June 4, 1891. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
441 
T omato culture in the open air—that is to sry, in any position 
where the plants are at the mercy of whatever weather is going, 
will always partake somewhat of a lottery, or more so than other 
•vegetable crops that may be grown. In spite of this uncertainty I 
would still counsel perseverance, as should success attend their 
•cultivation one heavy crop of sound fruit would well repay for two 
or three partial or complete failures ; and there is also a comfort¬ 
able feeling in the matter, especially should the success be a 
somewhat isolated case, As it happens a complete failure rarely 
occurs when those responsible go the right way to work. Hap ¬ 
hazard cultivation is the most likely to end in failure, and it is also 
unwise to adopt any hard and fast lines in the cultivation of open 
air Tomatoes. 
Instead of annually planting in one or two certain positions, 
where more often than not failures occur, those who mean having 
a. crop in some form or other, ought to try what can be done in 
various spots, both in the open and against sunny walls. Sometimes 
those supported by one wall will become badly diseased long before 
the fruit has ripened, while the plants against another wall or fence 
will escape all contamination. I have even met with instances 
where Tomatoes have failed against the walls and yet succeeded 
when grown in the open, but as a rule the plants are least affected 
by disease when they are sheltered in some way from much of 
the rain that falls. If the foliage can be kept dry, or nearly so, 
all the time not much disease will affect them. Forest trees 
partly overhang our warmest garden walls, and what Tomatoes are 
grown between the Peach trees rarely fail, the same remark apply¬ 
ing to the plants located among Apricots under a glazed coping. 
Those, therefore, who can utilise sheltered spaces between their 
fruit trees on the sunniest walls ought to continue to do so, and in 
all probability it would pay well to place glazed copings to lower 
walls specially for Tomatoes and Chrysanthemums, the latter being 
transplanted from the open quarters to the foot of the walls in the 
autumn. 
Some of the best positions for Tomatoes are the high front or 
south walls of forcing houses, the plants getting the benefit of the 
warmth from the walls, and if they could be further protected 
with copings or lights on end the crops would be heavy and failures 
few and far between. If head room is somewhat limited the plants 
can be trained obliquely, while if there is no regular border a 
temporary one could easily be formed. Plants grown against 
wooden screens erected on sunny borders sometimes succeed 
admirably, but there is no certainty about them, any more than 
there is with those grown singly in the open and staked uprightly. 
If, however. Tomatoes in abundance are desired, there is no reason 
why each and every plan of growing them should not be adopted, 
and it will be a very bad season indeed if all fail. 
Much depends upon the way in which the preliminary details 
are carried out, the loss of two or three weeks at the outset 
seriously militating against ultimate success. Either very small or 
comparatively old and much starved plants have a considerable 
leeway to make up before they arrive at a full bearing state, and it 
will usually be found to pay well to take more pains in the 
preparation of the plants. Of the two extremes I would rather 
put out young plants than any that have been drawn up and 
starved in small pots. Only a small minority probably are in a 
No. 571.—Voii. XXII., Thibd Series. 
position to shift plants raised in March into 8-inch pots, and to keep 
them in airy pits or light positions in cool houses till the present 
date, at which time many of them would already be furnished 
with one cluster of fruit with more setting, yet this is the most 
correct practice. The next best plan is to defer sowing seed till 
near the end of March, the seedlings being potted off in pairs in 
6-inch pots, and kept steadily growing under glass till close upon 
planting time. Plants thus treated would be healthy, vigorous, 
and have their first bunches of bloom well advanced when turned 
out, and it -would be the cultivator’s own fault if an early crop 
failed to set. This may seem a somewhat bold assertion, but it is 
indisputable. 
The idea that young plants require to be starved at the roots 
in order to make them fruitful is responsible for a good many 
failures, and in still more cases the practice, without the idea, is 
the cause of the early flowers especially dropping off. That over¬ 
luxuriance is to be guarded against I readily concede, but let the 
plants first become well established in their fruiting quarters before 
the drying-off or let-alone policy commences. Doubtless instances 
have been met with where the plants have never had any water 
from a watering pot or hose from the time they were first put out, 
but in all such cases they must have been in a more exposed 
position than is generally good for them. All I know is that if our 
plants under the copings are not well supplied with water at 
the roots they gradually assume a glaucous hue and fail completely. 
Nor is there any wisdom in plantiag in poor dry soil such as may 
usually be found close up to walls. Let each plant have two or 
three shovelfuls of loam and decayed manure to start in, and rank 
growth will be checked by the surrounding firm soil. If thought 
inadvisable to give water when the plants are growing strongly, there 
is yet much necessity for its application till such times as the roots 
are spread into the surrounding soil. Should the old balls of soil 
and roots be in a semi-dry state when turned out, and subsequently 
be neglected or left to take their chance, the first fiawers that open 
must inevitably drop off owing to want of sustenance. Keep the 
balls uniformly moist, without saturating the surrounding soil, and 
the chances are a healthy root and top growth will quickly be 
made and an early crop set. A mulching of manure is not thrown 
away upon Tomatoes, whether these are planted against walls or in 
the open, and if the plants are kept properly supported and denuded 
of all superfluous growth, nothing but a very unfavourable season 
will prevent a heavy crop from ripening off. 
Many act and write (and I may have done the same) as though 
there is only one way of rightly training Tomatoes, th's being the 
single-stemmed or cordon system. As it happens, the plan of laying in 
two or three side branches answers admirably, and is the least liable 
to fail owing to too liberal treatment at the roots. Our best crops 
were obtained last season from plants put out where they could 
cover good wall space, the branches being laid in 12 inches apart, 
and allowed to extend to a height of 6 feet. A photograph of two 
plants of the Conference thus treated was taken and a copy duly 
forwarded to the Editor of this journal. If the plants are much, 
confined for head-room and very liberally fed at the roots, failure 
is probable enough ; but given moderately liberal treatment, plenty 
of head-room, and shelter from rains, and success is almost certain. 
It is somewhat late to discuss the value of different varieties for 
open-air culture, and I will merely add that Laxton’s Open Air and 
Sutton’s Earliest of All are the first to ripen fruit, and are reliable 
and heavy croppers, the quality also being fairly good. The Con¬ 
ference is remarkably productive, the fruit being of a serviceable 
size and superior quality. A good stock of Old Red is sure to crop 
heavily, and so also is Dedham Favourite. Perfection, Ham Green 
Favourite, Abundance, Hackwood Park Prolific, Sensation, Chemin, 
and such like are all fine productive varieties, and the red and pink 
forms of Mikado are also well adapted for open-air culture, none 
excelling these in point of size or quality. Golden Queen, Golden 
Sunrise, Yellow King, and Blenheim Orange are all heavy cropping 
No. 2227.—VoL. LXXXIV., Old Series. 
