Tomato Culture: A Practical Treatise on the Tomato Part 2

It is an epicure among plants and demands that its food shall not only be to its taste in quality but that it be well served. In order for the plant to do its best, or even well, it is essential that the food elements be in the right proportions and readily available. If there is a deficiency of any single element there will be but a meager crop of fruit, no matter how abundant the supply of the others. An over-supply of an element, especially nitrogen, is hardly less injurious and will actually lessen the yield of fruit though it may increase the size of the vine. Not only must the food be in right proportions but in such condition as to be readily available. Tomato roots have little power to wrest plant food from the soil. The use of coa.r.s.e, unfermented manure is even more unsatisfactory with this than with other crops. The enormous yields sometimes obtained by English gardeners from plants grown under gla.s.s result from a supply of food of the right proportions and in solution, instead of incorporating it in a crude condition with the soil.

=Cultivation.=--The tomato is grown in all parts of the United States and under very different conditions, not only as to climate and soil but as to the facilities for growing and handling the crop and the way in which it is done. What would be ideal conditions of soil and the most advantageous methods under some conditions would not be at all desirable in others. In some cases the largest possible yield an acre, in others fruit at the lowest cost a bushel, or at the earliest possible date, or in a continuous supply and of the best quality, is the greatest desideratum. It is impossible to give specific instructions which would be applicable to all these varying conditions and requirements; so I give general cultural directions for maximum crops with variations suggested for special conditions and requirements, and then the reader may follow those which seem best suited to his individual conditions.

CHAPTER V

Selection of Soil for Maximum Crop

Large yields of tomatoes have been, and can be, obtained from soils of varying composition, from a gumbo prairie, a black marsh muck, or a stiff, tenacious clay, to one of light drifting sand, provided other conditions, such as drainage, tilth and fertility are favorable. The Connecticut experiment station and others have secured good results from plants grown under gla.s.s in a soil of sifted coal ashes and muck, or even from coal ashes alone, the requisite plant food being supplied in solution. But a maximum crop could never, and a full one very seldom, be produced on a soil, no matter what its composition, which could not be, or was not put into and kept in a good state of tilth, or on one which was poorly drained, sodden or sour, or which was so leachy that it was impossible to retain a fair supply of moisture and of plant food.

Of the 10 largest yields of which I have personal knowledge and which ran from 1,000 to 1,200 bushels of fruit (acceptable for canning and at least two-thirds of it of prime market quality) an acre, four were grown on soils cla.s.sed as clay loam, two on heavy clay--one of which was so heavy that clay for making brick was subsequently taken from the very spot which yielded the most and best fruit--one on what had been a black ash swamp, one on a sandy muck, two on a sandy loam and one on a light sand made very rich by heavy, annual manuring for several years. They were all perfectly watered and drained, in good heart, liberally fertilized with manures of proved right proportions for each field, and above all, the fields were put into and kept in perfect tilth by methods suited to each case; while the plants used were of good stock and so grown, set and cultivated that their growth was never stopped or hardly checked for even a day. These conditions as to soil and culture, together with seasons of exceptionally favorable weather, resulted in uniformly large crops on these widely different soils.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 12--TOMATOES TRAINED TO STAKES ON A GEORGIA FARM]

The composition of the soil, then, as to its proportions of sand or clay is of minor importance as regards a maximum yield or as to quality of the fruit, except as it affects our ability to put and keep the soil in good physical condition. The tomato crop, however, particularly when the plants are trimmed and trained to stakes, as is the usual practice in the South, as seen in Fig. 12, with crops grown for early shipment, necessitates in the tr.i.m.m.i.n.g and training of the plants and the gathering of the fruit when it is in the right degree of maturity for shipment a great deal of trampling of the surface regardless of whether it is wet or dry. Consequently if the surface soil has any considerable proportion of clay there is danger of compacting and even puddling it by working when wet, to the great detriment of the crop. Again, a more or less sandy surface soil can be much more easily worked than one with a large proportion of clay. For these reasons our choice of a soil for the lowest cost a bushel and probably for a maximum yield should be a rich sandy or sandy loam surface soil overlying a well-drained clay sub-soil. I would prefer one which was originally covered with a heavy growth of beech and maple timber, though I should want it to be "old land" at the time. Tomatoes do not succeed as well on prairie soils, particularly if they are at all heavy, as they do on timbered lands, but one need not despair of a profitable crop of tomatoes on any soil which would give a fair crop of corn or of cotton.

=For early-ripening fruit.=--Sometimes the profit and satisfaction from a tomato crop depend more largely upon the earliness of ripening than upon the amount of yield or cost of growing. In such cases a warm, sandy loam, or even a distinctly sandy soil, is to be preferred, as this is apt to be warmer and the fruit will be matured much earlier on it than on a heavier soil. It is essential, however, that it be well drained and warm. Often lands cla.s.sed as sandy are really colder than some of those cla.s.sed as clay, and such soils should be carefully avoided if early maturity is important.

=For the home garden.=--Here we seldom have a choice, but no one need despair and abandon effort, no matter what the soil may be, for it is quite possible to raise an abundant home supply on any soil and that, too, without inordinate cost and labor. Some of the most prolific plants and the finest fruits I have ever seen were grown in a village lot which five years before had been filled in to a depth of 3 to 10 feet with clay, coal ashes and refuse from a brick and coal yard. In another instance magnificent fruit was grown in a garden where the soil was originally made up chiefly of sawdust mixed with sand, drawn on a foundation of sawmill edgings so as to raise it above the water of a swamp. Where one has to contend with such conditions he should make an effort to create a friable soil with a supply of humus by adding the material needed. A very few loads, sometimes even a single load, of clay or sand will greatly change the character of the soil of a sufficient area to grow the one or two dozen plants necessary for a family supply.

In the two cases mentioned, the owner of the first named garden used both sand and sawdust to lighten his soil, while the second drew a great many loads of clay on his.

=Growing under gla.s.s.=--I would make up a soil composed of about three parts rotted sod, two or three parts of well-rotted stable manure (and it is very important that it be well decomposed) and one part either of coa.r.s.e, sharp sand, sandy loam or clay loam, according as the sod soil is light or heavy, the aim being to form a rich, light, open soil rather than one which is as heavy and compact as desirable for some plants. If sod soil is not available, of course, garden loam can be subst.i.tuted, but it is very important that the soil be thoroughly mixed, and desirable that it be prepared sometime before it is to be used. Some growers use the same soil for several crops, simply adding some fresh manure; but, if so used, it is important that it be stirred and thoroughly re-mixed and sterilized.

CHAPTER VI

Exposure and Location

In sections where there is danger of the plants being killed by early fall frosts before they have ripened their entire crop, exposure of the field is sometimes of importance in determining the marketable yield.

A gentle inclination to the south, with a protection of higher land or timber on the sides from which frost or high winds are most likely to come, is the best. A steep descent to the south, shut in by high land to the east and west, so as to form a hot pocket, is not favorable for a maximum crop although it may give a smaller yield of early ripening fruit; nor is a small field entirely surrounded by forest desirable.

I once knew of a field, of about two acres, sloping to the south and entirely surrounded by heavy timber, on which two or three tomato crops were failures when other fields on the same farm gave large yields, but after the timber on the south and east had been cut away this field generally gave the largest yield in the neighborhood.

=Location.=--While exposure is in some cases an important factor in determining the total yield an acre, and so the cost, the location of the field as regards distance from marketing point and the character of the roads between them is of far greater importance in determining the cost and profit of crop, but one which is very often disregarded. The marketable product of an acre of tomatoes weighs from 3 to 30 tons, which is not only more than that of most farm crops, but the product is of such character that its value is easily destroyed by long hauls over ordinary roads. It has to be marketed within a day or two of the time it is in prime condition, regardless of the conditions of the roads or weather; so that it is quite deceptive to estimate the cost of delivery at the same rate a ton, as for potatoes or wheat, for it always costs more, and sometimes several times more, to deliver tomatoes than it would to deliver the same weight of less perishable crops. In most cases the cost of picking and delivery is one of the most important factors in determining profit and loss, particularly when the crop is grown for canning factories, where one often has to wait for hours for his team to unload. These conditions make it very important that the field be located within a short distance of, and connected by good roads with the point of delivery.

=Early maturing fruit.=--Where early maturity is the great desideratum the exposure of the field is often very important. It should, first of all, be such as to secure comparative freedom from spring frosts so as to permit of early setting of the plants and the full benefit of the sunshine as well as protection from cold winds. There is often a great difference in these respects between fields quite near each other.

Professor Rolfs, of Florida, mentions a case where the tomatoes in a field sloping to the southeast and protected on the north and west by a strip of oak timber were uninjured by a spring frost that killed not only all the plants in neighboring fields, but those in the same field farther away from the protecting timber. Such spots should be sought out and utilized, as often they can be used to great advantage. Immediate proximity to large bodies of water is sometimes advantageous in the South, but in the North it is often disadvantageous for early fruit because of the chilling of the air and the increased danger of spring frosts, although affording protection from those of early fall. Here, too, proximity of field to shipping point and distance and transportation rate to market are very important factors affecting profit on the crop.

=The home garden.=--The south side of buildings or of tight fences and walls often furnishes a most desirable place for garden tomatoes, but the plants should be set at least 6 to 10 feet from the protection and not so as to be trained upon or much shaded by them, as the disadvantage of shutting off the light and circulation of the air, even from the north, would more than overbalance anything gained by the protection.

=Growing under gla.s.s.=--In this country tomatoes are seldom grown under gla.s.s except during the darker winter months and the exposure of the house; the form of the roof and the method of glazing which will give the greatest possible light, are of importance, for tomatoes can not be profitably grown in a dark house. Just how the greatest amount of light may be made available in any particular case will depend upon local conditions, but every effort should be made to secure the most un.o.bstructed sunlight possible and for the greatest number of hours each day.

=Previous crop and condition.=--In field culture tomatoes should not follow tomatoes or potatoes. Both of these crops make use of large quant.i.ties of potash, and although a small part of that used by the plants is taken from the field in the crop, they inevitably reduce the proportion of this element in the soil--that is, in such condition as to be readily available for the succeeding crop. It is true that the deficiency in potash may be supplied, but it is not so easy to supply it in a condition in which it is possible for the roots of the tomato to take it in. Unlike potatoes, tomatoes do not do well on new land, whether it be newly cleared timber lands or new breaking of prairie.

Clover leaves the land in better condition for tomatoes than any other of the commonly grown farm crops, while for second choice I prefer one of peas, beans, corn, or wheat in the order named.

One of the most successful tomato growers I know of, whose soil is a rich, dark clay loam, prepares for the crop, as follows: Very late in the fall or early in the spring he gives a clover sod a heavy dressing of manure and plows it under. In the spring he prepares the ground by frequent cultivation and plants it with early sweet corn or summer squash. At the time of the last cultivation of these crops he sows clover seed, covering it with a cultivator having many small teeth, and rarely fails to get a good stand and a good growth of young clover before the ground freezes. In the spring he plows this under, running the plow as deep as possible and following in the furrow with a sub-soiler which stirs, but does not bring the sub-soil to the surface.

He then gives the field a heavy dressing with wood ashes and puts it into the best possible tilth before planting his tomatoes. This grown usually harvests at least 500 bushels to the acre and has made a crop of over 1,000 bushels.

=Early market.=--In some sections of the South where the soil is light and the growers depend almost wholly on the use of large quant.i.ties of commercial fertilizer, they seem to meet with the best success by using the same field for several successive crops, but in some places they succeed best with plantings following a crop of cowpeas or other green soiling crops plowed under, with a good dressing of lime.

CHAPTER VII

Fertilizers

The experiences and opinions of different gardeners and writers vary greatly as to the amount and kind of fertilizer necessary for the production of the maximum crop of tomatoes. If the question were as to the growth of vine all would agree that the more fertilizer used and the richer the soil, the better. Some growers act as if this were equally true as to fruit, while others declare that one can easily use too much fertilizer and get the ground too rich not only for a maximum but for a profitable crop of fruit. I find that the amount an acre recommended by successful growers varies from 40 tons of well-rotted stable manure, supplemented by 1,000 pounds of complete fertilizer and 1,000 pounds of unleached ashes, to one of only 300 pounds of potato fertilizer.

In my own experience the largest yield that I can recall was produced on what would be called rich land, and the application of fertilizer for the tomato crop was not in excess (unless possibly of potash) of that of the usual annual dressing. I think that in preparing a soil for tomatoes, as in selecting social acquaintances, the "new rich" are to be avoided. A soil which is rich because of judicious manuring and careful cropping for many years can scarcely be too rich, while one that is made rich by a single application of fertilizer, no matter how well proportioned, may give even a smaller yield of fruit because of its excessive use. Again, the proportions of the various food elements vary greatly in different locations.

Professor Halstead finds that in his section of New Jersey the liberal use of nitrate of soda increases the yield and improves the quality, while in some localities of New York, Ohio, and the West, growers find that the yield of first-cla.s.s fruit was actually lessened by its use. In some sections of the South liberality in the use of phosphates determines the amount and the quality of the crop, while at other points it seems to be of little value. In my own experience the liberal application of potash, particularly in the form of wood ashes, has more often given good results than the application of any other special fertilizer.

If called upon to name the exact quant.i.ty and kind of manure for tomatoes, without any knowledge of the soil or its previous condition, I would say 8 to 10 tons of good stable manure worked into the soil as late as possible in the fall or during the winter and early spring and 300 to 600 pounds of commercial fertilizer, of such composition as to furnish 2 per cent. nitrogen, 6 per cent. phosphoric acid and 8 per cent. potash scattered and worked into the row about the time that the plants are set. The use of a large proportion of nitrogen tends to rank growth of vine and soft, watery fruit. The use of a large proportion of phosphoric acid tends to produce soft fruit with less distinctly acid flavor; of potash, to smaller growth of vine and firm but more acid fruit.

I think that even more than with most crops it will be well for the farmer to experiment to determine the best and most economical fertilizer for his soil, setting aside five to ten plots of 1 to 4 square rods each and apply nitrate of soda, muriate of potash, wood, ashes, and phosphate alone and in different combinations. The results will suggest the combination which he can use to best advantage. In the majority of cases, however, where the soil is reasonably rich, expenditures for putting the ground in the best possible state of tilth will give larger returns than those for manures in excess of that which the land has usually received in the regular rotation for ordinary farm crops.

=For the home garden.=--Usually a dressing of wood ashes up to a rate of 1 bushel to the square rod, well worked into the soil before the plants are set, and occasionally watering with liquid manure, will generally give the best returns of any special fertilization, it being a.s.sumed that the garden has been well enriched with stable manure.

=Tomatoes under gla.s.s.=--Some growers recommend frequent waterings with liquid manure; others a surface dressing of sheep manure; still others a mulch of moderately well decayed stable manure. Plants growing under gla.s.s, particularly in pots or boxes, seem to be benefitted by so heavy a dressing that if applied to plants growing outside it would be likely to give excessive growth of vine with but little fruit.

CHAPTER VIII

Preparation of the Soil

The proper preparation of the soil before setting the plants is one of the most essential points in successful tomato culture. The soil should be put into the best possible physical condition and to the greatest practicable depth. How this can be best accomplished will vary greatly with different soils and the facilities at the command of the planter.

My practice on a heavy, dry soil is to plow shallow as early in the spring as the ground is fit to work, and then work and re-work the surface so as to make it as fine as possible.

If I am to use any manure which is at all coa.r.s.e, it is well worked in at this time. A week or 10 days before I expect to set the plants I again plow, and to as great a depth as practicable, without turning up much of the sub-soil, and if this has not been done within two years, follow in the furrows with a sub-soil plow which loosens, but does not bring the sub-soil to the surface. Then I work and re-work the surface, at the same time working in any dressing of well-rotted manure, ashes or commercial fertilizer that I want to use. I never regret going over the field again, if by so doing I can improve its condition in the least. On a lighter soil it might be better to compact rather than loosen as much as would give the best results with clay, but always and everywhere the soil should be made fine, friable and uniform in condition, to the greatest depth possible.

One of the most successful growers has said that if he could afford to spend but two days' time on a patch of tomatoes he would use a day and a half of the two days in fitting the ground before he set the plants. It is my opinion that any working of the ground that serves to get it into better mechanical condition, if done economically, will not only increase the yield, but to such an extent as to lower the cost a bushel.

T. B. Terry's teaching of the necessity for working and re-working the soil, if one would have the largest crops of potatoes of the best quality, is even more applicable to the culture of tomatoes.

=Home garden.=--Here there is no excuse for setting plants in hard, lumpy soil. It should be worked and re-worked, not simply once or twice, but once or twice after it has been thoroughly worked. In short, the tomato bed should be made as friable as it is possible to make it and to as great a depth as the character of the sub-soil will permit.

=Under gla.s.s.=--I would strongly advise that soil for tomatoes, whether it is to be used in solid beds or in pots or boxes, be thoroughly sterilized by piling it not over 15 inches deep or wide over iron pipes perforated with two lines of holes about one-sixteenth inch in diameter and 2 inches apart and filled with steam for at least a half hour. It can be sterilized, but far less effectively, by thorough wetting with boiling water. It should always be well stirred and aired before the plants are set in it.