St OKESD ALE — Seco/Kf-£af/y • Productive • Profitable 



August, 1940, photo Stokesdale plant, unposed, except that foliage was removed to show fruit. 

 This emphasizes two points — smoothness of fruit and enormous production 



Suggested 



Soil- 

 i\/lanagement 

 for 



HE problem of the relation of soil to Tomato- 

 growth is one of the most intricate that a 

 grower has to face. He can no longer spread 

 an occasional load of manure and leave the rest 

 to nature. Although that worked when manure 

 was plentiful and Tomato acreage small, today's 

 extensive agriculture depletes our soils so rapidly 

 that manure alone cannot keep them fit. Every 

 grower ought to maintain his soil at least at the 

 fertility level at which he finds it. Many find it 

 profitable to raise the level considerably. 



Plants need, in the first place, water and air. 

 If both are to be present in the soil in proper 

 quantities there must be enough humus or decayed 

 JJiffL XJl^l^f organic matter to regulate the physical condition. 

 l1 iRn y iCIClS Sandy soils containing humus will retain more 

 water, while heavy soils, on the other hand, will 

 drain better if humus is present. This equalizing 

 % effect on the water supply has its indirect effect 



on aeration, for soils that do not puddle contain 

 enough air for plant-roots. That is why progres- 

 sive farmers conserve organic matter. Hester* 

 suggests a minimum content of 1 per cent in sands, 1 ' 2 per cent in sandy 

 loams, and 2 per cent in loams. Manure is an excellent source, but next 

 best is a green-manuring program. Crop-rotation and the turning under 

 of vegetation will keep soil organic matter high. Your county agricultural 

 agent knows particular rotations suited to your region. 



Among the nutrients plants need, nitrogen rates high in importance. 

 The quantity carried by organic matter is usually insufficient and its form 

 unavailable. During the second and third months after transplanting, 

 Tomato plants need nitrogen in larger quantities than the soil can supply it. 

 Since nitrogen-carrying fertilizers in the soil at transplanting time can be 

 injurious, and since much leaches away before the plant needs it, nitrogen 

 should be side dressed. 



Phosphorus is the element which is most commonly deficient in soils. 

 Tomatoes respond favorably to large quantities of superphosphate. Mixed 



♦Dr. Jackson B. Hester in Campbell Soup Co. Bulletin 1, "The Soil Side of Tomato 

 Growing." 



with the soil, it will not injure young plants. 

 Apply it before or at transplanting time, for the 

 plant uses it immediately. 



Potassium is the third important chemical 

 fertilizer commonly added to the soil. It resembles 

 nitrogen in that large quantities in the soil at 

 setting-time injure the plants. Tomatoes do not 

 use it until the second and third months after 

 transplanting. 



We therefore suggest that in applying your 

 fertilizer this year you use an analysis such as 

 0-16-0 or 2-16-0 at plant-setting time and 

 10-0-15 as a side dressing, four weeks, and again, 

 eight weeks after transplanting. The quantities 

 vary in different regions. In New Jersey the most 

 successful growers use 1000 pounds 0-16-0 and 

 two side dressings — 400 pounds per acre each — 

 of 10-0-15. We urge those who think this pro- 

 cedure too costly to try it on a few plants. 



There is much talk about the need of other ele- 

 ments such as boron, copper, manganese, and 

 zinc. The soils where these are deficient are so 

 limited in area that it is not wise for most farmers 

 to buy fertilizers containing them. An excess 

 might be injurious. 



There are two more elements, calcium and 

 magnesium, which are often added to soils. These 

 are usually called soil amendments rather than 

 fertilizers. The reason is that their chief use is 

 in changing soil acidity, although plants use them 

 in small quantities. Their addition to the soil as 

 lime produces a chemical condition which helps 

 the plant obtain other elements, especially phos- 

 phorus. Since a pH of between 6. and 7. is the 

 best acidity for Tomatoes, most of our soils are 

 too acid. That means that, generally, lime helps. Do 

 not lime your soil unless a test shows it is needed, 

 for an excess is more harmful than a deficiency. 



