The Savannah morning news., 1900-07-30
THE FARM AND THE GARDEN.
MATTERS OF INTEREST TO AGRI-
CULTURIsT AND HOUSEWIFE.
Tomato CuIture-Growing with and
without stakcs-Peanut Culture.
How to Make sheep Pay-The Plum
Crop-Pen BIight-HandlinS Bees.
Asparagus Rust.

ordinary kitchen garden or even in the
small market garden within or near the
city limits, it pays TO apply the intensive
system TO the growing of tomatoes. In
this day of blight and rot it is more es-
sent.al than ever to adopt all the means
possible to reduce their evil consequences.
In the case of toma toes the chief means to
secure this is to keep the vines clean of
the earth. Even in seasons that are not
unreasonably wet the loss from rot. as the
result of contact with the soil, may be
anywhere from 20 to 80 per cent, but in
such seasons as the one just past-June-
July-the loss has run up TO 60 to 80 per
cent, where the vines were allowed to lie
on the ground. Year in and year out it
pays such tremendous profit to stake the
vines ii is a wonder that any gardener or
trucker of experience attempts nowadays
to grow the crop without resorting to some
method that keeps the vines off the
ground, even If 1t goes no further than
planting the vines in double rows, as de-
scribed in this column previously, and
make the vines support each other. This
cent. of the fruit can be kept from con-
tact with the soil if the crop is properly
tended.
Several times we have described our
own method of growing toma toes by
planting two or three vines TO one firm
stake, using the variety known as Dwarf
Champion chiefly for this purpose, but it
Is not the only kind that can be planted
in this way. AS a rule it is the best
however. Stakes are set up firmly in well
prepared ground at a distance of AKA feet
and three plants are set in a triangle
about such. stake. In very rich soil
where the vine growth is heavy, only two
plants are set to a stake.
OF all the tomatoes that can be grown in
the home garden and that pays several
hundred per cent. to stake properly it is
the one Known in Southern catalogues as
the 'Moore's Mammoth Tree Tomato" 1t
is a missioner to call this splendid toma :
TO tree tomato, however, for 1t is in no
sense tree, but it does make a tremen-
dous vine and when suitably staked will
grow TO a hight of eight to fifteen feet
and bear immense clusters of medium
sized smooth tomatoes from the ground
up To get the most of this tomato is
feet high to which four or five kegs or
barrel-hoops should be firmly nailed al in
terVals through which the vine should be
required to grow. Or two light but
strong stakes that length should be given
20 each plant, one on each side a foot from
the plant. Wire or common cord can he
used to encircle the plant within the
stakes. The first laterals that start to
grow within two feet of the ground should
off nd
be allowed to grow up through the hoops
on cords. BY keeping the laterals clipped
on, the vines will grow on up to hight
or twelve or fifteen feet, bearing a large
cluster of tomatoes every eight or ten
inches. A well-grown vine of this snlen
did tomato is beautiful sight The vines
can be set as close as three by three feet
or two vines be set to a stake at a dis
lance of three by four feet. This is a.
very excellent variety TO plant two in a
hill, but the laterals must be pruned off
II three plants are set in a hill. the.
stakes should be set four by four feet
and the plants occupy a triangle fifteen
or twenty inches each way
A Quarter of an acre grown In this way
with the Moore tomato will yield as much
merchantable fruit as an acre or more if
the vines are allowed to lay on the
ground.
three feet, two plants TO the hill, it would
require 1,2l0 stakes and 2,42O plants. If
three plants are set to the hill and hills
Ak feet. 1t would require $50 stakes and
2OIu plants On good tomato land. With
perfect stand, with proper pruning and
cultivation, the quarter OF an acre should
yield from first fruit to last, June to Au-
gust. inclusive, at least $50 bushels of to-
matoes. With suspicious season, 200
bushels is quite possible
In the home garden, when less than 500
plants are usually grown a very good
method is to have the Dwarf Champion
set in rows, setting the plants twelve
inches apart in the row and keeping them
upright by having a trellis of strips, one
inch. nailed to stakes on each side of
the row, two feet from the ground the
trellis not over six or eight inches be-
tween strips. Wire can be used in place
of the sawed strips, running it from stake
TO stake, keeping it to the stake with the
ordinary staple, or a bent nail will do;
or the wire can be wrapped over around
the stake. When set in this manner
the laterals should not be pruned off, but
all allowed to grow.