VEGETABLE GROWING 417 



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 com- 

 post, and well mixed. As the pots are filled the soil should be pressed into them firmly, 

 then the plants from the 5-inch pots set into the centres, and keep the stems still some- 

 what down. Then the pots should be placed close together in a row where the plants 

 are to be grown, the stems then being about 12 inches apart. Generally it is best to 

 raise the pots on a stout shelf or plank to within 20 inches of the roof, if to be so trained, 

 then tying the stems loosely but securely as they grow to wires, fixed some 10 inches 

 from the roof. As growth ensues all side shoots which break out from the base of every 

 leaf must be hard pinched off. Flower trusses break out from the main stem, and so 

 long as the plants are kept watered and have occasional soakings of liquid manure, after 

 fruits are well set, and also warmth is kept up, the plants will go on fruiting if kept for 

 that purpose until nearly the end of November. Where pots are not to be had boxes 

 20 inches long and 9 inches wide and deep will carry two plants very well. In the case 

 of market growers, Tomatoes are generally planted out on the house floors, and trained 

 up erect ; but that is not a method to advise for beginners or those who have but small 

 houses, as for them nothing excels pot or box culture. Where a house or frame is not 

 provided with fixed wires it is easy to fix strips of wood, or thin stakes, or bamboo rods 

 in a slanting direction, and running just under the glass roof. The plants always fruit 

 more freely when trained in this way than when trained upright. Besides keeping the 

 side shoots pinched off, it is only needful to secure the stems (not too tightly), as they 

 will swell later, to the supports with raffia, grass, or some other soft material, and pinch 

 out the points or leaders of the plants when they reach the full length of their supports. 



Setting the Flowers. Very often amateur growers find it difficult to induce the flowers 

 to set fruit at the first. Sometimes giving the stems of the bunches a gentle tapping two 

 or three times a day helps to that end. Other growers hold a piece of white paper under 

 the flowers, on to which by a vigorous shaking some of the pollen will fall, then take it 

 up on a camel's-hair brush and touch the points of the pistils or the little points which 

 project from out of the centre of the flowers. Tomatoes in houses or frames like plenty 

 of light and air, which is better rather dry than wet. There is no need to use the syringe, 

 and in watering it is not well to leave puddles or slops about, as such over-damping 

 does harm. Even in watering it is better to keep the soil a little too dry than too wet. 

 Too liberal waterings, especially when the fruits are ripening, greatly tend to cracking of 

 the skins, and that is an evil, as mildew soon settles in the cracks and injures the fruits. 



Outdoor Culture. Plants should not be put into any position outdoors earlier than 

 the end of May, and even then should have some protection from rough winds and night 

 frosts until the end of the month. When planted against a warm, sunny wall or fence it 

 is easy to furnish the desired protection by hanging sacks, mats, or some other material 

 over them at night. When plants are put on to a border, or in the open garden, the first 

 or second week in June is soon enough. If planted against a wall or fence, the ordinary 

 garden soil is sufficiently good as a rule, but if poor a little well-decayed manure may be 

 first dug in, the soil being made fairly firm. Then the plants turned out of their pots 

 may be planted 12 inches apart close to the wall. If they be rather tall it is well to 

 secure them by putting a cloth shred round each stem, which can be secured to the wall 

 with a nail. But plants properly grown should not be tall or drawn, but be stout, sturdy, 

 and well leaved. Of course, nailing becomes essential as the plants grow in height. In 

 the case of those put into the open ground the rows should be 2^ feet apart, and the 

 plants 15 inches apart in the rows. It is a very good plan to drive in a stout stake that 

 will stand 3^ feet out of the ground, just where each plant is to be put. Thus a proper 

 support is ready when needed. It is not desirable to allow open-air Tomatoes to grow 

 higher than some 3^ feet, as beyond that height fruits will not ripen. Keep the side 

 shoots of outdoor Tomatoes pinched as in the case of those under glass. In very hot, 

 dry weather water occasionally, and place about over the soil a good mulch of long 

 manure, as that serves to retain moisture and checks drying. 



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