Milford chronicle., 1921-01-28
DELAWARE CITY BOY is
STATE TOMATO CLUB KING
HARVEY WILKINSON WON SIS PRIZE
BRIDCEVILLE, MILFORD, HOUSTON
BOYS ARE TWO, THREE, FOUR.

OVlO hNh 4 wv AAAAAAAg OSNA'
Harvey Wilkinson of Delaware City
has won the award of $25.00 that was
offered last Spring by the Baltimore
Canned Goods Exchange, in co-opera-
tion with Delaware College and the
County Farm Bureaus, to the Tomato
Club boy of Delaware who shoulo
write the best story of his experience
in growing IA or more acres OF toma-
toes. Leon E. Donovan Of BridgeVille
ranked second; Carlton Farber oi
Milford was third; and Dewey Sapp
of Houston stood fourth.
All told, there were Al boys who
carried out the Tomato Club Demon
stration, "a of whom completed their
records and made reports. Of these "a
members, the Tri-State Packers AS
sociation in cooperation with the
County Farm Bureaus, sent II COM
munity champion growers to the re-
cent Junior Short Course at Della
ware College - from New Castle
county. 8 from Kent county and 8
from Sussex county. The remaining
members who reported, and did not
attend the Short Course, received a
Boys and Girls Club Achievement
pin in recognition of their completing
the job.
The following is Harvey's Tomato
Club story as told by himself:
'HOW 1 Produced My Crop Of TOma-
toes in 1920"
after spending three years in club
work (War gardens and victory gar
dens) I decided the past year to try to-
mato club work, and. I can truthfully
say that the past year was the most
successful. In the early spring re-
ceived a letter from Mr.. Martin, State
Club Leader, asking me to take up
Tomato Club Work, and plant quar-
ter acre of tomatoes.
I considered this a good field for
work and Immediately replied in the
affirmative.
I laid out my patch sixty feet by
one hundred and eight-one and half
feet and had it plowed and harrow
ed in preparation for planting. Mr..
Martin brought six hundred plants to
me one afternoon and the next day I
had the plot narrowed and rows run
out. The method I used in planting
was this: 1 put a shovelful of man
ure and a small handful of phosphate !
in the hill, covered them with dirt, |
cut with a spade, and set in the
plants. The plants were set in rows
four feet apart and spaced four feet |
in the row.
During the course of the season I
had the plants cultivated three times
with a horse and cultivator and
hoed around them to keep down weeds
and loosen the earth.
I picked my first tomatoes on Au-
gust the eighteenth. At that time my
patch was very beautiful, fourteen
rows of green plants with red toma-
toes on them. I picked tomatoes, as
many as I could sell, give away, or
eat at home, from August the eigh-
teenth until the last of September.
During this time I picked fifty bas-
kets. while about one hundred bas-
kets rotted in the patch, as there was
no market for them. During the ear
Iv part of October the plants did not
bear to any great extent, but the last
of October they began to bear again.
and I picked a few tomatoes along un-
til the middle of November. The only
exclamation that I can give is that
there are three sets of blossoms on
tomato plants. The first setting bore'
hut the pollen was washed of the
second setting by heavy rains and they
did not bear. The third setting bore
in the latter part of October and the
early part of November.
The market conditions were very
o,.Izn Of T1Tsi0n in
this section was on the average about
twenty cents per basket, but l SOLD
part of my crop for thirty cents per
basket. The local market being
flooded. I was forced to let about two
thirds of my crop rot in the patch. In
order to fill out my report, asked {
the local farmers the number of tons
they raised and computed my crop
bv that. On this basis estimated that '
nv plants ia acre. yielded about '
two and one half tons or one hundred s
and fifty baskets. {
About the middle Of the season
received a letter from Mr.. Martin g
asking me to send an exhibit of twelve /
tomatoes to the State Fair. On the e
Friday before the Fair I selected II a
tomatoes from the patch and shipped
them to Mr.. Martin at Elsmere. In t
The selection of the tomatoes used p
The following method: picked all the b
ripe tomatoes in the patch, putting the
extra good tomatoes in separate p
basket. When I had finished picking L
tomatoes I found that had twenty
1ne excellent ones. I selected the IL d
pest from these and sent them to the h
Fair. On Thursday I visited the Fair
md was very much surprised to find G
/ blue ribbon on my tomatoes which Il
entitled me to first prize in the State fl
If five dollars. tt
I was greatly pleased at winning n
his prize and although my crop was N
lot a financial success, this honor S,
me to a large degree for 81
he labor spent in my first efforts at
'aising tomatoes. is