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THINNING
This needs to be done now practically every
week. Beet, carrots, parsnips, lettuce and spinach have all to be thinned as
they become large enough. Thinning was dealt with in the
May "Guide" and all that it is necessary to
add now is that it is a good time to apply a little fertilizer after the
plants have been thinned and are beginning to grow strongly. [edited for
content]TOMATOES
The May "Guide"
dealt with the planting of tomatoes. To get the best results keep each plant
to the main stem, pinching out the side-shoots that come n the corners
formed by the leaf stalks and the main stem. Keep the plants well watered
and feed them regularly with a good complete fertilizer. There are a
number of proprietary brands of tomato fertilizer that should be used
according the the suppliers' instruction. Or you can use "National Growmore."
A good working rule is to apply a teaspoon per plant as each truss of fruit
sets.
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When watering, remember that it is useless just to damp the
soil surface, for this merely encourages surface rooting. You must water
well, giving about half-a-gallon to each plant. Tomato fruits are often
split when the plants are given a heavy watering after having been dry. That
is because the skin gets hard and inelastic and cannot expand when the fruit
swells after a good watering, so it splits or cracks. So don't let the
plants get dry.
"Blight" is the chief disease likely to
affect tomatoes in the open. It may attack only the fruit, but the stem and
leaves may be affected as well. Intense brown or black blotches are the
signs, and infected fruits often fall off the plant. The discoloured areas
are edged with a downy white growth. It's the same blight that attacks
potatoes. [content edited]
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