How to Grow Organic Tomatoes? Detailed Planting Methods and Techniques

I. Selecting Good Seeds and Raising Seedlings

Choose varieties that are hybrid, early-maturing, disease-resistant, have a high fruit-setting rate, and produce excellent fruit quality.

Sowing rate: 2000-2200 seeds per mu; the seedling age is generally 45-60 days.

Seedling soil: Mix garden soil, furnace slag or river sand, and Jinbaobei fermentation bed organic fertilizer in a 4:1:5 ratio, stir evenly, and spread it 10 cm deep on the seedbed. Combine with Jinbaobei rooting agent diluted 10-20 times applied to 50 kg of seedbed soil, water thoroughly, and wait for sowing.

Sowing: Direct sowing of dry seeds, with a sowing depth of 0.8-1 cm; the sowing depth should be consistent. Then cover. After sowing, cover with plastic film to retain moisture and heat; cover the seedbed with a small arch shed, and use paper quilts or other insulating materials to keep warm at night or during low temperatures. Pay attention to observing that the seedbed soil temperature must not be lower than 15 degrees and must not exceed 30°C. Generally, full emergence occurs 4-6 days after sowing. (High temperature means fast emergence and good germination rate; low temperature means slow emergence and strong seedlings, but it affects the germination rate.)

Seedling management: Before emergence: keep the seedbed temperature between 20-30°C. If the temperature is too high, the seedlings become thin and weak; if too low, emergence is slow and the germination rate is affected. After emergence begins, observe frequently. After 70% emergence, remove the covering to prevent leggy seedlings. After the cotyledons flatten, control the daytime temperature at 22-28°C and the nighttime temperature at 12-18°C. Keep the soil alternately dry and moist; the frequency and amount of watering should be based on ensuring the seedlings do not wilt at noon. When watering, apply Jinbaobei Genmiaozhuang diluted 300 times once every 7-10 days. Generally, 1 bottle of Genmiaozhuang diluted for irrigation can be used for 15-20 sq m of seedbed. After the first true leaf flattens, ensure foliar spraying of Genmiaozhuang once every 5-7 days, diluted 300 times for spraying, combined with disease and pest prevention.

II. Daily Management

1. Applying base fertilizer. Base fertilizer is the main nutrient source for organic tomatoes, so attention should be paid to its application. Selection and use of base fertilizer: apply about 5000-10000 kg of Jinbaobei fermentation bed organic fertilizer per mu and 8-30 kg of Jinbaobei microbial bacterial fertilizer per mu. Evenly scatter the organic fertilizer and Jinbaobei microbial bacterial fertilizer on the soil surface and deep plow 30-40 cm. Form ridges.

2. Transplanting. Organic tomato cultivation requires good field ventilation and light transmission. Make ridges 1-1.2 m wide, with 50 cm between two ridges. Plant double rows on the ridge, with an irrigation ditch between the double rows, 8-10 cm deep, and a plant spacing of 0.45-0.5 m. Two rows per bed, with the bed edges slightly higher, and plant the seedlings at the higher edge of the bed. At the transplanting spot, use a hole punch to make a hole slightly larger than the seedling plug, place the seedling in, then cover with soil, keeping the seedling plug 1 cm above the soil surface.

3. Water and fertilizer management

Topdressing should be carried out after the first truss of tomatoes has set fruit. When the fruit diameter of the first truss reaches 1-2 cm, topdressing can begin. Apply 1000-2000 kg of Jinbaobei organic fertilizer and 2-3 kg of bacterial fertilizer per mu each time, burying them and combining with watering. Be careful not to damage the tomato roots when fertilizing. The fruit expands quickly and yields are high.

Foliar fertilizer: During the fruit-setting and expansion stages, foliar fertilizer can be sprayed to supplement nutrients through the leaves, preventing insufficient fertility in the later stage of large fruit growth, which can cause reduced yield and deformed fruit. Foliar fertilizer can be self-fermented using Jinbaobei foliar fertilizer fermentation agent, which is economical, environmentally friendly, and naturally obtained. From the fruiting stage to the expansion stage to the picking period, spray Jinbaobei sweetening and coloring agent 3-5 times together with foliar fertilizer, once every 7-10 days, to provide photosynthesis for the crop, increase the sweetness and color of the fruit, and improve quality.

III. Mechanical or Manual Weeding

During cultivation, mechanical intertillage can be used for weeding, supplemented by manual pulling. In addition, after the field area finishes harvesting, chickens can be released to clear weeds and pests, or the soil can be fumigated with steam before planting to inhibit weed germination.

Flower spraying to protect fruit. When part of the organic tomato flowers are open during the flowering period and most are in the bud stage, spray Jinbaobei sweetening and coloring agent diluted 500 times. By supplementing trace elements and improving photosynthesis, it protects flowers and fruit and improves the fruit-setting rate.

IV. Disease and Pest Control

Diseases are mainly prevented through measures such as using resistant varieties, reasonable crop rotation, increasing row spacing, and strengthening management. Continuous application of organic fertilizer and microbial bacterial fertilizer will also greatly reduce disease occurrence. Pests can be trapped and killed with insect-killing lamps, black light lamps, etc., or sticky insect boards can also be used.