Can tomato trees be grown in open ground?
Can tomato trees be grown in open ground?
Tomato trees can be grown in open ground. Before planting, you need to consider choosing a plot far away from corn fields to strictly prevent herbicide contamination of the tomatoes. Choose virus-resistant varieties and set up bird netting, which is beneficial for the normal growth of tomatoes, and strengthen field management.
How to grow tomato trees
1. Sow at the right time: For winter organic tomato seedlings, a seedling age of about 45 days is appropriate. If you plan to transplant around November 1, then sow around September 15.
2. Prick out at the right time: When the seedlings have 4 true leaves, prick them out, with a spacing of 10×10 cm or 15×15 cm. After they are established, fertilize and water promptly to promote strong root and seedling growth.
3. Prepare the planting area. Plow and sun the soil for organic tomatoes in time to ensure the soil is loose, which is beneficial for rooting. Apply sufficient base fertilizer. For organic tomatoes, pig and cattle manure, plant ash, and phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are mainly used. Tomatoes have a relatively large demand for potassium fertilizer. Generally, apply 10000 kg of pig manure, 20 kg of phosphate fertilizer, and 10 kg of potassium fertilizer per mu as base fertilizer.
4. Use hormones to preserve flowers and fruits. To ensure early maturity of organic tomatoes, strive for early fruit set. If fruit set occurs under low temperature (below 15°C) or insufficient light, for those using hormones to preserve flowers and fruits, fertilizer and water must be sufficient, otherwise deformed fruits are likely to appear.
5. Top at the right time. In winter, temperatures are low and organic tomato plants grow relatively slowly, so they should be planted appropriately densely. A spacing of 24×66 cm and about 3600 plants per mu is appropriate. Leave 3 trusses of fruit per plant and then top. Generally, use double-stem pruning: leave 3 trusses of fruit on the main stem and 2 trusses on the side stem, leave 2 leaves above the fruit truss, and then remove the terminal bud. Other pruning and bud removal should be carried out conventionally.