. Bulletin - Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station. Agriculture -- Massachusetts. TRELLIS TOMATOES. Figure 2. Adequate Plant Growing Structure. started. As more growers have built better plant-growing structures, there has been a tendency toward later planting. At the Waltham Field Station seed is sown in flats in a 60° F. greenhouse usually about April 1. The plants are pricked out in benches in the same greenhouse 2x2 inches. When 4 inches tall, and about May 1, they are moved to the cold frame and set 4x4 inches or, if space is available, 6x6 inches. Figure 3 shows the stages at whi
. Bulletin - Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station. Agriculture -- Massachusetts. TRELLIS TOMATOES. Figure 2. Adequate Plant Growing Structure. started. As more growers have built better plant-growing structures, there has been a tendency toward later planting. At the Waltham Field Station seed is sown in flats in a 60° F. greenhouse usually about April 1. The plants are pricked out in benches in the same greenhouse 2x2 inches. When 4 inches tall, and about May 1, they are moved to the cold frame and set 4x4 inches or, if space is available, 6x6 inches. Figure 3 shows the stages at which the plants in this experiment were transplanted the first and second time. Even when seed is planted as late as April 1, the plants are sufficiently large to set May 28 to June 1. If seed is sown thinly in the seed bed, the plants are not so likely to become spindly. One ounce of seed will produce at least 3,000 plants. There are many different opinions as to how many times a plant should be transplanted. The more times the plant is moved the more branched and com- pact the root system becomes. Setting over twice, as practiced at the Waltham Field Station, has produced a very satisfactory plant. "Are potted plants worth the cost and trouble?" is a frequent question. To obtain the answer, some plants were set in 4-inch clay pots at the time of trans- planting to the cold frame. When ready to set in the field the pot was well filled with roots and the soil did not break apart. Figure 4 shows a well-grown pot plant. Other plants were grown 4x4 inches apart in the bed. These were dug when the soil was very wet and a ball of soil was pressed around the roots of each plant. The potted plants, which received no check in growth, produced the largest early yield, x^t Waltham this increase in yield amounted to 38 percent; while at Amherst the increase was much greater, being 83 percent. Since this early fruit is the part of the crop that brings the highest price, these incr
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