Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1904-12-15
TOMATOES UNDER GLASS.
nipe Fruit Produced IN r~orty-avc 60
Fifty Days ny CLerkfHx the Piants.

nipe Fruit Prod I'm rorty-ave 60
Fifty Days hy CLeekfnx the Plants.
The tomato L. one OF oar most popu-
lar vegetables. 1t Is widely grown as a
market crop and ID used TOR canning to
. greater extent than any other yege-
table. The constant demand for fresh
fruit the year round. especially in large
cities. has made the tomato a profitable
forcing house crop. aud many expert
ments by the agricultural stations to
determine the best varieties, methods
Of culture. etc, have been reported.
Commenting upon forcing expert
ments with standard varieties. Nc. A.
tention to the fact that the greatest de-
mand for forced tomatoes begins after
frost has destroyed the outdoor crop
and lasts until the Florida crop comes
into market, usually In February. In
order to secur fruit by Thanksgiving
day the weed must be s0wn by July 20
and the plants benched not later than
Oct. l.. Many tomato growers do not
secure their nrst ripe fruit In the fore
Ing house under ninety to n hundred
days after benching. but the expert
ments at the Illinois station show that
not more than half this time Ii neces-
sary. BY checking the plants II Ia pos
sibie to secure fruit in ifty days from
benching."
The experiments at the Illinois sta
don were with midwinter and spring
crops. For the midwfnter crop Combts
nation, L0rfliard. Best Of All and
Eclipse were grown. Seed was sown
Aug. 20 and plants benched Nov. Z.
The flrst ripe fruit vas picked Dec. ~
from the varieties Combination. Lori
lard and Best Of Ali. This was forty
seven days after bleaching. Eclipse did
not ripen until nfty-one days. Best Of
All was the earliest and best Of the
-four varieties ~ regards yield during
the short, dull days Of December. jan
nary and February. Eclipse gave the
largest total yield and produced the
smoothest and drmest fruits.
ne spranG crsp.
For the spring crop Stone and Rosa
lind were Crown IN addition to the
four varieties Crown In the winter ex.
periments. Seed was sown Dec. 70
and the plants benched April 10. The
Hrt ripe fruits were obtained atty.
two days later. With this crop Com
bination and L0rtliard both yielded
three pounds of fruit per plant. Best
Of All three pounds six ounces and
Eclipse three pounds sever ounces.
The average yield per square foot for
the two crops was about 2.37 pounds.
When plants were trained to three
stems a yield of O.s pound per square
foot was obtained as compared with
1.25 pounds for plants set the same
day and trained to a single stem. The
average yield for the season, including
from two to nearly two and a half
pounds per square foot Of bench, or
from seven to almost nine pounds per
stem.
Checking the lants
In the above experiments as soon as
the plants were large enough they
were ported In two and a half inch
pots containing dbrous potting soil and
afterward shifted to three and a half
inch pots. where they remained about
six weeks, when they were benched.
At this time they were all showing
open blossoms and were very much
pot bound. This checking Of the plants
Ia considered the secret Of the early
maturity Of the fruits, since ''uncheck-
Il takes time to Ill the soil with roots
and thereby check the excessive
growth" The bench soil used was
composed Of one-half rich garden loan
and one-half well rotted compost. The
soil was six inches deep In the bench.
Wood ashes yer applied after the
plants were In full bearing. Plants
were set two feet apart In rows eight
zen to twenty inches apart. The tenn
perature Of the house varied from 10
degrees r. at night to rs to 30 degrees
on cloudy days and as high as 90 de-
grees on sunny days, but care was
taken to keep the temperature az uni
form as possible. Leaders were pinch
ed when the plants on the side benches
bad reached a height Of ave feet and
those In the center benches eight feet.
shoots pushing out from fruit clusters.
40 In common In rapidly growing
plants. were promptly removed.
In New Engiand Orchards
Ouo unokhnA ~ ropnuatisn m ola -
ehard which r. W. Rane OF New
Hampshire reports az successfully
used at the state experiment station