three years. It is a better plan to make a small plantation annually,
and at the same time destroy an old plantation that has served its
turn. But we are bound to say that Strawberry plantations, well made
and well kept, will often last and prove profitable for six or even
more years. But this will never be the case where there is a stint of
manure or water, or where the runners are allowed to run in their own
way to make a Strawberry mat and a jam of the wrong sort. The
Strawberry fancier does not wish to keep a plantation any great length
of time, and he must plant annually to taste the new sorts. This to
many people is one of the chief delights of the garden, and it
certainly has its attractions.
Forced Strawberries.—The high price realised on the market for the
earliest supply of forced Strawberries is a sufficient proof that
society is prepared to pay handsomely for this refreshing luxury. As
the season advances and competition becomes keen the figure rapidly
declines, but ‘Strawberries at a guinea an ounce’ has more than once
appeared as a sensational head-line in the daily press.
The fruiting of Strawberries in pots is part of the annual routine of
nearly all large establishments, but even with the most perfect
appliances it must be admitted that to produce berries which win
appreciation for their size, colour, and flavour demands both skill and
patience, especially patience.
Strong well-rooted plants are essential to success, and no trouble
should be spared to secure them from robust free-fruiting stocks. The
earliest runners must either be layered on square pieces of mellow turf
or over thumb pots filled with a good rich compost. When the runners
are fairly rooted in the layers of turf or the thumb pots they should
be transferred to pots of the fruiting size. No. 32 is generally used
for the purpose. After the pots have been crocked some growers add a
layer of half-inch bones, which aid the plants and insure free
drainage. The most satisfactory soil is a rich fibrous loam, with the
addition of one-fourth of well-rotted manure and a small proportion of
sand, and the compost must be well firmed into the pots with the
ramming stick.
The best place to keep the plants is an open airy situation, easily
accessible, where the pots can stand on a bed of ashes. On the approach
of frost they can be transferred to a cold frame, keeping them close to
the glass, or they may be plunged in ashes in some sheltered position.
When the time arrives for forcing, it is usual to commence by plunging
the pots in a bed of warm leaves or in a mild half-spent hot-bed.
Immediately the plants show sign of blooming they must be shifted to
warmer quarters. A shelf at the back of an early vinery or Peach-house,
quite near the glass, is a suitable position. The temperature at
starting should be 55° Fahr., rising gradually to 60° by the time the
leafage is thoroughly developed.
The appearance of the flower trusses is a critical period. Liquid
manure should then be given freely, and at the same time the plants
must have abundance of light and a warm dry atmosphere. The blossoms
need to be artificially fertilised with a camel’s-hair pencil, choosing
midday as the best time for this operation.
When the crop has set it must be thinned to about nine berries on each
plant, and in due time the fruits should have the support of forked
sticks. Care will be necessary to prevent injury to the stalks, or the
flow of sap to the berries may be arrested. Syringe twice a day in dry
weather; and on the first show of colour discontinue the manure-water
and use pure soft water only. At this stage a night temperature of 65°
must be maintained, giving all the air and light possible.
More failures in the pot culture of Strawberries are attributable to
neglect in watering than to any other cause. The soil must never be
allowed to become dry. Should the leaves once droop they seldom
recover. At least twice a day the plants will need attention, and it is
important that the water should be of the same temperature as the
atmosphere. Always leave the cans full in readiness for the next visit.
Alpine Strawberries are very largely grown in France, probably more so
than the large-fruited varieties which are popular in this country. The
best method is to sow the seeds in January, in pans filled with a light
rich compost and placed in a gentle heat. Prick out the plants on to a
bed of light soil in a frame, or on a nearly exhausted hot-bed, whence
they should be taken to the open ground. From these sowings fine fruits
may usually be gathered in the following September. Seeds may also be
sown outdoors in spring or in September in shallow drills, six inches
apart, on a bed of light soil. Transplant in due course for fruiting in
the succeeding Strawberry season. When a full crop has been gathered
the plants should be destroyed, a succession being kept up by sowing
annually. By slowly growing the plants from spring-sown seeds and
potting in autumn, it is not a difficult matter to have Alpines in
fruit under glass at Christmas.
SUNFLOWER
Helianthus annuus
Although the Sunflower is not utilised as food for man, the plant is
frequently grown in the Kitchen Garden, partly as an ornament, and also
for the production of seeds which are given to poultry.
As regards cultivation, sow in pans in April, and put on a gentle
hot-bed, or shut up close in a sunny frame. The plants will soon
appear. Give them light and air, and plant out when they are two or
three inches high. But Sunflowers can be grown without any kind of
artificial aid. A simple and effectual method is to make the spot
intended for them very rich, and dibble the seed an inch deep on the
first day of May.
TOMATO
Lycopersicum esculentum
The taste for Tomatoes often begins with a little antipathy, but it is
soon acquired, and not infrequently develops into decided fondness for
the fruit both cooked and in its natural condition. As a necessary
article of food the call for it in this country is no longer limited to
a select circle of epicures, for the value of its refreshing,
appetising, and corrective properties is now widely recognised, and its
advance in public favour has been accelerated by the improved quality,
enhanced beauty, and increased variety effected by expert raisers.
The Tomato is a tender, but not a tropical plant, and it requires a
moderately high temperature, free access of air, and above all a full
flood of solar light to bring it to perfection. The necessary heat is
easily managed in any garden equipped with ordinary forcing appliances;
so also is a current of air in properly constructed buildings; but the
deficiency of light during the darker months renders the task of
producing fruit in midwinter less easy than at other seasons. By the
introduction of varieties possessing increased powers of crop-setting,
however, the difficulty of winter fruiting has been largely overcome,
so that, with efficient management, it is now possible to send Tomatoes
to table throughout the year.
Almost every imaginable glass structure can be employed for growing
Tomatoes, from the small suburban greenhouse to the vast span-roof,
hundreds of feet in length, devoted to their culture in the Channel
Islands. And it is not essential that the crop should be grown alone.
Potatoes, French Beans, Strawberries, and Vines may be forced in the
same building, provided there be no obstruction to light and air, nor
any interference with the conditions which experience has proved to be
imperative for sustaining the plants in vigorous health. For winter and
spring gathering there must be a service of hot-water pipes, but as the
season advances it is easy to ripen fruit in cool houses, and later on
plants outdoors will in favourable seasons yield an abundant return
without artificial protection of any kind.
INDOOR CULTURE—Sowing and Transplanting.—Seed may be sown at almost any
time of the year, but the most important months are January to March,
August and September. In gardens favourably situated in the South of
England and furnished with the most perfect appliances, seed is sown in
all these months, and in others also; but in smaller gardens sowings
are generally restricted to February and March. Whenever a start is
made sow thinly and about half an inch deep, in pans or boxes, and do
not allow the seedlings to remain in them for an unnecessary day.
Immediately two or at most four leaves are formed either prick off into
other pans or boxes, or transfer singly to thumb pots, and as a rule
the pots will be found preferable. The soil for these pans or pots
should be stored in the greenhouse a few days in advance of the
transfer, so that the compost may acquire the proper temperature and
save the plants from an untimely check. In small houses place the
plants near the glass that they may remain short in the joint, but on
cold nights they must be taken down to avoid injury from fluctuations
of temperature. In large houses, where the light is well diffused,
there is no need to incur this trouble, for the seedlings will do
equally well on the ground level. In due time shift into six-inch pots,
from which they can go straight to borders, or into a larger size if
they are to be fruited in pots. About fourteen weeks will be required
to prepare the plants for borders in the winter season, but a shorter
period will suffice in spring and summer. Plants from an August or
September sowing will not mature fruit in much less than six months,
while a March sowing will yield a return in four months or less. A
great deal depends on the character of the season, and more on skill
and attention. Those who sow in January or February should sow again a
fortnight later, and onwards until the end of April, according to
requirements. For winter supplies a first sowing may be made in June,
in a cold frame, and prepared for transfer to fruiting pots in
September.
Treatment of Soil.—In the first instance there need be no anxiety about
soil. Any fairly good sandy loam will answer for the seed-pans, and if
too stiff it may be freely mixed with sharp sand or the sifted
sweepings from roads and gravel walks. A fibrous loam, cut from a rich
pasture, and laid up in a heap for twelve months, will, with an
addition of wood ashes and grit, make an ideal soil for pots or
borders. As the plants advance, leaf-mould or thoroughly decayed manure
in moderate quantity should be supplied; but, instead of incorporating
it with the loam in the usual way, it will be found advantageous to
place the manure immediately above the crocks, and the roots will find
it at the right time. But the quantity of manure must not be overdone,
especially in the earlier stages of growth, because excessive
luxuriance neither promotes fruitfulness nor conduces to early
ripening. After the fruit has set, a mulch of decayed manure will aid
the plants in finishing a heavy crop. Manure which is only partially
fermented will not do at all. The ammonia it liberates exerts so deadly
a power that the plants are quickly scorched.
In its demand for potash the Tomato closely resembles the Potato, and
of the two the former is the more exacting. So quickly does this crop
exhaust the soil, that in small houses it is usual to take out the
earth to a depth of fifteen or eighteen inches every second or third
year, and replace it with virgin loam. Others grow the Tomatoes
alternately in the bed and in pots, but this is only a partial remedy.
Constant dressings of farmyard or stable manure result in the formation
of humus, which, as it becomes sour, has to be sweetened by the solvent
influence of lime. The chief objection to the use of stable manure,
however, even when well rotted, is that it induces a free growth of
foliage instead of promoting an early development of fruit. The most
enduring method is that which is based on chemical knowledge of the
constituents of the soil, and the relation which the plant bears to it.
One of the most successful growers for the London market almost
entirely avoids the use of stable manure, and he is able, by
applications of nitrate of potash, dissolved bones, and the occasional
use of lime, to grow splendid crops in the same houses year after year.
All the conditions which answer for border work are applicable to pots,
and a limited number of plants brought forward in succession will
supply the requirements of a small household from early spring until
near Christmas. The pot system is conducive to free setting and to
early ripening, and for these reasons it is worth attention. The plants
should be kept short in the joint by frequent shifts until the
twelve-inch pot is reached, and this size will accommodate two cordons
or one plant having two branches, each of which will require a separate
stake for its support. Plunging the pots can be adopted to save labour
in watering.
Temperatures.—No advantage is to be gained by attempting to force
Tomatoes in a higher temperature than is consistent with healthy
progress, although in winter there is great temptation in the direction
of overheating. Full time for development in moderate heat will bring
stout joints, and impart a vigorous constitution that materially aids
the plants in resisting the insidious attacks of disease. The waning
autumn and dull winter days are the most troublesome periods of
management, and it is remarkable that of two days equal in duration and
apparently in other conditions, the autumnal appears to be less
favourable than the spring day. But if, on the one hand, a high
temperature is injurious, a low temperature must be avoided; although
for a time it may not appear to be harmful. A temperature of 60° or 65°
suits the seed-pans, and after transfer to pots and the roots have
become established, the thermometer should not register less than 55°
during the night. It may rise 10° by means of fire heat in the daytime,
and during bursts of sunshine another 10° or 15° will be quite safe,
always assuming that the roots are not dry, and that the plants have
free ventilation.
Watering.—The judicious administration of water forms an important
feature in the culture of the Tomato. The plant is too succulent to
endure drought with impunity, and it is mere folly to toy with the
water-can. Saturate down to the roots, and then leave the plants alone
until more water is wanted. No hard and fast rule can be stated as to
frequency. It depends on the condition of the soil, the period of the
year, and the age of the plants. Borders and soil for pots should be
made sufficiently moist in advance, so that watering will not be
necessary immediately after the plants are transferred. The prevalent
opinion that excessive watering generates disease is not confirmed by
our experience. Of course the watering should not be excessive for many
reasons, but the diseases which are often attributed to over-watering
are the result of atmospheric mismanagement.
General Treatment.—Authorities are not agreed as to whether branched
plants or simple cordons yield the better results. In our judgment the
single stem deserves preference, and it is now more extensively grown
than any other form, although plants having two branches are almost
equally popular. Certainly the cordon can be managed with extreme ease;
it is admittedly the earliest producer, and there is a general
consensus of opinion that the fruit it produces is unsurpassed in size
and quality. The doubtful point is quantity, but even here the
difference, if any, is too trifling to be worth the consideration of
private growers. Cordons are formed by removing the laterals as fast as
they appear, and when the fruit has set, or the requisite height is
attained, the top is also pinched out.
The space allowed for each plant varies greatly, especially among
growers for market. Under glass every branched Tomato should be allowed
at least three feet each way. For cordons we advocate a distance
between the rows of three feet, and a space of two feet in the row is
not too much. The stems require support of some kind, and stakes are
preferable to string; but of course the stems may be secured to wires
whenever it is convenient to run the plants immediately under the
glass.
Another point upon which authorities differ is the extent to which
Tomatoes should be denuded of their foliage. Some growers condemn the
procedure entirely; others reduce their plants to skeletons. Both
extremes are objectionable, for when all the leaves are permitted to
remain there is delay or partial failure in colouring the fruit, and
the almost entire removal of foliage checks the root action
injuriously. In practice it answers well to wait until the fruit has
set, then by pinching out the leading point of each leaf, commencing at
the bottom, ripening and colouring are promoted, and the health of the
plant remains unimpaired.
In dull weather, and especially in short days, a difficulty is
sometimes experienced in setting the fruit, particularly the first
bunch. After fruit has begun to swell on one bunch, the remainder set
with comparative ease. A rather higher temperature than usual combined
with free movement of the atmosphere is generally sufficient to insure
fertilisation. If assistance is necessary, however, water the plants
early in the afternoon, and close the house rather before the usual
time. The warm atmosphere will develop plenty of pollen, and a gentle
shaking of the flower bunches with a slight touch from a hazel twig
will liberate visible clouds, which will effectually set the fruit.
Another method is to lift a flat label or paper knife against the
flowers. The label becomes covered with pollen, and by gently touching
each flower with a slight upward pressure a great number can be
fertilised in a few minutes. A soft brush passed over the flowers daily
has the same effect. Plants in the open ground need no such attention
if they are in good health and the season is at all genial. When a
bunch of flowers contains one that is fasciated or confused, the flower
should be pinched out to prevent the formation of large and ugly fruit.
The remainder of the bunch will be the finer for its absence.
OUTDOOR CULTURE.—For the open ground it is important to choose a
variety that ripens early. The plants should be vigorous, and they must
be carefully hardened before they are put out. Sow the seed in heat in
February or March, and when large enough transfer the seedlings to
single pots until wanted. Every effort should be made to avoid giving
the plants a check, and if room is available they may be potted on to
the six-inch size and allowed to form one truss of bloom before
planting out, thus saving valuable time. The end of May is usually the
right time for transfer to the open, but Tomatoes will not endure a
keen east wind or nipping frost. During the prevalence of unfavourable
weather it is advisable to wait a week or more rather than risk the
destruction of the plants. When the temperature appears to be fairly
reliable, put them into holes a foot deep and eighteen inches across,
filled with light soil not too rich. For a few nights until the roots
take hold slight protection should be at hand to assure safety; Sea
Kale pots answer admirably, and are easily placed in position. In
addition to beds all sorts of places are suitable for Tomatoes, such as
under warm palings or walls, on sloping banks and in sheltered nooks,
where they will thrive and yield valuable fruit. Stout stakes are
required and should be promptly provided. Pinch out the lateral shoots,
and as soon as the fruits commence to colour some of the largest leaves
may be partially removed. Early in August nip out the tips of the
leaders in order to encourage ripening. Thus in the open garden a
supply of this delicacy may be insured for part of the year equal in
quality to fruit which is grown under glass. (_See also page 181_.)
The diseases of the Tomato are dealt with in the chapter on The Fungus
Pests of certain Garden Plants.
TURNIP
Brassica Rapa
The Turnip is not a difficult garden crop; indeed, the simplest
management will produce an ample supply, and any fairly good ground
will suffice for it. But whatever is worth doing is worth doing well,
and a gardener may be pardoned for taking an especial pride in
producing a sufficiency of handsome and tender Turnips. The great point
is to insure a succession through a long season, or, say, the whole
year round, for Turnips are always in request, and at certain periods
of the year delicate young roots are greatly valued for the table.
The finest Turnips are grown in deep, sandy loam, kept in a high state
of cultivation. Useful Turnips may be grown on any soil, but a handsome
sample of the finest quality cannot be produced on heavy clay or thin
limestone. In common with other fast-growing plants of the cruciferous
order, Turnips must have lime in some form, and in many gardens it will
occasionally be necessary to give a dressing of lime in addition to the
ordinary manure. Superphosphate, bone, and old plaster or mortar from
destroyed buildings, are all valuable in preparing the soil for this
crop.
Times of Sowing.—An early crop of small bulbs may be grown by sowing in
January on a very gentle hot-bed as prescribed for early Radishes, and
it may be well to add, that in an emergency white Turnip Radishes may
be made to take the place of Turnips, both to flavour soups and to
appear as a dish in the usual way. Fast-growing Turnips may be sown on
a sheltered warm border in February and March, to be carefully watched
and protected when unkind weather prevails. In April and May sowings
should be made consistently with the probable wants of the household,
but the May sowings should comprise two or three sorts in the event of
hot dry weather spoiling some of them.
The principal sowings for autumn and winter supplies are made in June
and July, but seed may also be sown in August. Ground from which some
crop, such as Peas, has just been cleared generally needs little
preparation beyond breaking the surface with a hoe, followed by a good
raking. Thin the plants early and let them stand finally at six to nine
inches apart in the rows. For late crops seed is often sown broadcast,
the roots being pulled as they mature.
General Culture.—It is advisable to sow Turnips in drills on a fine
tilth, and it is an advantage to have a sufficiency of some stimulating
manure near the surface to hurry the growth of the young plant, for the
danger of fly belongs to the seed-leaf stage. Generally speaking, the
Turnip fly does but little harm in gardens; but where it is much
feared, the seed should be sown in prepared drills to encourage a quick
growth. Draw the drills twelve to fifteen inches apart, three inches
deep, and about the same width, and almost fill them with rotten
manure, or with a mixture of earth and guano, or wood ashes; cover this
with a little fine soil to prevent injury to the seed; then sow, and
lightly conceal the seed with earth as a finish. If the ground is
sufficiently moist, growth will commence almost immediately, and the
plant will come up strong, and very quickly put forth rough leaves. In
the general management more depends on timely and judicious thinning
than upon any other point. If Turnips are not well thinned, so that
each plant can spread its green head unimpeded by the leaves of a
neighbour, a good growth cannot be expected; and thinning by the hoe
should be commenced as soon as the rough leaves appear. The operation
must be repeated until the plants are at a suitable distance, and then
comes the process of singling, which should be done by hand. It will be
found that in many cases two or three little plants stand together
looking like one. There must be only one left at each station, and that
should be the shortest. The distances may vary from four to ten inches,
according to the vigour of the variety and the kind of Turnips
required. An easy and profitable plan is to allow a certain number of
bulbs to swell to supply young Turnips, and, by drawing these, leave
room for the remainder of the crop to attain its proper size for
storing.