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GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS 



sharp sand. Press the soil into the pots fairly firm, and leave it the third of an inch 

 below the tops of the rims. Sow the seeds evenly and singly over the soil, putting about 

 fifteen seeds into a 5-inch pot and twenty-four into a 6-inch pot. Then place over them 

 fine soil the thickness of a penny piece, water gently, and stand in a frame or green- 

 house. Until the seeds make growth it is well to place a sheet of thin paper over the pots 

 to shade them if the sunshine be strong. But whilst seed sown thus in April or May will 

 germinate that is, 'grow very well without the aid of artificial warmth if sowings be made 

 earlier some such warmth is needful, as growth will be slow and very weak. But it is 

 seldom necessary to sow seeds before the middle of April, and then the sun usually warms 

 a frame or greenhouse sufficiently. Even then if the pots be stood in a box large enough 

 to hold four of them and a sheet of glass laid over the box, great help is given to the 

 seeds. Where there is no glasshouse plants may be raised in such a box thus covered 

 with glass, if stood in a sunny place in a garden. Of course, some covering should be 

 given to it at night. 



General Treatment. When seedling plants are some 2 inches in height and show what 

 are called rough or second leaves, it will be needful to lift them carefully with the aid of a 



TOMATO PLANTS TRAINED OBLIQUELY TO WALL 



Planted 18 inches apart. Slight bending of the plants usually promott 

 earlier fruiting. 



pointed stick from the seed pots, and put them singly into quite small or 3-inch pots, still 

 using sharp sandy soil, and giving each pot some drainage. In thus potting the seedlings 

 place them down so as to bury one-half of their stems. When all are done, water gently, 

 then stand them, whether in a frame, or greenhouse, or in a glass-covered box, as close to the 

 glass as possible. Water should be given sparingly, as the little plants are apt to damp 

 off if over watered. In three weeks it should be needful to shift the plants into 5-inch 

 pots, still keeping the stems down a little into the fresh soil as roots break from them. 

 After being in these pots for a fortnight, and under glass, the plants should be ready to 

 plant out in a greenhouse, or to be put into large pots or boxes for similar growth, or be 

 planted outdoors into a warm position. 



House or Frame Culture. The common method of growing Tomatoes under glass 

 by amateurs is in large pots. The method is one of the best generally, as the roots are 

 kept under control. Pots for this purpose should be 10 inches across the top. A 

 few rough pieces of potsherd should be placed in the bottom, on that some coarse 

 pieces of turfy loam, and then filled with a compost of turfy loam, old hot-bed, mushroom- 

 bed, or well-decayed stable droppings, in the proportion of one- fourth to three parts of 

 loam. A little wood ash may be added, as also a pint of bone-meal to a bushel of 

 the whole compost, and well mixed. As the pots are filled the soil should be pressed 



