TOMATO 



TOMATO 



isi; 



shipped lonir distinu'cs aluu-^st a^ rrailily an.l safely a-^ 

 the apple aud luprr so Than ihe peaeli. and wliicli , i>ickfd 

 and stored on shrlvt-s. will proloiiL: rhr >ca-.on of fl■^■^ll 

 Tomatoes from t.>Tio's own i::aTdoti till (.'iirisTiiias tiiuo. 

 And to please tlie eye \vr have tliu (.ii>UU'n (.jiiu-en. 



ot elear yrlluw with 

 a b e a UT i f u 1 r e d 

 eheek. or ilio "White 

 Apph>— nearly while — 



or tiie I'eaeil. eovered 

 ^^ iih hloom a n d a s 

 ''eauiiful in eidnr a-- 

 a peaeh. Fur piek- 

 linc We have tlie Ked 

 i'luni and ^ ell" w 

 i-'luni. the Red I'.ar - 

 Shaped and The Yel- 

 low Pear-Shaped, the 

 Keil e'herry and the 

 Yellow Cherry, and the 

 cherry -like exqui^ite- 

 2520. The old-time and new-lime thivi-red B ii r h a n k' > 

 forms of Tomatoes — the an- Freservini;. F \" e r y 

 eular and the "smooth." Season there are new 



and more or le---; di--- 

 tiuer varieties added to ihe lists: and very truly ef the 

 making et new varieties of Toiiiat'.'. like the making of 

 books, there is 111.' end. -^ -\j Tr;\<"'Y 



iiatoes 

 .elect 



Tomatoes Under General Field Conditions. — T^ 

 should be started in hothed.-. Tr. make the h,.M.F 

 a sheltered place on the s^auh side "f a bank ur erect 

 some shelter on the north side from where The hot- 

 bed is to be made. Diif a hole abotit a foot deep. 8 

 teet wide and as long as needed: 18 feet lonir will irive 

 room enough to grow plants for Twelve acres of Ti-ma- 

 toes. L'se fresh stable manure; cart it otit in a pile and 

 let it lay three or four days, then work it over until it 

 gets good and hi_it. then put it into the hole i.ire\>ared 

 for it, S X 18 feet, about 1^ inches thick. Then place the 

 frame. 6 x 16 feet, on the mauttre: that will leave ^me 

 foot mauttre otttside of the frame; by this means the 

 h^at will Vie just as great at the edge of the bed as ir is 

 in the middle. Then place 4 or 5 inches of dirt on the 

 manure and let it lie for a coitple of days to all^w the 

 dirt to get warm. The sash is ptit oit as s.M.n a-^ the 

 dirt is placed. When the dirt is warm, rake it <iver tn 

 get it nice and fine, then sow the seed iti drilN which 

 are made about '2 inches apart by a marker. Si^w th^- 

 seed by hand: the sa~h is then ptit on close to the dirt: 

 at the lower end of the bed the frame is made 3 inche-- 

 hi^rher at the end next to the bank so the water will ritn 

 oil: the bed is banked ti]"> all around so no cold can get 

 in. In this way the bed will lie 

 kept warm and the seed will 

 soon come up. After the phmts 

 are up nicely, they will need 

 some air that they may lieconm 

 hardened and irr^'W st(">cky. 

 Ventilating can be done by raid- 

 ing the bottom of the sash and 

 ptittinc: a bh:.ck under them 

 while the sun is hot: but do 

 not neglect to lower tbem at 

 night. "When the plants are 

 four or five weeks old, anil 

 aboTit 2 inches high, transplant 

 the fir<t into a bed that has a 

 little warm manure in the bot- 

 tom and -4-f3 inches of dirt ou 

 top. Use sash over this first 

 bed. as the weather i^ qttite 

 cold at night. Do this in order 

 to get the early plants in the 

 field. Transplant the remainder 

 into coldframes and tise cover- 

 ings or shutters maile of b. 



6 inches apart and 2 itiches in the row. Keep them in 

 these beds until pLanted in the open fields. When there 

 i^ a frost in the momino: and plants are large, take olf 

 the covering early in the morning that the frosty air may 

 harden the plants while they are in tlie bed. Sometimes 

 the plants are in blossom before they can be set in the 



2521. Two forms of the 

 pear Tomato. 



-ds. Transplant all in rows 



fields. Never pinch a plant l)ack. A good-sized ]dant is 

 fri-m 4-11 iiiches hii,di and sturky; the stronger Tlie plant 

 The earlier will be the crop. 'J'he main point is tn get The 

 phuit str.ing l.ief'ire it is set in the tield, then it will not 

 >X"\> grow ing, while a sh-nder. weak plant will not >Tart 

 To iirow as soon. Traiispianl iiig The jilants fmm The 

 >.owin:^- iied into the cidd beds helps the plants, antl they 

 will pruduce earlier fruit than tlmse set in the fields 

 from tlie hetbeds. Tal^e them np wilh a trowel that all 

 of the dirt possible may go wiih them trom The bed 

 into The field. In ea-^e the u-ruund is dry. take a large 

 box with clay in it and make a regttlar mush. di]i the 

 idant into it. then loit the plant in the box. (ine can 

 U'ave them There for a day or two l:n.-fure settiii:r them 

 in the fi(dd. 



Prejiare the LTrf.itind abrmt Tlie same way that faiMiiers 

 ]a-ei"iai'e corn 2'round, PIa^'e it widl harreiweil. then 

 mark it <ilV 4 x G or 5 x '.i. and when tin.- grottud is 'S'ery 

 rich X h feet, and set the idaiit in the cross. Vsa The 

 hands to fill the dirt arotmd the -[^lant. Set the plants that 



2522. A pear-shaped t^-pe of Tomato. 



are transplanted tinder sash fi.rst, as they are the oldest 

 and strongest. These can be risked in the field first; 

 then fill that bed with plants again, as plants may be 

 needed for rephintinir in ea^e cutworms or other causes 

 destr^'V some of tlie first setting. 



^^e^"er put manure under the plants set in the field. 

 The best WLiy to manure the ground is a year before, 

 for sojiie other crop, such as cabbage, potatoes or 

 pickles : then you can grow TomaToes several years after. 

 Never put Tomatoes in ground prepared with fresh ma- 

 nure, for the manure btirus the roots and causes trouble, 

 and the tiavor of the Tomatoes is not so good. As soon 

 as a field of Tomatoes is planted, go over the area with 

 hoes and draw up some soil to the plant, and fill in 

 around the plant with earth so it will not get dry into 

 the roots. AfTer The planTs begin To Take rooT. go 

 ThrouLdi Tile field both ways with the cultivator, and 

 keep this tip during the season. (Jne eaniiot cultivate 

 them toi:- much. Some farmers think tliat because there 

 are no weeds growing around the plants they need very 

 little cultivating, but this is a mistake. Wlien the sea- 

 son is dry they need more cultivation in order To keep 

 up the moisture. 



Half-l.>u~hel baskets are very useful in picking Toma- 

 toes. Onv own practice is to take abotit six row- in a 

 idece and throw the vines of a row around so that we 

 can drive a team through the field. If the rows are (3 

 feet apart a team can go through without destroying 

 manv Tomatoes. In that way one can idck more Toma- 

 toes in a short time because he does m.it have to carry 

 them so far. Have lioxes alongside where the team will 

 l:o and the Tomatoes are carried to These bushel boxes, 

 and when The Team comes are loaded and driven to the 

 factorv. FickinLT is done mosTly by children. A man is 

 with Them who keeps accouuT of what they pick and 

 irives them instructions in picking. jj^ j^ Hepsz Co. 



Tomato Culture in the South. -The Tomato is one of 

 the mo<t capricious of market-carden vegetables. It is 

 ■ if greater relative importance in the South than in the 

 North. Essentials of habit and cultivation do not ma- 

 Teriallv differ in eiTher secTion. While by no means a 



