70 VEGETABLE GROWING PROJECTS 



1. What is the importance of cultivation ? 



W-VG:28. C:21. Tra : 76. Sp : 60-73. 



2. When and how often should tomatoes be cultivated ? 



L : 246. 



3. What cultivating implements will you need ? 



W-VG : 34-40. 



4. What is the relation of tillage to the conservation of soil mois~ 



ture? 



18. Training the plants. — An exceedingly small percentage of 

 tomato growers give any attention whatever to training or pruning. 

 The usual plan is to set the plants 3 to 5 feet apart each way and 

 to let them make a spreading growth on the surface of the ground. 



A few commercial growers and many home gardeners prefer to 

 set the plants about 2X4 feet apart. A strong stake 6 feet long 

 is driven at each plant when it is set out, three or four of the 

 strongest branches are tied to the stake, and the others are removed 

 before they have made much growth. This is a highly satis- 

 factory method. There is probably no curtailment in the yield 

 of each plant and twice as many plants may be set to the acre 

 as when they receive no training. We must be assured, of course, 

 of the labor required to do the staking and training. 



Single stem training is universally employed in the greenhouse 

 culture of the tomato, and it also finds favor among many home 

 gardeners. It consists of pinching away all lateral shoots, thus 

 making a single stem, which may be tied to a stake or to a wire 

 trellis. The finest specimens are grown by the single stem system 

 but it requires considerable labor. 



1. What are the advantages and disadvantages in training tomatoes? 

 W-VG: 461. L:246. Tra : 79. 



