What To Avoid In Tomato Farming

The red berry, which is considered a fruit and vegetable, has endless benefits to the human body whether incorporated in food preparation, adding flavor and making juices. This plant is a gold mine in the market. When production is low, it can retail for as much as Ksh. 200 per kg.

This is what not to do in tomato farming.

1. Drowning Tomatoes with Water

Maintain a consistent water schedule for your tomatoes. Let them dry out a little for them to be able to absorb the nutrients from the ground and not drown them in water. If the leaves of the plant are curled in the morning before the sun is out, water the plant, if within the same day the plant is curling in the afternoon, it is probably protecting itself from the sun.

2. Planting the Wrong Tomato Variety

Have you been treating your tomatoes wrongly because you have the wrong type? There exist two categories; Determinate and indeterminate. Determinate tomatoes are less reliant and can be grown with little to no support. They are smaller in size and sprout all its fruit then die. On the other hand, indeterminate tomatoes are seasonal fruit bearing, and require support to allow them to grow into huge berries.

3. Limiting Growth Space

Planting your tomatoes in cramped spaces inhibits growth and production of the berry to its full potential. This makes its susceptible to plant diseases that love damp conditions since sunlight is unable to directly reach the plant. The spaces also allow the plant to not touch the ground.

4. Pruning When You Shouldn’t

Now that we have talked about the variety of tomatoes and considerations like spacing, pruning is most helpful in indeterminate tomatoes. This encourages the plant to stop putting energy into growing and insert energy into ripening. If you are growing a determinate tomato, do not break off the suckers as this stresses the plant, making them smaller and giving you less produce until they die.

5. Regulating Natural Conditions

If you are thinking of using the space on your balcony to grow tomatoes, ensure that you do not regulate the amount of natural conditions such as wind and light from reaching your plant. This will enable the plant to move, sway and develop strong stems.

6. Over-fertilizing

Fertilizer provides nitrogen to a plant but when applied excessively, especially for tomatoes, it can cause the plant to put more energy into growing the leaves and not the tomatoes. Tomatoes are under such conditions unable to absorb water causing the leaves to turn yellow. Using fertilizers specifically intended for tomatoes is advised. Manure is also a good option.