TOMATO CULTURE: A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE TOMATO TEXT

vine-ripened fruits is considered, with those from the Gulf states. Growers are learning that tomatoes can be profitably grown under glass during the longer spring days, and consumers are beginning to appreciate the superior quality of fruit ripened on the vine over that picked green and ripened in transit. At no time is this need of abundance of light of greater importance than when the plants are young and, if they fail to receive it, no subsequent favorable conditions will enable them to recover fully from its ill effects. It is not so much the want of room for the roots as of light for the leaves that makes the plants which have been crowded in the seed-beds so weak and unprofitable. I once divided 100 young tomato plants, about 2 inches high, into four lots of 25 each, numbering them 1, 2, 3 and 4. The plants of lots No. 1 and 2 were set equal distance apart in box A, and those of lots No. 3 and 4 in the same way in box B; both boxes being about 16 inches wide, 40 inches long and 4 inches deep. The two boxes were set together across the side bench of a greenhouse with the outer edge against a board wall some 2-1/2 feet high, so that the plants at the end of the box near the wall received much less light than those at the other end. They remained there about five weeks and then were taken out and the plants set in the open ground. During the five weeks box A, containing lots No. 1 and 2, was changed, end for end, every day so that those two lots of plants received nearly an equal amount of sunlight, but box B was not changed so that lot No. 3, at one end of the box, was constantly near the walk and in the full light, while lot No. 4, at the other end of the box, was constantly near the wall and in partial shade. The effect on the growth of the plants was very marked. The plants of lot No. 4 were nearly twice as high, but with much softer stems and leaves than those of lot No. 3. The plants received equal care when set side by side in the open ground and at the time the first fruit was gathered seemed of equal size and vigor, but the total yield of fruit of lots No. 1, 2 and 3 was very nearly the same and in each case at the rate of over 100 bushels an acre more than that from lot No. 4. This is but one of the scores of experiences which have led me to appreciate, in some degree, the necessity of plenty of sunlight for the best development of the tomato. =Heat.=--The plant thrives best out of doors in a dry temperature of 75 to 85° F., or even up to 95° F., if the air is not too dry and is in gentle circulation. The rate of growth diminishes as the temperature falls below 75° until at 50° there is practically no growth; the plant is simply living at a poor dying rate and if the growth, particularly in young plants, is checked in this way for any considerable time they will never produce a full crop of fruit, even if the plants reach full size and are seemingly vigorous and healthy. The plant is generally killed by exposure for even a short time to freezing temperature, though young volunteer plants in the spring are frequently so hardened by exposure that they will survive a frost that crusts the ground they stand in; but such exposure affects the productiveness of the plant, even if it subsequently makes a seemingly vigorous and healthy growth. Under glass, plants usually do best in a temperature somewhat lower than is most desirable out of doors. I think this is due to the inevitable obstruction of the sunlight and the lack of perfect ventilation. =Moisture.=--Although the tomato is not a desert plant and needs a plentiful supply of water, it suffers far more frequently, particularly when the plants are young, from an over-supply than from the want of water. Good drainage at the root and warm, dry, sunny air, in gentle motion, are what it delights in. Good drainage is essential not only to the best growth of the plant but to the production of any fruit of good quality. So important is this feature that though it can be readily proved that, other things being equal, the tomato will give larger yield and better fruit on well drained clay loam than on sandy soil, yet it is more generally and more successfully planted on sandy lands simply because they are usually better drained and on this account give better crops. While excess of water in the soil is most injurious to the young and growing plant, an abundance of it at the time the fruit swells and ripens is very essential, and a want of it at that time results in small and imperfect fruit of poor flavor. Excessive moisture in the air is just as injurious as at the root. In my personal experience I have known of more failures in tomato crops, at least in the northern states, to come from a season of persistent rains and damp atmosphere at the time when the plants should be in bloom and setting fruit than from any other climatic cause. =Food supply.=--The tomato is not a gross feeder nor is the crop an exhaustive one, but the plant is very particular as to its food supply. It is an epicure among plants and demands that its food shall not only be to its taste in quality but that it be well served. In order for the plant to do its best, or even well, it is essential that the food elements be in the right proportions and readily available. If there is a deficiency of any single element there will be but a meager crop of fruit, no matter how abundant the supply of the others. An over-supply of an element, especially nitrogen, is hardly less injurious and will actually lessen the yield of fruit though it may increase the size of the vine. Not only must the food be in right proportions but in such condition as to be readily available. Tomato roots have little power to wrest plant food from the soil. The use of coarse, unfermented manure is even more unsatisfactory with this than with other crops. The enormous yields sometimes obtained by English gardeners from plants grown under glass result from a supply of food of the right proportions and in solution, instead of incorporating it in a crude condition with the soil. =Cultivation.=--The tomato is grown in all parts of the United States and under very different conditions, not only as to climate and soil but as to the facilities for growing and handling the crop and the way in which it is done. What would be ideal conditions of soil and the most advantageous methods under some conditions would not be at all desirable in others. In some cases the largest possible yield an acre, in others fruit at the lowest cost a bushel, or at the earliest possible date, or in a continuous supply and of the best quality, is the greatest desideratum. It is impossible to give specific instructions which would be applicable to all these varying conditions and requirements; so I give general cultural directions for maximum crops with variations suggested for special conditions and requirements, and then the reader may follow those which seem best suited to his individual conditions. CHAPTER V Selection of Soil for Maximum Crop Large yields of tomatoes have been, and can be, obtained from soils of varying composition, from a gumbo prairie, a black marsh muck, or a stiff, tenacious clay, to one of light drifting sand, provided other conditions, such as drainage, tilth and fertility are favorable. The Connecticut experiment station and others have secured good results from plants grown under glass in a soil of sifted coal ashes and muck, or even from coal ashes alone, the requisite plant food being supplied in solution. But a maximum crop could never, and a full one very seldom, be produced on a soil, no matter what its composition, which could not be, or was not put into and kept in a good state of tilth, or on one which was poorly drained, sodden or sour, or which was so leachy that it was impossible to retain a fair supply of moisture and of plant food. Of the 10 largest yields of which I have personal knowledge and which ran from 1,000 to 1,200 bushels of fruit (acceptable for canning and at least two-thirds of it of prime market quality) an acre, four were grown on soils classed as clay loam, two on heavy clay--one of which was so heavy that clay for making brick was subsequently taken from the very spot which yielded the most and best fruit--one on what had been a black ash swamp, one on a sandy muck, two on a sandy loam and one on a light sand made very rich by heavy, annual manuring for several years. They were all perfectly watered and drained, in good heart, liberally fertilized with manures of proved right proportions for each field, and above all, the fields were put into and kept in perfect tilth by methods suited to each case; while the plants used were of good stock and so grown, set and cultivated that their growth was never stopped or hardly checked for even a day. These conditions as to soil and culture, together with seasons of exceptionally favorable weather, resulted in uniformly large crops on these widely different soils. [Illustration: FIG. 12--TOMATOES TRAINED TO STAKES ON A GEORGIA FARM] The composition of the soil, then, as to its proportions of sand or clay is of minor importance as regards a maximum yield or as to quality of the fruit, except as it affects our ability to put and keep the soil in good physical condition. The tomato crop, however, particularly when the plants are trimmed and trained to stakes, as is the usual practice in the South, as seen in Fig. 12, with crops grown for early shipment, necessitates in the trimming and training of the plants and the gathering of the fruit when it is in the right degree of maturity for shipment a great deal of trampling of the surface regardless of whether it is wet or dry. Consequently if the surface soil has any considerable proportion of clay there is danger of compacting and even puddling it by working when wet, to the great detriment of the crop. Again, a more or less sandy surface soil can be much more easily worked than one with a large proportion of clay. For these reasons our choice of a soil for the lowest cost a bushel and probably for a maximum yield should be a rich sandy or sandy loam surface soil overlying a well-drained clay sub-soil. I would prefer one which was originally covered with a heavy growth of beech and maple timber, though I should want it to be "old land" at the time. Tomatoes do not succeed as well on prairie soils, particularly if they are at all heavy, as they do on timbered lands, but one need not despair of a profitable crop of tomatoes on any soil which would give a fair crop of corn or of cotton. =For early-ripening fruit.=--Sometimes the profit and satisfaction from a tomato crop depend more largely upon the earliness of ripening than upon the amount of yield or cost of growing. In such cases a warm, sandy loam, or even a distinctly sandy soil, is to be preferred, as this is apt to be warmer and the fruit will be matured much earlier on it than on a heavier soil. It is essential, however, that it be well drained and warm. Often lands classed as sandy are really colder than some of those classed as clay, and such soils should be carefully avoided if early maturity is important. =For the home garden.=--Here we seldom have a choice, but no one need despair and abandon effort, no matter what the soil may be, for it is quite possible to raise an abundant home supply on any soil and that, too, without inordinate cost and labor. Some of the most prolific plants and the finest fruits I have ever seen were grown in a village lot which five years before had been filled in to a depth of 3 to 10 feet with clay, coal ashes and refuse from a brick and coal yard. In another instance magnificent fruit was grown in a garden where the soil was originally made up chiefly of sawdust mixed with sand, drawn on a foundation of sawmill edgings so as to raise it above the water of a swamp. Where one has to contend with such conditions he should make an effort to create a friable soil with a supply of humus by adding the material needed. A very few loads, sometimes even a single load, of clay or sand will greatly change the character of the soil of a sufficient area to grow the one or two dozen plants necessary for a family supply. In the two cases mentioned, the owner of the first named garden used both sand and sawdust to lighten his soil, while the second drew a great many loads of clay on his. =Growing under glass.=--I would make up a soil composed of about three parts rotted sod, two or three parts of well-rotted stable manure (and it is very important that it be well decomposed) and one part either of coarse, sharp sand, sandy loam or clay loam, according as the sod soil is light or heavy, the aim being to form a rich, light, open soil rather than one which is as heavy and compact as desirable for some plants. If sod soil is not available, of course, garden loam can be substituted, but it is very important that the soil be thoroughly mixed, and desirable that it be prepared sometime before it is to be used. Some growers use the same soil for several crops, simply adding some fresh manure; but, if so used, it is important that it be stirred and thoroughly re-mixed and sterilized. CHAPTER VI Exposure and Location In sections where there is danger of the plants being killed by early fall frosts before they have ripened their entire crop, exposure of the field is sometimes of importance in determining the marketable yield. A gentle inclination to the south, with a protection of higher land or timber on the sides from which frost or high winds are most likely to come, is the best. A steep descent to the south, shut in by high land to the east and west, so as to form a hot pocket, is not favorable for a maximum crop although it may give a smaller yield of early ripening fruit; nor is a small field entirely surrounded by forest desirable. I once knew of a field, of about two acres, sloping to the south and entirely surrounded by heavy timber, on which two or three tomato crops were failures when other fields on the same farm gave large yields, but after the timber on the south and east had been cut away this field generally gave the largest yield in the neighborhood. =Location.=--While exposure is in some cases an important factor in determining the total yield an acre, and so the cost, the location of the field as regards distance from marketing point and the character of the roads between them is of far greater importance in determining the cost and profit of crop, but one which is very often disregarded. The marketable product of an acre of tomatoes weighs from 3 to 30 tons, which is not only more than that of most farm crops, but the product is of such character that its value is easily destroyed by long hauls over ordinary roads. It has to be marketed within a day or two of the time it is in prime condition, regardless of the conditions of the roads or weather; so that it is quite deceptive to estimate the cost of delivery at the same rate a ton, as for potatoes or wheat, for it always costs more, and sometimes several times more, to deliver tomatoes than it would to deliver the same weight of less perishable crops. In most cases the cost of picking and delivery is one of the most important factors in determining profit and loss, particularly when the crop is grown for canning factories, where one often has to wait for hours for his team to unload. These conditions make it very important that the field be located within a short distance of, and connected by good roads with the point of delivery. =Early maturing fruit.=--Where early maturity is the great desideratum the exposure of the field is often very important. It should, first of all, be such as to secure comparative freedom from spring frosts so as to permit of early setting of the plants and the full benefit of the sunshine as well as protection from cold winds. There is often a great difference in these respects between fields quite near each other. Professor Rolfs, of Florida, mentions a case where the tomatoes in a field sloping to the southeast and protected on the north and west by a strip of oak timber were uninjured by a spring frost that killed not only all the plants in neighboring fields, but those in the same field farther away from the protecting timber. Such spots should be sought out and utilized, as often they can be used to great advantage. Immediate proximity to large bodies of water is sometimes advantageous in the South, but in the North it is often disadvantageous for early fruit because of the chilling of the air and the increased danger of spring frosts, although affording protection from those of early fall. Here, too, proximity of field to shipping point and distance and transportation rate to market are very important factors affecting profit on the crop. =The home garden.=--The south side of buildings or of tight fences and walls often furnishes a most desirable place for garden tomatoes, but the plants should be set at least 6 to 10 feet from the protection and not so as to be trained upon or much shaded by them, as the disadvantage of shutting off the light and circulation of the air, even from the north, would more than overbalance anything gained by the protection. =Growing under glass.=--In this country tomatoes are seldom grown under glass except during the darker winter months and the exposure of the house; the form of the roof and the method of glazing which will give the greatest possible light, are of importance, for tomatoes can not be profitably grown in a dark house. Just how the greatest amount of light may be made available in any particular case will depend upon local conditions, but every effort should be made to secure the most unobstructed sunlight possible and for the greatest number of hours each day. =Previous crop and condition.=--In field culture tomatoes should not follow tomatoes or potatoes. Both of these crops make use of large quantities of potash, and although a small part of that used by the plants is taken from the field in the crop, they inevitably reduce the proportion of this element in the soil--that is, in such condition as to be readily available for the succeeding crop. It is true that the deficiency in potash may be supplied, but it is not so easy to supply it in a condition in which it is possible for the roots of the tomato to take it in. Unlike potatoes, tomatoes do not do well on new land, whether it be newly cleared timber lands or new breaking of prairie. Clover leaves the land in better condition for tomatoes than any other of the commonly grown farm crops, while for second choice I prefer one of peas, beans, corn, or wheat in the order named. One of the most successful tomato growers I know of, whose soil is a rich, dark clay loam, prepares for the crop, as follows: Very late in the fall or early in the spring he gives a clover sod a heavy dressing of manure and plows it under. In the spring he prepares the ground by frequent cultivation and plants it with early sweet corn or summer squash. At the time of the last cultivation of these crops he sows clover seed, covering it with a cultivator having many small teeth, and rarely fails to get a good stand and a good growth of young clover before the ground freezes. In the spring he plows this under, running the plow as deep as possible and following in the furrow with a sub-soiler which stirs, but does not bring the sub-soil to the surface. He then gives the field a heavy dressing with wood ashes and puts it into the best possible tilth before planting his tomatoes. This grown usually harvests at least 500 bushels to the acre and has made a crop of over 1,000 bushels. =Early market.=--In some sections of the South where the soil is light and the growers depend almost wholly on the use of large quantities of commercial fertilizer, they seem to meet with the best success by using