Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1909-07-01
Early Tomatoes.

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Witness.
Early Tomatoes.
Where one intends to grow toma-
toes for early shipment it is very de-
sirable to have little greenhouses to
start the plants. But a hotbed with j
glass sashes will answer, though it is
tar ore i~nconvenient than a green
house. You should SOW the seed ten
or twelve weeks before it will be safe
to put the plants in the open ground.
Assuming that you can do this in
early April, you should sow the seed
in January. You should, in fact,
have two hotbeG one a small n
in which to SOW le seed, and another
made up a little later in which to
transplant them as soon as large
enough to handle; for plants left
crowded in a hotbed are of little
value, and a small hotbed will start
plants enough for a larger one, and
for a still larger cold frame. The
more frequently the plants are trans
planted before setting in the open
ground, the better and earlier will
the crop be.
Knowing how many plants you
| want, you will need an ounce of seed
for every $500 plants wanted. You.
can start that many in a single sash,
three by six feet, and for each sash
you will want three sashes on the
second hotbed and eighteen sashes on
the cold frame for the final trans
planting under glass. Sow the seed
in the first hotbed, and as soon as
we'll started and taking a rough leaf,
transplant them to the second hotbed
made up after the seed are sown in
the first one, and set the little, plants
1900 to a sash and set them deeper
than they stood in the first one. Pro-
tect the hotbeds in cold nights with
mats OF pine straw. Do not allow the
holbed to set too warm, but give air
every sunny day, and keep the plants
as hardy as possible.
After the middle Of February and
the hard freezing is over you can
transplant them tx the cold frame
four inches apart each way or about
160 to a sash. The frame should
have fine, rich soil, light and we'll
MANFRED with old fine manure. Then
be ready to protect them from sudden
cold by covering the glass, but give
all the air practicable in all mild
weather, and finally strip OFF the sash
during every mild day, to get the
plants hardened to the outer air, and
for a number of days and nights be-
fore setting them out leave the frame
open. I have treated them in this
way in Northern Maryland and had
them SO hardy that 1 set them in the
field in April, and had a white frost
on them without hurting them, and
got in two weeks ahead of the Balti
more gardeners. Treated in this way
you will have stout plants that will
lift with a mass of earth, and can be
transplanted to the field without
whiting.
Have a fat carrier made OF ligh'
) boards, with two handles at each end
: Then take up the plants with a mas!
I of soil on each, with a trowel, ant
? set them on the carrier so that the,
l "a easily be taken to the field with
> out shaking the dirt off. All this in
: wolves trouble and expense, of course
but it means getting the crop il
early, and such plants will be far bet
: ter than any left crowded in a hot
bed. It will pay to grow tomatoes i
4. you can get them in market early
! but it will not pay if you do not ge
: them till July.
Gather them as soon as they shov
: signs of turning and do not wait til
red all over. Wrap the early toma
{ toes in paper and ship in baskets AM
carriers. On land such as you nam
tomatoes will not need very heav.
manuring. Set them in we'll pre-
! pared soil, and as soon as started Civ,
: them about 500 pounds Of a higl
! grade fertilizer alongside the rows
: and cultivate clean and level. I
L frost threatens after you have then
out, bend them carefully down an,
shovel the soil ove- item till afte
: the cold passes and then uncover. I
: pays we'll to have plenty CT glass Il
: market gardening to get ahead o
others. If you have q gtsenhous
you cOulQ SOW the SSed IL Snal1OF
! boxes made by cutting starch or soa.
, boxes in two, AID then coul trans
plant to other boxes and finally t
the frames.-W. F. Massey.
Humus Supplied.
= The use of legumes to sur ply hu
= mus and nitrogen is as imEor,an TO
;, the trucker as he general sarme1
= Fortunate the nal who mas q heav,
: crop OF crimson Cover to turf. unde
: now. It is just the thing TO- pota
toes, melons, cukes and: corn.-Farm
ers' Home Journal.
S There is 0 q por. 4 Europe, an
few, if any, in the world, where tn
matter Of tides is OF no consequences