Part 24

TOMATOES.

Because of the tropical origin of the tomato it requires a long season for its growth and development, and on this account it is necessary in the Northern States, in order to secure paying crops, to resort to methods which lengthen the growing season. It is much easier for the gardener to accomplish this while the plant is small than when it is large, and because early fruits are as a rule more valuable than late ones it is of advantage to the gardener to secure his crop as early in the season as practicable. The season is, therefore, lengthened at the beginning rather than at the end. This is accomplished by sowing seeds in hotbeds or greenhouses several weeks in advance of the time when they could be safely planted in the open.

The Tomato as a Field Crop at the North.--East of the Mississippi River and north of the latitude of Washington, D. C., the tomato is handled as an annual, the seeds being sown in hotbeds about the middle of March. The young plants, as soon as they have developed their first true leaves, are transplanted to stand about 2 inches apart each way and are allowed to develop in these quarters until they have attained a height of from 4 to 6 inches and the leaves begin to crowd considerably. They are then transplanted to pots, 3 or 4 inches in diameter.

Training Plants to Stakes.--For earliest returns it is desirable to train forced plants to a single stem by tying them to a stake 4 or 5 feet in height. These stakes should be driven firmly into the ground beside the plants and the plants carefully tied to them to prevent whipping and to keep the fruits off the ground. All side shoots should be kept pinched out and only the central leading stem allowed to develop to bring larger results. If the plants are to be trained in this way they can be set from 18 inches to 2 feet apart in the row, and about 3-1/2 to 4 feet between the rows.

Training Plants on Frames.--Another plan sometimes followed in the training of tomatoes is to place a flaring frame, about 18 inches square at the base and 24 inches square at the top over the plants before they begin to spread. The shoots as they become heavy with fruit fall over against the sides of the rack and are prevented from coming in contact with the earth. For a kitchen garden where but few plants are grown this is a very satisfactory plan. The plants can be set somewhat closer than is the case where no supports are provided. For commercial plantations, however, the cost of the frames is prohibitive. The common commercial practice is to place the plants about 4 feet apart each way in check rows so as to allow them to be cultivated in both directions. Under intensive cultivation in a small garden, however, the first method, that of tying the vines to stakes, will be found very satisfactory.

Where tomatoes are grown on a large scale and where the product brings only a small price per bushel, expensive methods of handling and training can not be profitably followed. The common practice in growing tomatoes for the general market and for canning purposes in localities north of New York City is to sow the seed very thinly in a hotbed about March 15 and allow the plants to grow slowly without transplanting them until they can be put in the field about June 1. The plants, even with the most careful attention, when grown under these conditions will become long and thin stemmed, with a small tuft of leaves at the top.

Setting the Plants.--Plants more than a foot high which have been grown under these conditions should be treated somewhat as follows: Instead of attempting to set the plant deeply and maintain it in an upright position, remove all except three or four of the top-most leaves about the growing point. Dig a shallow trench along the row--a trench 3 or 4 inches deep--slightly sloping from a deep point at one end to the surface of the ground at the other. Place the bare stem of the tomato and the root in this trench, with the root in the deepest portion, cover the stem throughout its length with fresh soil, and pack this firmly. Under these conditions the plant will take root throughout the length of the buried stem, and in a short time the added root system which is thus given the plant will force it into vigorous growth. Plants of this character which are to be grown on an extensive scale are never trained. They are allowed to grow at will, and the fruits are gathered as they ripen without special attention to keep them off the ground or otherwise to care for them.

Length of Season.--The season of fruit production is longer in the higher than in the lower latitudes. This is a rather interesting and unexpected condition. Normally one would expect to find that the tomato would begin maturing its fruit earlier and would continue bearing longer in the latitude of the city of Washington than it would in the latitude of Boston; but this is not the case. Tomatoes in the latitude of Washington and south of this point come into bearing, quickly produce a heavy flush of fruit, and then refuse to do more, and in order to have a continuous supply throughout the season it is necessary for market gardeners and truckers to plant seeds in succession so as to keep up a continuous supply.

Fertilizers.--Since the tomato is grown exclusively for its fruit, those fertilizers which induce a large growth of plant and foliage are not desirable in the production of this crop. Soils vary greatly in regard to the quantity of available plant food they contain. The use of a fertilizer is determined largely by the character, mechanical condition, and composition of the soil. If a soil is deficient in all the essential elements of plant food--nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric acid--the application of any one or even two of them will not materially influence the yield of the crop. On the other hand, on soils deficient only in potash or phosphoric acid, or both, little would be gained by adding nitrogen, which is already in excess, to the other element or elements to be applied. Economy of operation, as well as the general effect upon the soil, must also be considered. This may be influenced by the character of the season, but should be based on the increased yield and increased net receipts of the crop.

As a general rule, readily soluble, "quick-acting" fertilizers which produce an early growth and early ripening of the crop are most desirable. Heavy dressings of stable manure tend to produce too much vine, and are seldom or never employed. If stable manure is used it is at a moderate rate, usually not more than one or two shovelfuls to a plant. This, if well decomposed and thoroughly incorporated with the soil, is very stimulating to the young plant and consequently very beneficial. Any fertilizer used should be applied, in part at least, at the time the plants are transplanted to the field.

Cultivation.--As soon as the young seedling plants from the hotbed or greenhouse are transferred to the field they should be given clean cultivation with implements which stir the surface of the soil but do not produce ridges or furrows. When the plants are set in check rows 4 feet apart each way it is possible in field culture to keep the plantation almost free from weeds by the use of horse hoes. If, however, the plants are set so that cultivation can be carried on only in one direction, hand hoeing will be necessary to keep down weeds between the plants in the row. Where land is not expensive, and where labor costs heavily, the cost of producing a crop of tomatoes can be decidedly lessened by planting in check rows and carrying on the cultivation by horsepower.

The grower should bear in mind, however, that the object of cultivation is not merely to kill weeds. The destruction of weeds is an important factor and in itself sufficient to justify clean culture, but the preservation of a soil mulch for the purpose of husbanding the moisture of the soil during periods of drought is of even greater value. With care in the choice of implements both results can be attained with the same expenditure of labor.

Harvesting and Marketing.--The fruits should be gathered two or three times a week if the tomato is grown as a truck crop. When used for canning purposes the harvesting periods need not be quite so close, and when the fruits are to be shipped some distance they should be gathered as soon as partially colored, instead of allowing them to become colored on the vine. The fruit of the tomato is velvet green up to the time the ripening process begins, and at this stage, if the products are to be shipped long distances, the fruits should be harvested. For home markets, however, the fruits should be allowed to ripen upon the plant.

In harvesting, none except sound fruits of a similar stage of maturity should be harvested and packed in any one receptacle. Leaky fruits and deformed fruits should be rejected. In packing tomatoes for the market, those that are symmetrical in form and uniform in size and of a like degree of ripeness should be selected for filling any one receptacle.

Varieties for the North.--There are a large number of sorts of tomatoes, each one possessing some points of merit or difference which distinguish it from all others. These differences enable the intelligent cultivator to select sorts for special purposes, as well as for special soils and climates. The varying demands of the markets and the different soil and climatic conditions presented in the various sections of the United States where the tomato is grown can only be satisfied by a variety list as variable as are the conditions.

Early ripening sorts are frequently irregular in shape, have comparatively thin walls, large seed cavities, and numerous seeds. The fruit is apt to color and ripen unevenly, remaining green around the stem, or to contain a hard green core. Later-ripening sorts, while not all superior to the others, have as a rule thicker and firmer walls, smaller seed cavities, and few seeds.

The most highly developed varieties now make few seeds and ripen evenly. These characteristics of the fruits are important factors in determining their fitness for special purposes. Medium-sized, smooth, spherical fruits, which ripen evenly and have small seed cavities and thick walls are especially suited to long-distance shipment. These qualities should enter into every sort selected to the greatest possible degree consistent with earliness, lateness, heavy yield, or any other special quality which gives the variety a marked commercial advantage. The following list is made up of varieties possessing some markedly distinct character, such as earliness, great size, purple, red, or yellow color, dwarf habit, etc.:

Early Ripening Varieties.--Sparks' Earliana, Atlantic Prize, Early Freedom.

Large-Fruited Varieties.--Ponderosa, Beefsteak.

Purple-Fruited Varieties.--Beauty, Acme, Imperial.

Red-Fruited Varieties.--Favorite (late), Honor Bright, Matchless, Stone, Royal Red, New Jersey.

Yellow-Fruited Varieties.--Golden Queen, Lemon Blush.

Dwarf or Tree Types.--Dwarf Champion, Station Upright Tree, Aristocrat.

Potato-Leaf Types.--Livingston's Potato-Leaf, Mikado, Turner's Hybrid.

The Tomato as a Field Crop at the South.--Commercial tomato growing in the Southern States is almost exclusively confined to the production of tomatoes at a season when they can not be grown at the North, except in greenhouses. On this account the commercial production of this crop is restricted to areas where there is very little, if any, freezing during the winter months.

Time of Planting.--At the extreme southern limit of the commercial cultivation of this crop in Florida the plants are grown so as to be ready for setting in the open about December 1. The date of seed sowing advances as the cultivation of the crop progresses northward, so that in northern Florida the seeds are sown early in January and the young plants placed in the field in March. Where frost conditions do not form barriers against the production of seedling plants in the open, the seed beds for the young plants are prepared in some sheltered situation where partial shade can be given and where the seed bed can be frequently watered. The young plants, as soon as they have attained the proper size--that is, from 6 to 10 inches in height--are transferred to the field in practically the same manner as are the hotbed-grown plants produced for general field culture at the North, and except for a specially early crop they are not transplanted or potted. The young seedlings in the cold frame will require careful attention in the way of watering and ventilation; otherwise many plants will be lost by damping off or from sun-scorching during bright days unless the sash are lifted or entirely removed.

Yield.--The yield of fruit in the South, under the conditions mentioned, is much less than it is in regions having the long growing periods characteristic of higher latitudes. Yields vary from 75 to 250 bushels to the acre, but the high price obtained for the fruits which are thus produced at a season when the sole competition comes from the products of northern greenhouses renders the crop, when well handled, very remunerative.

Soil.--The soil which is preferred for the production of this crop is one which contains a comparatively high percentage of sand. In this region sandy loam or a sandy soil is preferred to bottom land for the cultivation of tomatoes. An area with a gentle slope to the south is considered more desirable than that with other exposure. If a wind-break can be secured along the north and west sides of the area very early crops can frequently be preserved through a wind-storm when the temperature, while not low enough to freeze the plants, will, when accompanied by a high wind, chill and destroy them.