1912 girl's club, tomato club booklet by Mary Baumgarner

[Image: Large tomato]

I joined the canning and poltry club in Feb the 20 1912 and received my in structions by [marked out] mail [marked out] by mail. then I made me a hot bed and I sowd my seed and I keept it coverd until the seed begain to come up and then I taken the cloth off and I put some plank on the bed and I put the cloth on over the plank and shut all places that the wind could get in the bed and inger the plants and when the sun would shine warm I taken the cover off and let them sun and when I watered them I made warm water and sprinkled the bed [illegible marked out] with it and when the plants got large well I let the plants get about 2 or 3 inches high befor I taken them up and then I taken them up and transplanted them and then I taken them up again after they had grown some and sit them out in my patch and when they

and when they had grown some again I taken little ho and I haked around then and they growed larger and when they begain to get limbs on and I taking a sharp knife and I cut the off and I kept them pruned and a when I would find a plant that was dieing I would pull it up and it out of the patch and put another in the place and they was to be staked and the way that I staked mine I just used the strat stakes and keept them tied up to the stakes. Now I will tell you what I put on my patch to make the plants with and to make them grow I put 5 and 1/2 horse loads of manure and the patch and a little of 5 percent acid and that is what I put on my patch for the good of my plants and I made 1/2 of my patch was late and 1/2 early and I put 5 percent acid in the row for the early one and put them.

up on a hill and my late ones I put them down in a deep row and they did a lot better then the early ones and when I begain to caning I would gather from 20 to 60 cans at one time and I would have the water in the caner rolling and tumbling and that is the way I caned my motatoes I just rejoince in earning work and I am going to join the canning and poltry club again if I can for I do not know of any thing else that anyone could make more off of that little of yrand and I will join it again if can for 1913 next year.

Mary Baumgarner, Hickory NC R.F.D.#3, Box 41

Image: Tomato, Banana, Pepper, Strawberry