Tomatoes, the Top Ranking 
Crop for the Home Garden 
This is the one crop of which informa- 
tion, discussion, contradictions and per- 
petual arguments, is cussed and dis- 
cussed more than any other crop of the 
vegetable kingdom. To stake or not to 
stake, to water or not to water, ete. If 
your method paid dividends last season, 
repeat it next season. 
However, the tomato requires a well- 
drained soil containing an abundance of 
plant nutrients but is not choosy as to 
types provided they have plenty of food 
and drink. They respond well to extra 
care and cultivation as the tomato is a 
rugged grower and rank feeder. The 
use of much nitrogen should be avoided 
as it has a tendency to produce much 
foliage and less fruit. The young plants 
get a better start in life if they are 
given a “starter solution’’ of either 
Pre-Plant or Transplantone. When the 
first blossoms appear, give them a feed- 
ing of the following: 1 teaspoon 20- 
Mule-Team Borax, 1 tablespoon muriate 
potash, 1 tablespoon sulphate ammonia, 
dissolved in 1 gallon water. Give each 
plant one quart every 15 days till toma- 
toes are turning ripe. Always apply any 
kind of fertilizer when the soil is moist. 
Never apply fertilizer of any kind to dry 
soil. Tomatoes, being 94 per cent water, 
should never be allowed to dry out so 
the soil is dusty over an inch deep. A 
good watering to a depth of six inches 
or more several times during the grow- 
ing season will produce results. Avoid 
watering the blooms. 
If you have plenty of room, the plants 
grown as-nature intended them will pro- 
duce more fruit than the staked ones, 
but the staked ones will produce a little 
earlier. The experience of the writer the 
past season did not prove the value of 
staking. The extra work and time did 
not pay dividends. Six plants of Rutgers 
grown natural and six plants pruned 
and staked were tried in two locations. 
The staked ones had ripe tomatoes eight 
days ahead of the others but the ones 
grown natural produced several more 
pounds of fruit, both ripe and green. 
The unstaked ones were fed and 
watered same as the staked ones, but 
after working the ground, a cardboard 
Garden Guide & Note Book 

mulch was placed under and around 
each plant to keep the fruit off the 
ground, being lifted twice to apply 
liquid fertilizer. When the fruit was 
well formed the center leaves were 
trimmed to let in more sun. 
If you are crowded for room it takes 
less space to grow them staked. Be sure 
to set the stakes at the time you set out 
the plants to avoid any injury to the 
new roots. 
There are many varieties that do well 
here in the Puget Sound country but all 
should have an early start as September 
weather is so uncertain. The following 
varieties were all reported well by our 
customers the past season. _ 
RUTGERS. Introduced by the New Jer- 
sey Experiment Station and has de- 
servedly achieved general popularity. 
A wonderful canner with the distinc- 
tion of ripening from the inside out. 
The fruit is smooth, globe-shaped 
slightly flattened, averaging six 
ounces each. Bush very vigorous and 
exceedingly productive, maturing in 
about 90 days. 
MARGLOBE. Introduced by the U. S. 
Department of Agriculture in 1925 
and still one of the main crop num- 
bers. The flesh is deep red, solid and 
globular in shape. A little earlier 
than Rutgers but not so productive. 
BREAK O’ DAY. Introduced by the U. 
S. Department of Agriculture in 1930. 
Plant is of open, spreading habit with 
light foliage. Fruits of medium-large 
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