Tomatoes in Pots.

Otago Witness, Issue 1956, 20 August 1891, Page 5

Tomatoes in Pots.

, A few early fruit may Easily b$ grown by all who JfoYeiri house in* whi6h thd temperature 1 is ■ maintained'At About SOde^by night, and loaeg ' higher us, the ( .d&ytinae. .< lf these. figureß are not i rtacb^d, pr-a;e ©xqesded oooaaionally, jio barm dojne, jt^e.tomatp,, no* indeed any.o^hjr kujd ,of,f r.mt or fwccgd -vegetable, being , a t <f very'.iiaaiQular in, this, r.ej»pect. ,T^ aetey makinif a pjtart'under the mistaken im,. pr'elsiori that 'the tomato needs a temperature su'Cb/'say' as ouonmberV and 'melons must have", is a' common error which I wish to dissipate, In', reality early plants are often' given too mufihJrc? heat, land refuse to set good crops accordingly. , Nor. do they need . much house 1 room. Plenty of light, and air they ought to hape, aiit is.w.hen crowded among a variety of plants on a shelf or staging at a considerable jdietance from the glass that they most often .fail. The shelves at the back of three-quarter span-roofed houses, are capital positions for a lew plants' in pots, ■ these being trained up wires or strings near the glass. The ends of low-roofed houses, as well as raised walls and stagings, are also suitable, the plants in these instances being supported by stakes. Whether few or many be prown should depend upon the honao room and other circumstances, and the only advioe I oan give on this part of the subject ia this : better by far grow a few well, eaoh having plenty of room, than to crowd a number together, as it will be found that six plants given good pot and bead room will produce more fruit than a dozen muddled together.

SUITABLE VARIETIES.

"When it is intended to fruit. ( a few plants in Bin or 9in pots— these perhaps being as large as .the shelves will hold — one of the smaller fruited varieties Bhoufd be grown, I have had excellent crops of Viok's Criterion, in Bin pots, and of Dwarf Orangefield, in 9in and lOin potß. The last-named, and also Large Ked, Dedbam Favourite, Carters' Perfection, and Hathaway's Excelsior, all do well in lOin or larger pots, and also rather deep boxes. The most sure setters are Dwarf OraDgefield and Large Bed, but the others produce handsome, smooth, and solid fruit, quality also being good. Try one of the free setters, and one of the more showy varieties, or say Carters' Perfection,

BAISINO 2KB PLANTS.

Sow . the Beed on the surface of a well drained 6in pot, filled with light Bandy soil ; cover lightly with more of this j water through » fine rose pot, and partially plunge in a gentle hot bed. Failing this convenience, set the pot in a warm house, not far from ,the hot-water pipeß, covering the top of the pot with a square of fflaßß, and shading from bright sunehine. In either case the seedlings soon appear, and when well clear of the soil they must have plenty of light. Thin out early if at all crowded, and when about 2in high set the pot on a warm sunny ehelf and keep supplied with water. When eaoh piaDt bas developed a leaf, other than the two seed leaves, the time has arrived for potting. Prepare a small heap of light loamy compost, and insert a hot brick in the centra to warm it, Next

fill the requisite nnmber of lightly drained and clean Sin pots with the compost, then ahake the seedlings clear of the soil, and aelecfc the sturdiest. With a dibber form a deep hole m the centre of each pot, drop a plant into this nearly or quite up to the seed leaves, and very carefully close the hold down to the roota. All this should be dona if possible in the house or frame, where thcae very tender plants ara rawed, 1 and they ought to be watered in, 2* kept rather cloße an d % hfcl * shaded for a few days. At first very mtle water should be given, this alwayg being an warm as the houße or frame I hus treated root aotion will soon be brisk, tha bpried sterna also emitting roots throughout their length. Before they become drawn and weakly, block them up noar the glass, or return to the sunny shelves in warm house. Thus may appear a lot of unnecessary trouble, but unless it ia taken fine sturdy plants oannot be raised, and very often muoh valuable hafcd room is wasted owing to the start having been made with spindly plante.

THB VINAL POTTING. lhe longer seedling tomatoes are kept in the email pots after these are well filled with roots the more leggy and weakly they become. They should therefore be given their final shift before they aro badly root-bound. I have already alluded to the sizes of pot that may b* employed, and hence will oaly add that our .earhsst tomatoes are fruited in- lOin note, -smallsr sizss nesdlfig more attention: than we can bestow on tfcem. These are only lightly drained, a great depth of drainage, besides taking up too much pot room, necessitating* more frequent use of the watering pot. The compost best suited to tomatoes consists of two parts roughly broken fcurfy loam to one of partially deoayed horse droppings or old mushroom bed manure. Failing this, use the beat loamy compost procurable, and in either case it ehomd be warmed prior to use. Place about 4in of the roughest of this over the drainage, making it firm and level. On this set the plant, paoking more of the oompoat firmly round the sides, and only just covering the ball. If the ball of soil and roots were in ft moist Btate, as they ought always to be when given a shift, no water will be needed for two or three dayß, and at first it is the ball of old soil that should be watered, the aim being to keep this moist without souring the fresh compost. The plants if set in a warm position, or where they are to fruit, will soon root into the fresh soil, thiß being followed by the rapid development of the leaves rather than tall growth.

TOP DBESBINa AND OTHER DETAILS. Before the plants get crooked they Bhould be staked. Short light stakes are as a rale needed at first. by those to be trained up wire trelliaing or Btringa, either of which should be disposed at least 12iu from the glass, white those to be fruited in an upright position may have Btroog stakes placed to them at ouoe. The latter ought to be about 4ft high. From the first .only the main stem Bhonld be allowed to grow, all the .side' shoots being oloßely rubbed out as fast as i they- appear: Amateurs are apt tv be puzzled with this rather stereo* typed detail, and soma of them fanoy they areiremoTing^thfl^ajtjolusteM as .well as the shoo*. !t VngoMwoWeve%B&oDV?Bide shoofe if left would develop a bunch, of bloom, but it must be thorqfig&ly.": understood that the bunches of bloom needed on the main stem are produced from the points and not from the joints, or .squls^f Jher leaves. There ought to be no mistaking jhem. and the first bunch should* ba visible either at the time the plants are finally potted or shortly after. In addition to forming a bunoh of bloom, the plants will also push out one or more shoots around this bunch. One of these should be selected and trained up the stake, another cluster and more shoots -soon"- following. In th'iß manner three or four bunches of bloom or clusters of fruit one above another will be in various stages of growth " by^the time the top of the etake or the plant's limit is reached. Rubbing out all side shoots greatly strengthens the. plapt, and tfaefine leaves this forms serve to swel^.the, Btemß and perfeot the fruit. Directly the first cluster of fruit is set, give the plants' a good watering if at all dry, and then top dress them with a mixture of equal quantities of good loam and partially rotten manure, or nothing but turfy loam and a sprinkling, of Jensen's fish-bone manure may be given, (1 Potting, deep in the first place left good space for the top dressing, and after this is done there will still be a good depth for receiving, water. After the top dressing, water carefully for a few days, taking care, however, tnat the old soil does not become io juriously dry at any time. The fresh soil might be wet, and^yet the old soil very dry, hence the necessity for examining deeply at first. The roots soon take possession of the fresh compost, and find in this a good supply of food when most needed. When this new soil ie well filled with roots, and' the fruit swelling _ rapidly, frequent supplies of some kind of liquid manure must be given, or else an occasional eurfaoing of an artificial manure, suoh as moßt verdoreof horticultural requisites supply, the latter being used in great moderation, and washed in. Plenty of air facilitate* setting of the fruit, and it Bhould be added, no overhead syringing is needed, but will do no harm if unavoidably resorted to. — "Practical," in Amateur Gardening.