Show hasten toma tomatoes toes by fertilizing plants need ned e Long Season and right bight aids to hurry their growth fertilize tomatoes to hasten their n maturity advises F 0 underwood of tho the vegetable gardening department of tho the state of agriculture at ithaca N Y tho the tomato he points out requires a long beason beacon to mature a full crop so that anything a grower can do to ripen them to Is apt to mean h a bigger total yield professor underwood says that many points have to be considered in fertilizing the crop such as type of farming and soil previous crop grown and fertilizer used money returns and the cost of the fertilizing materials plant food needed tomatoes need some of all the plant foods for their best development nitrogen Is needed early in tile the season to help develop a good vine to carry the alie fruit though too much nitrogen may produce too rank a leaf growth at the expense of fruit some potash Is s also needed but phosphorus Is particularly needed to get large yields and ripen tile the fruit before frosts ln in the fall if a gro grower iver says professor underwood is applying camire mar aire liberally say at tile rate of twelve or twenty tons an acre he Is probably supplying enough nitrogen and potash but additional phosphorus will P probably rob pay phosphorus increases the fruit and seed parts of plants and add acid phosphate Is the best source applied plied at the rate of from five hundred to a thousand pounds to the acre it should give good yields on sandy soils or on other soils where little or no manure la Is used complete fertilizers usually pay the 4 12 4 or 5 10 5 are both good the for mer on the heavier types while the 5 lob lo 10 B 5 makes a good mixture for soils less well stocked with nitrogen and potash though the 2810 2 8 10 Is often used a 4 12 4 seems better for the crop the 2 per cont cent of ammonia in the former mixture Is probably derived from some organic chemical which will be slowly available to the tomatoes tomatoes need nitrogen early in the season reason and not when the fruit Is forming fertilizer pays pay exact amounts will depend upon individual soils and cash returns but tho the tomato crop will usually pay tor for additional fertilizer up to 1600 pounds to the acre alth although good crops are grown with less in addition to proper fertilizers however the plants must be well groi grown and must be set at the proper time lime sol soil and weather conditions also play their part |