Newark post., 1912-01-31

lHl lDbftdll crops grown upon tut
Delaware Peninsula. AS grown
here for canning purposes, it IS
crop. grown by the general farmer
rather than the trucker. 1t is III
reality field and not a garden
crop. Grown in large areas it is
given extensive culture and not in
tensivp culture. However. the to-
mato is crop that responds quick
ly To care. and many fields that
are now yielding bat three or four
tons per acre could easily be made
to yield five. six. or more tons per
acre.
The bulk of the crop is grown
for the canning factory. and is
contracted for at certain stated
sum. Here then we have a cOndi-
ton that limits production in a
certain way. because upon the one
hand the grower wishes to pro
ducp large tonnage per acre: on
the other hand he wishes to make
as large profit as possible. To
raise the maximum tonnage per
acre means raising the cost of pro-
duction. and often cost Of produc-
tion becomes too great for the
grower to afford to grow the great
est possible tonnage.
The principal factors in raising
maximum crops of tomatoes for
canning purposes are !. Soil. ,.
Seed. ,. Plant Food. t. Moisture.
and ). Variety.
Soil
The tomato will do well upon
great variety Of soils. although
Ike other plants. the tomato has
its preferences. The largest yields
are probably obtained uron well
drained. warm. sandy loans. The
tomato will not thrive upon wet
soil. a> it is a plant that is very
intolerant Of Wet feet.
While the tomato plant is d dry
weather plant. it must be grown
upon a soil that has sufficient wa
ter holding capacity To keep the
plant supplied with necessary
moisture. On our lighter sandy
soils too often the low Weld If the
tomato crop is not iue to sufficient
plant food but to insufficient soil
moisture. On this type of soil the
remedy is ~ incorporat" humus
into The soil. This can. perhaps.
best be accomplished by the use Of
green cover crops. Personally |
would prefer green crop Of Grim
son clover plowed under at the
proper time. as an ideal condition
for growing tomatoes. Next to
this. crimson clover sod. If June
clover sodS are used. there is like
II 10 he more " less trouble with
cut worms.
The condition Of the soil at
planting time is an important fac
tor in successful tomato culture,
The ground should be plowed
deep. disked both ways. and then
narrowed thoroughly. The num-
Der Of harrowings necessary de.
pends greatly upon the type OF
soil. Just before transplantlng
the ground should be in fine state
of tilth. For this purpose we have
found the spring tooth harrow
followed by the acme harrow. SCI
deep. to give good results. Much
of the success of tomato plant
depends upon its behavior the first
week it is in the field. hence condi
tions should be those that will Civ,
the least amount Of checking o
growth from transplantlng. 4
plant that is seriously checked
from transplanting will seldom i
ever give maximum yield. >
we must have the soil in such a fin
state OF tilth and moisture that tn
young plant s roots can easily sc
cure good hold. If harrowin
lust before setting is neglected, 0
the particles of soil are PARTIAL
packed and dried out. the youn
plant will have difficulty in estal
fishing itself.
Plant Food.
The tomato responds quickly
the use of commercial fertilizer
added in the proper amount an
form. How much to use upon an
particular farm is a local questic
that can only be answered by tt
grower himself after repeate
trials. Potash seems to be the mo
important of the three elements
nitrogen. phosphoric acid. al
potash-nece.sary for a toma
crop. The plant seems to feel
lack of sufficient potash before
does a lack of sufficient nitroge