CULTURE OF TOMATOES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22712, 26 October 1935, Page 25

CULTURE OF TOMATOES

POINTERS FOR THE NOVICE Tomatoes are not a difficult crop to grow in the greenhouse, providing the plants are well looked after from start to finish. But once let them get into really bad condition, and it is a heartbreaking task to pull them round again. The secret of success lies in keeping careful watch over the plants and adjusting treatment appropriately at the first signs of ill-health or any irregularity in behaviour. The commonest error made at this time of the year is that of purchasing tomato plants that have been raised in a well-heated glasshouse, and attempting to establish them in an unheated structure. All may go well for a few days if the weather happens to be mild, but sooner or later the plants are almost certain to get chilled badly, with the result that growth will come to a standstill, and the young foliage will become thin, weakly, and spotted. It is hardly ever wise to plant tomatoes in an unheated greenhouse before the last week in October, and even then care should be taken to secure plants that have been carefully hardened off, so that they are fully accustomed to comparatively low night temperatures SCORCHING AND SCALDING. Another frequent cause of trouble early in the season is insufficient ventilation first thing in the morning. If the sky is clear, and the greenhouse stands in a position open to the east, the sun’s rays will very quickly raise the inside temperature considerably. It is this sudden change from the comparative cold of the night, aggravated by direct scorching due to globules of condensed water hanging on the leaves and acting as so many tiny burning glasses, that causes a great deal of damage to many young greenhouse plants. The danger can be entirely avoided by giving a very little top ventilation shortly after direct sunlight first reaches the greenhouse. Only a “ crack of air,” to use an expressive gardening term, need be given so early in the morning; really free use of the ventilators will not be required for a further two or three hours, and then only if the weather is reasonably good. Cold draughts are never beneficial to plants. Tomatoes are surface rooting plants, and no attempt should be made to alter this natural habit. It is all to the good to have the great bulk of roots only just below the soil, for this makes it a fairly simple matter to regulate such important matters as watering and feeding. From these remarks it will readily be understood that deep planting must be avoided. A safe rule is to cover the uppermost roots with about half an inch of soil. Then, later on in the season, when rootlets begin to show freely on the surface of the soil, a light top-dressing of well-rotted stable manure or a good compost of loam, leaf mould, and a little tomato fertiliser, can be given with advantage. This necessity for shallow planting raises a new problem. What is to be done with young plants that have got rather thin and drawn in the pots ot boxes in which they were raised? The gardener calls such plants “ leggy ” because of the amount of bare stem at the base of each. No one wants to waste valuable head room with such useless material, and the first impulse is to drop the long stem at planting time into a good deep hole. This will not do, but an entirely satisfactory solution can be found in planting at the ordinary depth, but at a slight angle a few inches away from the stake or wire up which the plant is to be trained, laying the bar stem flat on the surface of the soil, and fixing it securely there with two or three wooden pegs. The leafy end of the plant is carefully trained up the support, care being taken not to snap the shoot. MOISTURE AND VENTILATION. Tomatoes must have a dry and buoyant atmosphere. In this they differ completely from cucumbers, which appreciate damp air. Yet tomatoes in vigorous growth required plenty of moisture at the roots in order to supply this without making the atmosphere too wet, it is

advisable to complete all watering before mid-day, except in very hot summer weather, when two waterings per day, morning and evening, may occasionally be required. At the same time care should be taken to direct the water right down on to the soil, and to avoid splashing it unnecessarily on foliage, paths and walls. Care in this respect, combined with adequate day ventilation now and a little night ventilation from December onwards, will do much to keep the plants healthy, and prevent an attack of the tomato grey mould fungus, a disease particularly prevalent in ill-ventilated, poorly lighted, and unheated greenhouses. Firm soil is another great safeguard ot the health of tomatoes. • Planting should not be done until the soil in the greenhouse is in good condition. A simple test is to take a handful at random and squeeze it firmly in the palm. It should contain sufficient moisture to cling together in a ball. This is then dropped from a height of six or eight inches on to the bed. It must not be so wet that the ball refuses to crumble up at the impact. With soil in the right condition it is an easy matter to plant with sufficient firmness. The flat of a brick can be used to press the compost tightly down on top of the roots, and also to consolidate it all over the bed. In loose soil growth will be soft and leaves far apart, where in properly consolidated compost it will be firm and short-jointed. While stressing the necessity for encouraging sturdy plants, it may be as well to warn readers against the other extreme, all too common with amateurs, of hardening growth so much that they are eventually brought to a complete standstill. This is usually caused, not by too much firming of the soil, but by insufficient watering and a poor, undernourished compost. Whenever tomatoes are watered, sufficient must be given to soak the soil in beds, pots or boxes right through. A rose or spray should only be used on the watering pot for the first few days after planting, when the surface soil is still liable to bo washed away readily. As soon as it settles down properly, water must be applied directly from the spout, for it takes far too long to wet the soil properly through even a coarse rose. Moreover, the appearance of surface wetting, caused bv the downpour ot finely-spread water, is apt to be very deceiving even to the expert, and leads one to believe that the task is properly done long before the plants have been given an adequate drink. POLLINATING THE FLOWERS. More often than not, the first truss of flowers in the novice’s greenhouse fails to set properly. This cliflictilty can easily be overcome by practising artificial fertilisation after the sun has been shining for an hour or so, and the air is brisk and dry. Of course, the flowers themselves must be fully open. Pollen distribution is effected either by jarring the plants vigorously with the finger or by making use of a rabbit’s tail or piece of cotton wool tied to a bamboo cane. Practically all tomatoes nowadays are grown on the single stem system. This involves removal of all side growths as soon as they appear.—Plantsman, in Amateur Gardening.