Tomatoes are one of the top - three consumed vegetable in the U.S. It ’s no wonder they ’re a ducky of farmers and gardeners , too . This heat - do it crop can be grown twelvemonth - turn in many parts of the country if you treat them right in season - extend structures , like greenhouses , basket houses and high tunnel . By baby these fickle plants with indoor raise spaces , you have to be careful to treat them properly . tomato are susceptible to mineral deficiencies , fungal and bacterial disease , insect pests , and problems touch to watering .
If you ’re wondering why your nursery tomatoes are n’t up to par with the tomatoes you get in the garden , you might be making one of these four common mistake .
1. You Planted The Wrong Varieties
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Who does n’t make out a fat , funny - looking heirloom tomato ? A farmer ’s desire for the first Brandywine love apple of the year may lead him to plant a row of Rose in the high-pitched burrow , but many heirloom tomatoes do n’t do very well in an put in environment , leading to plant - health issues .
“ variety bred for the greenhouse environment ask to be used , rather than field- or garden - case tomatoes , ” according to Rick Snyder , PhD , of Mississippi State University Extension Service . “ All variety are indeterminate so that they can produce over a farseeing harvest season . ”
Instead , Try : Snyder read the most wide used variety in the U.S. is the Dutch intercrossed Beefsteak - eccentric love apple Trust . If you ’re after heirloom - like tomato diversity for the nursery , Johnny ’s Selected Seeds hint the hybrids Marnero ( similar to Cherokee Purple ) and Margold ( imitate Striped Germans ) .
2. You Planted Tomatoes Too Close Together
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Because tomato plants are dependent to foliar diseases likeBotrytisblight ( aka grey-haired mold ) , other blight and leaf spot , they require air movement . You might remark foggy mold patches shape on survive and utter plant tissue , yellow farewell , girdled stems and dying plants . Greenhouses and in high spirits tunnel call for to have good ventilation because as humidness builds up , so does the opportunity for these issues to take hold .
alternatively , taste : According to Snyder ’s “ Greenhouse Tomato Handbook , ” greenhouse tomatoes require at least 4 square feet per plant . embed bivalent rows with plants 4 or 5 feet apart ( from center to center ) is an effective purpose of coveted indoor grow space .
This rule ascertain how many tomato plant plants you should be growing in your greenhouse :
Multiply the duration of the glasshouse in feet by the width . Divide by 4 ( to space every 4 straight feet ) or 5 ( to quad every 5 square feet).The answer is the number of plants you should put in this social system .
Planting at 4 square animal foot or 5 straight foot should give about the same yield overall , as putting them nearer together will shade some of the plants ( you ’ll see plants getting very long and tall ) and invite diseases . Having more plant , though , mean more British Labour Party for planting and passementerie .
Keep plants suckered ; trim any leafage below branches that are bearing fruit ; and trim yellowing , dead or diseased plant tissue paper and fruit to improve air circulation and reduce crowding . Discard these materials outside of the greenhouse to prevent them from causing further problem to the plants that are still grow and producing .
3. You Aren’t Practicing Crop Rotation
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assign plants in a greenhouse does n’t get you off the draw of having to go around families of crops . If anything , the close - in space makes gyration that much more significant . After growing tomatoes yr after year in the same space , you might notice uneven ripen due to low stain food , increased pest pressure , repeat diseases , a fungus you just ca n’t quetch or overall want of productiveness in your tomato harvest .
alternatively , Try : If you have more than one greenhouse , gamy tunnel or ring mansion , produce your nightshade plants ( tomatoes , pepper , brinjal , et cetera ) in a different one each year . If you have only one time of year - stretch out distance to work with , compensate closemouthed attention to adding the right grunge amendments ( get a ground trial each class ) , maintain proper pH , be vigilant about stick around on top of pest and diseases throughout the time of year , and solarize the structure in the off - time of year to wipe out disease and pests that could be hanging out in the land .
Snyder admonish against raise different crops in the same greenhouse at the same metre , as each has its own growth requirements that you might not be capable to manage under one roof .
“ You could , however , grow a main crop , like tomato , and have a ‘ few ’ of something else , just to essay out , ” he suggests . “ But , in that case , the system should be optimized for the main crop . ”
4. You’re Not Watering Consistently
It ’s exciting to learn tomato get really big while ripening on the vine , and it ’s unsatisfying to reap them and find out the bottom has crack or has turned ignominious from blossom - end rot . similarly , it ’s frustrative to see your Lycopersicon esculentum plant life wilting in the greenhouse — see softened and feeling cartilaginous — or to find rows of beautiful tomato flowers but no fruits organize . Snyder find these symptom may be the faulting of inconsistent watering .
Instead , Try : Snyder read full - sized love apple flora require 2 to 3 quart of water system each per daylight when it ’s sunny , and this piddle needs to be deliver at even intervals .
“ Many cultivator irrigate as often as once every 30 or 60 minutes in spicy mood , ” he point out .
Unlike raise tomato plant in the theater , where Mother Nature is in charge , you have complete controller over irrigation in the glasshouse , whether you turn on and off a drip mold - irrigation organisation yourself or you have one set on a timekeeper . ( Do n’t apply overhead irrigation for tomatoes , as the leaves are sensitive to disease get by contact with piss or with grease that ’s splashed onto them as a result of lachrymation . )
These four offspring are just the start to mistake commonly made when growing tomato in a glasshouse , hoop planetary house or gamy tunnel . you may really sweep up on your nursery - tomato plot with help from your local cooperative university extension office or at Snyder ’s annual Mississippi State University Cooperative ExtensionGreenhouse Tomato Short Course , which takes place each year in March for love apple cultivator from across the country .
