1912 girl's club, tomato club booklet by Lora Propst

[image of a red and green rectangle border with four red tomatoes drawn in the corners and a green leaf in the center. Image is in crayon.]

I became a member of the Girls Canning and Poultry Club of Catawba, County, Hickory, North Carolina January the eight 1912 receiving through the mail instruction how to do the work andalso by our County Collaborator.

My garden was broke March the twenty first. The depth eight or ten inches and was rebroke April the eighth and then was cultivated once are twice a week. Until the fruit began to ripen.

Tomatoes. can be produced on most any kind of soil. but a sandy loam is most preferable. The soil should be well pulverized be fare the plants are set out.

examined

The seed was furnished for the club Girls by the State Goverment just one package for each Girl. I sowed one half of my seed March the eighteenth, in a hot bed two feet wide and four feet long. and when the Plants was about done and one half inches tall. I thined them so they stood about one inch apart.

I transplanted them April the twenty third and then on may the fifteenth I set them in my Garden the rows was four feet apart I set the plants three feet in the rows, then I sowed the rest of my seed the twenty fourth of April. transplanting them the twelfth of may and then again the twenty eight

of may. and then fourteenth of June I set them in my garden. cultivating and hoeing them one are more times a week until after the tomatoes began ripening.

I pruned my first plants May the twenty eighth by cutting off the limbs below the first cluster of bloom except to. I also pinched the bud from the branch bearing the flower cluster. I continued to do this as often as the plants forked and a flower cluster was formed. The object of this pruning process is to increase the size and quality of the tomatoes. Then I pruned the rest the twenty first of June doing these just like I did the others. While the plants are

small the soil should be cultivated and hold to a considerable depth in order to give the soil plenty of oxygen and fresh air.

I staked my first plants the fourth of June. I just used the straight stakes and just tied the vines to it. I had three hundred and twenty five plants. and only got one hundred and sixty one staked and those that I did not get staked had the bud end rot and I didnt get very many, but those that I got staked done very well I made twice as much off of then that was staked as I did them that was not staked I think it is a very good idea to stake the tomatoes as they get so much