68 FACTS AND FIGURES OR THE 



The secret of success in tomato growing is to have the plant 

 unchecked from the time it comes out of the ground until 

 it starts putting on fruit. A check to a tomato vine is never 

 fullv overcome. The plants may seem to outgrow it but 

 you will lind its productiveness has been lessened. No doubt 

 you have had tomato fields yourself that had fine, healthy 

 looking vines, but would not put on any fruit, and you 

 wondered what was the matter with them. Such conditions 

 are caused either by the plant being checked in its growth 

 or too much fertilizer in the seed bed, and not enough in the 

 field. Tomatoes do better on irrigated land, as there is some 

 time during its growth that it demands a great deal of wa- 

 ter, and then there are other times when water will ruin the 

 crop, where if the field is irrigated, you can furnish the wa- 

 ter just as it is needed. 



SOIL. 



The tomato is not particular as to the kind of land it is 

 planted on. It will thrive on land varying in every degree, 

 from the whitest sand to the blackest muck, provided you 

 have the land in perfect condition, and give it all the ferti- 

 lizer it requires. Of course, every one has his own idea as 

 tc what kind of soil is best suited to this vegetable, but if 

 I were buying land to raise tomatoes on, I would choose a 

 piece with a sandy loam for a top soil, underlaid with a 

 subsoil at a depth of about eighteen inches. 



PLANTING. 



Sow the seed in beds, either broadcasting them or plant- 

 ing in rows across the beds about six inches apart, sowing 

 the seed very thinly in the row. It requires a quarter of a 

 pound of seed to produce enough plants to set an acre. If 

 you are farming in Southern Florida, you can plant any 

 time from September until January. In Middle and North- 

 ern Florida make your fall planting in July and August, and 



