Sue wrote in news:atm7g1tvddvq7bm5koovblm973kk3iabq9@
4ax.com:

On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 11:57:27 -0400, wrote:

Sue,

On that commercial tomato farm, what does the yield look like?

If I knew it would be in tons per acre - the only thing that counts
around here. ) My gentleman friend has grown tomatoes in the long
ago past. If I remember I'll ask him. What I can see from the roads
as I drive by the fields is that the plants are short and compact.
Bushy. I just can't tell you how long the "branches" (or whatever
they're called) grow. I've never looked up close. The tomatoes
around here are grown for sauce - we have lots of canneries.
I have one tomato that isn't in a cage (I ran out) and it's not more
than 1' tall but spreads out about 3 or 4 feet. This is a Sweet One
Hundred - the best cherry type (IMHO) - sweet as can be.


My friend told me that the plants on the farm he used to work on fell
town but the yield was very good.

From what I can see they don't actually fall down. I'll try to
remember to ask.
Sue


Most commercial tomato growers, especially those who grow tomatoes for
canning and processing, grow determinate varieties. Determinate varieties
are smaller plants, their growth shoots terminate with a cluster of flower
buds, and set most of their flowers and fruit at one time, ensuring that
the majority of the fruit ripens at nearly the same time. Makes harvesting
easier.

Most common tomato varieties grown in the home garden are indeterminate
varieties. These types keep growing, continuously producing flowers and
fruit through the season.

Tomatoes grown on bare ground without support can get bug and critter
damaged, but there are branches that will have enough support to keep the
fruit above the ground and avoid damage. A layer of a soft mulch (dried
grass clippings or spoiled hay) placed around the plants once the soil is
heated up will prevent some of the damage.

Some touching the ground had worms
but that was the cheapest and most efficient ways to plant, albeit no
the optimum way for us.

On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 01:25:14 GMT, Sue wrote:

On Mon, 15 Aug 2005 18:16:09 -0400, wrote:

My friend has been very successful every year wih his vegetables. He
really knows a lot about gardening. He used to work on a tomato farm.
He said they never used cages. The plants fell over but still yield
many tomatoes. He also said they were not planted on top of each
other.

There are *lots* of commercial tomatoes grown in my area (not market
tomatoes) and cages aren't used. However, these seem to be a very low
growing tomato. The plants don't get very tall at all before harvest.
Hmmm. Probably not more than 18" to 2'.


He told me that when he plants his tomatoes, he buries the plant in
the ground with only one set of leaves above ground. He says that
gives it a great root system and produces a great yield. He said it
takes a drop longer for the first fruit but when if comes it comes
strong.

Ever hear of that?

The directions for the cheapy Wal*Mart tomatoes I plant say to bury
them quite deep.
I use 4' cages but the tomatoes have far outgrown them. Those danged
plants are all over the place.
Sue


Tomato plants will form roots along the stem (adventitious roots), so by
planting most of the stem underground you provide a larger area for roots
to form and then supply nutrients to the plant.

Planting at an angle (or planting horizontally, bending the tip of the
plant up above the soil surface) is done to keep the original rootball in
the uppper, warmer areas of the soil early in the season. Otherwise the
rootball would be planted in colder soil than if it was shallow planted,
and it will slow down the growth of the plant, until the soil warms up.