Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1908-02-21
TOMATO GROWING.

1or tne oOuCnern Planter from Mary
land. but as the same will apply TO
this section of Virginia, and so many
OF our people are engaged in growing
tomatoes, we herewith reproduce it with
added information from the editor of
that paper:
| EDITOR SOUTHERN PLANTER:
The growing of the tomato-a mem
Der of the ''solanum'' family. once
thought to be poisonous and called the
''love apple"-has become one of the
important productions of Maryland. 1t
covers quite large territory, partic-
ularly on the Eastern Shore. and is
proving quite remunerative to both
growers and Gamers. 1t ranks very
high as replenisher of depleted soils,
always improving the ground on which
it is grown by its luxurious vegetation.
1t grows best in red clay soils that
contain certain per cent, of soluble sill
lea and iron. The soil should be well
drained and prepared for the crop by
thorough ploughing and subsoiling, and
rolled and narrowed to a fine condi-
ton. The fertilizer should be put on
about half 600 pounds) by drill and
the other half in and around the plants
just after the plant is set in the soil
either by hand or the plant setter. The
rows for the tomato plants should be
about three and half feet apart, set
in hills or continuous rows three feet
apart. When the plants are set by a
plant setter they can only be cultivated
one way, therefore, the ground should
be put in very nice condition and imme-
diately after the plants are set, they
should be worked with a light harrow
They should be worked every eight
or ten days, depending upon the
moisture in the soil, the dryer the soil
the more frequently and deeper
they should be worked. When the
vines get in bloom pretty generally.
then lay by with a smaller furrow
thrown to the plant, and now is the
time to sow crimson clover seed, or
any other grass or clover seed that you
may desire, letting the vines protect
the tender sprouts from the seed dur
ing the winter
1t also makes an excellent prepar-
alton for crop of wheat, which can be
easily put in by running disc harrow
over the vines, cutting them up and
then turning them down, pack them
with roller and SOW the wheat with
disc drill-300 pounds of phosphate to
the acre can be used with good effect,
insuring 4 stand of timothy or clover.
This method of growing yields good
returns, generally eight and sometimes
twelve tons TO the acre and leaves the |
land ready for crop of hay or wheat |
the next season, with the quality of the |
soil very much improved by large per
cent of humus and other plant food, in |
fact, it almost changes the condition of |
the soil. The seed should be sown in
beds in the early spring and covered |
with fine soil very lightly. They should |
be in rows and the ground over the seed
slightly raised SO that when the seeds
begins to come through a small rake
can remove the earth over them. They |
should be worked at once, and, if too
thick, should be thinned out by hand. |
When about eight inches high they |
should be set out in the ground, care
being taken to keep the young plants in
muddy earth if the ground is very dry.
Too much care cannot be taken with |
the plant beds. They have to be watched |
for worms and potato bugs and, if |
necessary, use a very weak solution of |
Paris Green on the young vines-one
ounce TO half barrel of water will kill |
the insects and not injure the plaot. 1t |
should be put on with the sprayer, not |
too heavy, as the slightest particle will |
kill the worm or bug without iuiuring
the plant.
Tomatoes should be gathered in boxes |
or baskets holding about sixty pounds. |
They haul better in square boxes al |
though the ordinary peach basket is
very much used.
The varieties of the tomato are in
Vulnerable, but be certain to get fair
sized, perfectly round tomato with no
depression at either end. The Gamer
furnishes the seed SO as to
have them unmixed in their color. In
picking tomatoes great care should be
taken to get them uniformly ripe and
all the same color; a we'll ripened tomato
has very little water and is always
desired by the packers. A well grown
tomato raised on proper soil will have a
very small per cent of water and.
will fill more cans to the ton than
a watery and badly colored fruit
One of the diseases of the tomato
plant, like all other solanums, is of the
character of blight, which withers
the leaves and leaves the fruit about
half grown and of pale red color con-
tanning very little solid -aneat. This
shows that the soil is not in good con-
dition and does not contain any plant
food that is available for the tomato.
it might be for something else.
The average price for tomatoes is about
800 perton, which Is cents per basket.
and, running about eight tons to the
acre, yields about $40 to the acre, and
certainly seems to be a better money!
crop than corn, wheat or potatoes, and
as the demand seems unlimited-it be-
ng more used than any other variety
IL canned goods-it is bound to become
'ne OF the crops of the future. They
are exceedingly wholesome and fill
ong felt want-a cheap canned veee-
able, an anti-scorbutic that can be car
n kaxyfAN e Al.