Middletown transcript., 1900-05-19
GROWING TOMATOES.
Field Culture ON a Large Scale Fol
CaunerieR. Etc

Canneries, Etc.
Everybody is familiar with tomatoes
as a garden crop in a small way, but
field culture for the use Of canneries
and wholesale consumers is a matter
not so generally understood. Concern
ing this The Rural New Yorker advises
| thus:
Dates Of planting vary with the lati-
tude as a matter Of course. In the
canning districts about New York to-
mato seeds are planted for this pur-
pose about April 1 in frames without
bottom heat. They are sown in drills
about seven inches apart. The soil has
previously been made light and rich,.
and the seeds are covered half an inch
deep and well packed with the pres
sure of a board on which the planter
walks while planting the next row.
The soil is then well watered, the SASH
es put on and kept rather close until
the seedlings come up, after which
abundant ventilation is given in clear
weather. An average Of 1000 plants,
requiring about one ounce of seed, is
commonly grown under each ordinary
sash, six feet by three. The plants
should be kept well weeded and the
space between the rows often stirred
with a narrow hoe. Good plants can
often be raised in seed beds in the
open ground without the use Of sashes,
but the danger of loss by late frosts is
too great to put much reliance on this
method.
Good corn or potato land, especially
If light and well drained, will usually
produce satisfactory tomatoes in an
average season. The field is plowed
and narrowed in the usual manner
about the middle of May and furrowed
out in checks three feet apart each
way. Fertilization Is effected by put
ting a shovelful of composted manure
or a handful of a complete chemical
fertilizer in each check and incorporat-
ing it well with the soil. The plants
are set out from May % to the middle
of June, choosing dull weather when
possible. The plants are taken to the
fields standing in buckets Of water
and dropped by boys in the checks.
They are firmly set by men following
closely after.
If the plants are tall and drawn, they
are layered to some extent-that is,
they are laid nearly fiat and the roots
and stem covered with earth to within
three or four inches Of the top. Addi-
tional roots are thrown out from the
buried stem, and the plant is less likely
to suffer from dry weather. A better
stand of tomatoes can be expected
from transplanted plants, and by pud-
ding the roots in thin, rich mud just
before planting, but at the low prices
ruling for the past few years the
plants are generally transferred direct
ly from the frames to the field with as
little handling as possible. A larger
proportion of plants will live under or
binary conditions where chemicals are
used to fertilize the checks or hills than
in the case Of stable manure or COM
posts, as there is less tendency to dry
out at the roots before the plants be-
come established, though the yield, es-
pecially late in the season, is rather in |
favor Of animal manures.
Cultivation begins within a week |
after the plants are set and is contin- |
ued after each rain or at intervals of |
ten days in dry weather until the |
growth of the vines interferes. One or
two dressings with a hand hoe are
generally needed to take out the weeds !
in the hills, and at the last working the |
hills are ridged up somewhat in order |
to keep the tomatoes from too close |
contact with the soil. The practice Of |
pinching out the top of the growing |
plants to induce an early formation Of |
laterals is not generally followed now, |
as it has not been found to add greatly |
to the yield. The tomatoes begin to |
ripen in August, and from that time |
until frost they are picked two or three |
times week and.hauled directly to the |
canneries or market. The contract price
for several years has been varied from |
S. TO So per ton, according to locality.
Six dollars is considered fair price in /
northern New Jersey and usually
yields a small margin of profit over ex-
penses in the hands of an experienced |
grower