The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1900-03-09
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49, An @ARDBA
TOMATO CULTURE.

TOMATO CULTURE.
The Mississippi System-Unusual, but
Successful In the North.
l have followed the mississippi sys-
tenn for tomato culture for six years
and see no reason why this method is
less well adapted to the north than the
south. Indeed, with me, a few miles
north Of New York city, there has been
unvarying success in all sorts of sea-
sons, even in the rainless summer Of
last veal. Mine is an amateurs gar
den, and l raise fruits and vegetables
for home use only, but when l have
tomatoes in abundance at a time when
l would have to pay 81 a crate for
them in the market, if l could afford
the luxury, l count it SO much money
earned. This has been the cas- the
past three summers, and the same
vines have continued to bear until the
frost cut them down.
In addition to stalking my vines,
which l learned to do while visiting in
Illinois, l vary considerably from the
usual method in tr~ansplanting them.
In this latter matter l am alone, so far
as 1 know, but hope l shall not remain
so. There is nothing in my practice
which may not be adopted in the most
extensive field culture. For test pur-
poses 1 have given to neighbors having
gardens in some respects superior to
mine plants equal in every respect to
those retained for my own use and
have beaten them from one to two
weeks in earliness of mature fruit and
very greatly in the amount of produc-
ton for the season.
I begin early in the career of the
plant. l SOW in deep boxes, placing
the seeds one inch apart. When the
second permanent leaf appears, l
transplant into four inch pots, sinking
each root three inches or so below tine
surface. Here they remain until it is
safe to put them into the ground-late
in May in this latitude.
In the meantime the ground is pre-
pared. AS soon as the garden is spaded
up holes are dug the depth of the spade
and a foot in diameter. They are two
feet apart in the row, with the rows
three feet apart. The holes are half
filled with rich manure mixed with
earth and well trodden down. When
the proper time comes, the plants with
the earth unbroken are taken from the
pots and sunk in the center of the
holes. l stake them at once, for 1t is
the season of high winds, using a crow
bar and placing the stake within an
l,nI> ~ +l,o ,>lo-t ov1 tio of nyao AS
the plants grow the holes are gradually
filed, and the tomato patch is perfectly
level, ready for cultivation, and a dust
mulch close up to each plant, an inn
possibility when the old method of
killing up is pursued. The bottom root
may be a foot or more below the sur
face. and examination in the fall
shows that several sets of lateral roots
have been sent out, which continue to
grow throughout the season. The vigor
| Of the plant is thus limited only by the
food available for it to draw upon. 1t
is also less likely to be affected by
drought than when most Of the roots
| are little below the general level Of the
garden.
The stalk as it grows should be tied
! closely to the stake below each set of
blossom buds and before the fruit
forms. Ny tomatoes are large and.
solid and in many cases grow in
punches weighing from three to six
pounds each, so the Irvine should be
soft and heavy.
l see no reason for cutting off all the
side shoots. Suckers are worse than
useless, but each branch is often as
productive as the main stem. l have
{ made a test in the same row Of plants
| with only the stalk and with one, two,
three or four branches, and the results
are certainly not favorable to the
smaller number. The grower must be
guided by the relative vigor Of the diff
ferent plants. l thought a few years
ago that the closely trimmed vines
gave me earlier fruit, but I. have not
proved it to my satisfaction. The ear
tured before the branches begin to
draw heavily on the plant. The vines
are tied so closely to the stake that the
ground is not too much shaded. The
rake or hand cultivator may be used
throughout the season, and there is a
constant succession of fruit until frost.
A Farm and Fireside correspondent
! concludes the foregoing with the re-
mark that if he were planting many
acres for the market or canning fac
tory he should not change his method
except as to the distance between the
plants.
Fertilizer Facts.
In Cornell experiments stable ma
nure on potatoes gave largest yields,
but the potatoes We're poor, irregular
pnd scabby. No benefit was derived
from the use of nitrate Of soda, while
muriate Of potash gave potatoes Of
good quality and proved most protita-
BILE. Phosphoric acid used on oats gave
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