six inches apart each way in trays or 

 beds. The soil in which these plants 

 are grown should not be too rich in 

 nitrogen, but should contain a good per- 

 centage of phosphoric acid and potash. 

 In growing the plants great care must 

 be taken in watering. Early in the 

 season it should be done in the morn- 

 ing. Saturate the soil to the bottom 

 and do not water again until the soil 

 is dry on top. Give ventilation when- 

 ever possible to secure a strong, stocky 

 growth. The house should be kept at 

 a temperature of about 60 degrees at 

 night until the plants come up. After 

 that about 50 degrees at night and 75 



or 80 degrees during the day is suffi- 

 cient. As soon as the weather will per- 

 mit many of the plants arc put in cold 

 frames and covered at night with cotton. 



Planting in the field is usually com- 

 wnenced about May 15 to 20. A warm 

 sandy soil, rich enough to produce a 

 good crop of corn, is selected, and the 

 plants set four feet apart in rows five 

 feet apart. It pays to put a large 

 handful of good fertilizer around each 

 plant, and to work it well into the soil. 

 A fertilizer containing about four per 

 cent, nitrogen, eight per cent, phos- 

 phoric acid, and seven per cent, potash 

 is satisfactory. The plants are culti- 

 vated frequently until they are so large 

 that they prevent it. As the plants 

 grow larger the cultivation should be 

 more shallow 



I have tested many varieties and 

 find Earliana much the best early sort 

 for this locality. I put out 18,000 

 plants of this variety last season, and 

 began to ship the fruit July 6. The 

 fruit is sent by express to cities, towns 

 and villages from Quebec to Winnipeg. 

 The greatest drawback we have is ex- 

 cessive express rates. About one-quar- 

 ter to one-third of the proceeds of the 

 crop is taken by the express companies 

 for carrying it to market. 



Cucumbers are started in trays in 



the same way as the tomatoes except 

 that the seeds are planted farther 

 apart— not less than one and a half by 

 two inches. The trays should be placed 

 in the warmest part of the greenhouse. 

 Cucumbers require a soil rich in humus 

 or decayed vegetable matter. 



When the first rough leaf is about 

 the size of a dime, the seedUngs should 

 be transplanted and set three or four 

 inches apart in other flats. When they 

 have made four or five rough leaves 

 they can be set in boxes seven inches 

 square, one plant in a box. If trained 

 to stakes the plants can be left in these 

 boxes until part of the tomato plants 

 are set out. Then they are put where 

 they are to remain for cropping. Two 

 rows are put in the 10 foot houses and 

 10 rows in the large house as shown in 

 the illustration. The plants are set 

 three feet apart and trained to a V 

 shaped trellis six feet high, made of 

 binder twine. All the vines are kept 

 on the trellis and none are allowed on 

 the ground. 



In the large house there are no 

 benches. The plants are set in the 

 ground soil, which is made rich with 

 manure, finely ground or dissolved bone, 

 and wood ashes. Large quantities of 

 water are required to grow cucumbers. 

 We use a windmill and a gasoline en- 



Cucumbers as grown is Mr. Hilbom's Greenhouse. 



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