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-class 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 quantity 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 assumed
that the garden has been well enriched with stable manure.
=Tomatoes under glass.=--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
glass, 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.