Smyrna times., 1921-01-26

remaining members who reported, and
did not attend the Short Course, re-
ceived a Boys and Girls Club
Achievement pin in recognition of
their completing the job.
How Produced My 1920 Crop
In speaking of the prize award that
has been won by him Harvey Wilzin-
son says: "After spending three years
in club work (war gardens and victory
gardens) l decided the past year to
try tomato club work, and can truth |
fully say that the past year was the |
most successful. In the early spring |
l received a letter from Mr.. Martin, |
State Club Leader, asking me to take |
up Tomato Club Work, and plant a |
quarter-acre of tomatoes.
81 considered this a>good field for.
work and Immediately replied in the
affirmative.
81 laid out my patch sixty feet by
one hundred and eighty-one and
half feet and had it plowed and har-
rowed in preparation for planting.
Mr. Martin brought six hundred plants
to me one afternoon and the next day
had the plot narrowed and rows run
out. The method used in planting
was this: put one shovelful of ma
nure 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 |
had the plants cultivated three times
with horse and cultivator and / hoed
around them to keep down weeds and
loosen the earth.
Picked My First Tomatoes August Is
81 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. / picked tomatoes, as
many as / could sell, give away, or
eat at home, from August eighteenth
until the last of September. During
this time | picked fifty baskets, while
about one hundred baskets rotted in
\ the patch, as there was no market for
them. During the early part of Oc-
\ tober the plants did not bear to any
\ great extent, but the last of October
y they began to bear again, and / pick
\ ed few tomatoes along until the mid
|" die of November. The only explana-
h tion that l can give is that there are
u three sets of blossoms on tomato
y plants. The first setting bore, but
Il pollen was washed off the second isett
Y ing by heavy rains and they did moi
n bear The third setting bore in th'
n latter part of October and the earl!
VI part of November.
NJ "The market conditions were yer.
II bad this year. The market price il
W this section was on the average abou
W twenty cents per basket, but l sol
n part of my crop for thirty cents pc
VI basket. The local market being fooC
III ed, / was forced to let about two
thirds of my crop rot in the patch.
order to fill out my report, | asked tn
local farmers the number of tons the
raised and computed my crop by tina
On this basis estimated that m
plants GA acre) yielded about tv
and one-half tons or one hundred al
fifty baskets.
Method Used in Selecting Tomato
'no About the middle of the season
received letter from Mr.. Martin as
VIZ y ing me to send an exhibit of twel
.iy. tomatoes to the State Fair. On t
lns Friday before the Fair l selected
oln tomatoes from the patch and shipp
rge them to Mr.. Martin at Elsmere.
nA the selection of the tomatoes, | US
the following method: l picked all
LOO ripe tomatoes in the patch, putting
l.Z5 extra good tomatoes in separ'
l.z5 basket. When / had finished pick
l.50 tomatoes / found that had twel
| s. one excellent ones, / selected the
! 40 best from these and sent them to
.25 Fair. On Thursday l visited the F
20 and very much to my surprise, fo'
LOO a blue ribbon on my tomatoes ,wh
entitled me to first prize in the st
of five dollars.
81 was greatly pleased at winn
this prize although my crop was
a financial success, this honor c.
Del. pensated me to a large degree for
labor spent in my first efforts at r
ing tomatoes.