Horror In The Desert

[joseph]

After so many posts in recent weeks about the dangers of letting soil splash up onto the tomato leaves, I thought I'd post a photo of how I grow tomatoes in my garden. Those of you in damp climates might want to avert your eyes and skip onto another topic... It might make your skin crawl...

I don't know how much of my success growing tomatoes is due to selection over many growing season for plants that thrive in spite of the dirt thrown up onto them by my sprinkle irrigation system. Some of the success might be due to growing in a garden with frigid winters and arid summers...

Without further delay, here is the photo:



And just to brag: I am just starting to harvest the earliest tomatoes. Just in time. Fall frosts are expected in about 6 to 7 weeks.

[Worth1]

I'm horrified.

No really I would think with a short growing season why bother with all of the fanfare.
Just plant the things and get what you can.
I have done the same myself.

Worth

[bower]

I find a huge difference between the foliage of plants outdoors vs in the greenhouse. In the greenhouse they are never splashed but the air is humid and it's hotter... the foliage is very tender compared to outdoor plants. Yes they still get foliage diseases without any splashing, and a few varieties will get it worse than ever..

If I put a plant from the greenhouse outdoors, I expect it to lose most of its fully grown foliage within the first week. Those tender leaves just can't make it, but the new growth is tough and strong, and doesn't seem to mind being rained on or subjected to more windy conditions. Ok Joseph, I'll admit it, I've never tried giving them a dust bath! Horrors!

Different varieties, mind you, will do better or worse outdoors or inside. Some vars are going to be covered with disease no matter where they are. These are the ones I won't grow again.

[Redbaron]

I am horrified (well horrified is a bit extreme), but not why you think. In order for splashed dirt to cause disease, there still must be disease spore present in the soil and humid conditions for them to take. So not surprising no disease. However, the part that bothers me is the lack of mulch providing a protective armor for the soil. Between erosion, evaporation and oxidation, the soil biology and soil health suffers. Now I know you do some pretty awesome things Joseph. I truly respect that. But curious why no mulch?

"When farmers view soil health not as an abstract virtue, but as a real asset, it revolutionizes the way they farm and radically reduces their dependence on inputs to produce food and fiber." -USDA (Author Unknown)

[Cole_Robbie]

My plants that sprawl get stink bug damage much worse.

[KarenO]

to each their own.
My OCD preference for tidy lush green upright plants and clean, pick and eat without washing fruits does make me shudder at the idea.
I too have a short season and I can grow big indeterminate midseason slicers very well here. I couldn't grow them like that though. What I could grow that way are small ordinary early determinates but even then I would mulch them and use a cage to keep them out of the dirt and to enrich and protect my soil. You have some nice looking tomatoes there but I think they would be even better if they were supported and mulched. How do you clean them for eating or processing?
Don't you have any bugs, slugs, mice etc?
Photosynthesis is something plants rather need and I think mud encrusted leaves could interfere with that process significantly.
Karen

[Salsacharley]

My back is beaten up enough from tending vertical plants. If I had to harvest fruit off of the ground I know I'd be laid up for good.

It is amazing how good your plants and fruit look, and how totally flat the plants look. More power to you!

Charley

[joseph]

Originally Posted by Redbaron

curious why no mulch?

Have you priced mulch lately? Enough to cover 174,000 square feet? The price tag is approximately $50,000 not counting the labor to install it. Not something that I will be spending money on any time in the near future. The return on investment just isn't there for me. My farm would not produce $50,000 more vegetables if it were mulched. If I had $50,000 to spend on the garden I'd buy a field, or another tractor, or build a Benson Institute pit greenhouse. Also, no runoff = no erosion.

KarenO: I do not typically wash my vegetables before eating them. What's a little dirt between a plant and it's predator? I rinse tomatoes prior to using them for canning. Fortunately my dirt isn't sticky, it comes right off. I don't use tomato cages for the same reason that I don't use mulch. The cost is too high to offer a sufficient return on investment. If I pick tomatoes at first blush I pretty much don't have to worry about bugs or slimes.

I did see one mosquito this summer. Fortunately it was not in my garden.

Salsacharley: I grow some upright bush type tomatoes. The earliest are flat-against-the-ground types.

The indeterminates that I grow are pretty much all cherry tomatoes. I planted Brandywines this summer. I expect them to be frozen while the fruit is still green. They are only now starting to flower.

[Barbee]

They look great to me!
Maybe you could sell those unripe green ones with free recipe booklet featuring green tomatoes

[joseph]

Barbee: Some years I sell more green tomatoes than ripe tomatoes... Not that I start out intending to sell green tomatoes, but if frost arrives before the tomatoes ripen then we have a green tomato year. I don't cover my tomatoes to protect them against frost... The return on investment just isn't there for a large garden.

[Barbee]

Originally Posted by joseph

Barbee: Some years I sell more green tomatoes than ripe tomatoes... Not that I start out intending to sell green tomatoes, but if frost arrives before the tomatoes ripen then we have a green tomato year. I don't cover my tomatoes to protect them against frost... The return on investment just isn't there for a large garden.

I hear you loud and clear man!
We are in that boat when it comes to water. Since we dont use any irrigation, a dry period right when the beans are podding, or the corn is filling out can make a huge difference in our yields. There is not enough return on our investment to use the irrigation so we take our chances each year and hold our breath. Luckily for us, we have a decent amount of clay in our soil so it will hold water most years enough to get us thru that critical dry period.

[feldon30]

Originally Posted by joseph

I look at that photo and think the headline should be "How to succeed in gardening without even trying". Alas I only have 250 sq foot of garden. Not 175,000.

[joseph]

"How to succeed in gardening without even trying". I'm loving it! I've spent years developing varieties that thrive in spite of the bad habits of the farmer. These days they practically grow themselves. They definitely have to be able to out-compete the weeds if they want to survive in my garden.