It is possible to grow a healthy crop purely by adding enough compost to the soil. Gardeners and small scale farmers do it every day. But, it is not viable as a large commercial grower. Just to maintain the carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N) in the soil will take at least 30t/ha organic material, and [...]

Tomatoes are among the easiest fresh produce crops to sell. Whether you're supplying a supermarket, a roadside stall, a farmers' market, or an informal market, there's almost always demand for good tomatoes. That steady demand is one reason the crop remains so popular with commercial growers. The sensory attributes of tomatoes such as flavor, sugar-acid [...]

Hardening of seedlings may sound cruel but it results in stronger healthier plants with higher yields. Hardened off plants are thicker, less succulent and more resistant to transplant damage and stress than non-hardened seedlings. Hardened off plants need less attention in the field resulting in more energy spent on other aspects of farming. Hardening off [...]

Tomato fertilizer requirements can be calculated if you know your soil type and have a good idea of the yield potential of your land and climate. These are basic norms and your specific microclimate and variety can have an influence on the total amount applied. These norms do not take top dressings into account, only [...]

Determinate variety tomatoes need to be trellised. Unlike processing tomatoes which are not trellised and in most very large commercial farms, harvested by mechanical means, which means processing tomatoes are only harvested once.  Determinate fresh tomatoes ( such as the standard beefsteak tomato varieties) are harvested during a period of 90-120 days depending on the [...]

Tomatoes are warm season crops. So unless your winters are warm, you will not be able to plant in the winter. The average farmer will plant as early as possible so that he can be first on the market. So being first is good for the bottom line, but there might be a late cold [...]

Harvesting field grown tomatoes is a labour intensive process.  Unlike processing tomatoes which can be harvested mechanically, field grown trellised tomatoes has to be harvested by hand. The sorting can be done mechanically. Tomato fruit ripen according to temperature.  The ripening process is initiated by the hormone ethylene. In long life tomatoes, ethylene release is [...]

Solving the mystery of the two main types of tomato plants Indeterminate tomato varieties will grow 'forever'.  So they can grow over two seasons. Determinate varieties die after about 100 days.  If you have a very short season to grow your tomato crop it is cheaper to buy a determinate variety, but if you want [...]

The common tomato or scientifically classified as Solanaceae Lycopersicon lycopersicum (L) Karst. ex Farw. is one of the most popular vegetables planted both by commercial farmers, small scale farmers and home gardeners.  It is actually a pleasure to grow tomatoes as there are so many varieties available today that marketing opportunities are abundant.  For the [...]