On 03/09/2015 12:50 PM, Drew Lawson wrote:
In article
T writes:

Are your tomato beds well drained? Tomatoes love to be
drenched (they are from the Amazon), but do not like
their roots in standing/stagnant water.

Tomatoes originated in the Andes, not the Amazon.
Aside from the initial letter, the two have little in common.

Hi Drew,

Tomatoes were originally cultivated by the Incas which
inhabited the Andes. But they came from the Amazon rain
forest. Peru, which contains both the Andes and Incas,
also contains part of the Amazon rain forest. I think
you are mixing the origin of the plant (the rain forest)
with the origin of who originally cultivated it (the
Incas and Aztecs), but I could be wrong.

Amazon Facts:
http://rfadventures.com/amazon_facts.htm

"At least 80% of the developed world's diet originated
in the tropical rainforest. Its bountiful gifts to the
world include fruits like avocados, coconuts, figs,
oranges, lemons, grapefruit, bananas, guavas, pineapples,
mangos and *tomatoes*; vegetables including corn, potatoes,
rice, winter squash and yams; spices like black pepper,
cayenne, chocolate, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, sugar cane,
turmeric, coffee and vanilla and nuts including Brazil
nuts and cashews. At least 3000 fruits are found in
the rainforests; of these only 200 are now in use in
the Western World. The Indians of the rainforest use
over 2,000.

Wow. A lot of stuff came from the Amazon!

A quick look at a typical fragile tomato plant tells
you it did not originate in the freezing cold, high
altitude deserts of the Andes.

Now back to my point. These plants come from the Amazon
rain forest. They are accustomed and evolved to expect
a daily drenching from thunderstorms. So, I was trying to
find out if Higgs was recreating these ideal conditions:
Humid, drenched and drained. (Not high altitude, freezing
nights, and very low moisture.)

This is actually information I am relaying from a local
CSA greenhouse. Their incredible organic tomatoes
were in wet, humid, drained green houses. And EVERY
tomato was incredible: both heirlooms and hybrids
alike.

Do you have tips for her? I hate it that she can't get a
decent tomato. As far as my experience goes, it is all
about the soil.

-T