1912 girl's club, tomato club booklet by Beulah Prapst

[image of a crayon drawing of a red and green rectangle box with a red tomato with a green vine and four green leaves in the corners]

I joined the tomato canning club of Catawba county January the sixth. 1912 of which I received instructions how to do the work through mail and by our county collaborator

My ground was broke March the twenty first to the depth of eight or nine inches it was rebroke April the sixth and was cultivated once and twice aweek until the fruit began to ripen. The ground should be of a sandy loam soil and well pulverized before the plants are set out

The seed was furnished us by the State Government of which I sowed one half of them March eighteenth in a

examined

Hot bed two feet wide and four feet long as soon as the plants were up an inch or more I thined them so they stood an ince an a half apart I then had about four hundered in my box

April the twenty third I transplanted then which made the plants strong. When they were three or four inches high I set them in my tenth of acre this being the fifthteenth of May

I pruned the plants the twentyeight of may by cutting off all limbs which came out below the paint where the plant branches and forms the cluster of flowers I also pinched out the

Flower cluster and continued to do so as often as it were formed. The object of pruning is to increase the size and quality of the tomato.

I staked about one half of my plants the second of June I used the straight stake and just tied the vines to it I did not get but half of my plants staked but I made again as much off of then as I did of the half that were not staked had the Bud end rat. I think it was caused by not having enough fresh air and sun light. I think it best to stake the plants because the vines will spread over the ground and shade

The fruit and but few will be well developed few ripened evenly and many remain green until frost and then can only be used for tomatoes pickles.

I saw my first bloom the tenth of June had my first ripe tomato the twentieth of July

August the second I canned my first tomatoes and continued to can once and twice aweek until the season was over and enjoyed it very much

I attended a canning party at our collaborators home this being before tomatoes were ripe so we canned other vegetables there were twenty club members