APPLYING LIME ON TOMATO PLANTS AND HARDENING OFF TRANSPLANTS

For those of you who asked how we apply our lime to tomato plants and why, as well as how we harden off our transplants before putting out into field beds. Enjoy!!

[lisabug]

My grandpa did this for many years. He had the best tomatoes ever.

[waynebusse]

It's Wayne the " Mater-Man" here in Indiana. I've been making my living for the last twenty-five years growing tomatoes. I learned the hard way the first five years about blossom end rot "ber". The main cause for ber is not calcium deficiency. The main cause is water deficiency! The cool moist conditions in spring promotes a [ large ] plant with a [ small ] root system. When the large plant starts to size up fruit and there is less moisture available as the temps rise and the days get warmer, a tomato plant will sacrifice cells in the fruit to keep leaves alive. In severe calcium deficiency, it will increase ber as the plant uses Ca as a transport mineral to move water and nutrients throughout the plant. You can have tons of Ca in your soil and still get ber if the plants are moisture stressed.


Here is what I've learned. If you use only one drip line and you get behind on moisture, the roots will confine themselves to the area close to the drip line. This promotes a small root system and the plant will use up all the nutrients in that small area and you can end up with nutrient deficiencies. This is basically what you have in a hydroponic system and you will have to feed and water often. To prevent this I use four drip lines six inches apart on each raised bed. Early in the year I only use two close to the plant. When the plants start to size up fruit, I will turn on the two outside lines. If you get behind on watering with only one line you will have to give the plants a big slug of water to wet the entire bed. This will promote a growth surge that can cause radial cracking in green fruit and skin splits on ripening fruit. The trick is to water more often in smaller amounts. I always pay close attention to the weather, if there is a long string of sunny days, I will water twice in one day and on cloudy days I won't water. Also, if it is going to be really overcast, I will pick any fruit that is ripe the day before. This especially true of cherry tomatoes. Plants respire water through the stomata in the leaves while the sun is shining. This causes the vacuum that allows plants to pull water and nutrients up into the plant from the roots. I've seen the same thing time after time, ripe fruit will split in the hoop house and out in the field on dark rainy days. If plants aren't respiring, the plant will have extra moisture to send to the fruit and cause ripe or almost ripe fruit to split. I don't raise heirlooms because they are really prone to this with their thin skins.


The biggest problem I see and hear about in tomatoes is large, hard white cores. This is a ripening disorder caused by Potassium "K" deficiency in ripening fruit. This is caused by high temps above 85 degrees. During normal temps fruit ripen slowly and only one or two at a time, and if there is adequate K in the soil there will be almost no white core. During hot weather, plants will ripen two or three fruit clusters at once and the plant can't metabolize enough K fast enough to ripen all those fruit at once. If there is a K deficiency in the soil, this can make the fruit inedible or nearly so. Another reason I don't grow heirlooms, they are prone to large cores. If you grow in a hoop house where it is even warmer, the problem is of course, even worse. Keeping plants suckered to one main stem adds to the problem. Sunshine directly on fruit can warm up fruit even more, so always keep fruit shaded with lots of leaves. I leave one or two leaves on the sucker below each fruit cluster, the leaves then grow up over the fruit cluster and provide some shade. Be careful, too many leaves and stems can be problematic, as this can cause disease pressure.Yellow shoulders is a classic example of sunlight causing a " hot spot". I spray liquid shade "white-wash" on all seven of my hoop houses when the temps get above 85 degrees. Ventilation helps but when the air temps are above ninety, ventilation only goes so far as you're pulling in ninety degree air with 90% humidity. To help make sure the plants have enough K, I always add 0-0-60 to the beds and work it in in the spring. Then I feed potassium nitrate and epsom salt through the drip tape once a week when the first fruit start to ripen. On of the reasons I'm still in business after twenty-five years, is my tomatoes are always picked completely ripe and go directly on the table at my farm stand. I grow Big Beef, Carolina Gold, Juliet, and Tomato Berry. I've grown almost every variety out there and these are the ones that keep me in business.


All right, if you haven't dosed off, class is over, go grow some perfect "Maters"....

[mikesfarmmikesfarm]

get a 4 foot 3/4 inch pvc pipe and put a funnel on top. Put other end next to plant and drop lime pellets down pvc pipe to avoid bending down 100 times.

[CBsGreenhouseandGarden]

Look at all those amazing mater plants! Lime is always a good thing for BER. Loved the hardening off info! 1500 maters? Took it easy this year did ya? LMBO. The Git-R-Done house is coming right along! Heck everything is looking freaking awesome just like you two ladies are! Thanks for the tour and info my friends. Always a pleasure seeing your setup. Hope the winter is over for ya's! That was mighty close! Whew!! Hope you ladies have a great rest of the week!

[AaricHale]

Really awesome video ! This year's weather has been crazy . I been gardening for over 20 years and I can't remember when I have ever been a month behind getting our garden out because of the weather . I live in Indiana and I can plant in the first of May and this year it was the first of June .

[micksbackyardaquaponics]

That was a great video clip you put up there and it was good to see it and learn from it 👍 👍 🍅 🍅

[therockwoodmountaingardene]

Hi, To save my back I use a 36 inch piece of 3/4" PVC pipe, attach a water bottle that has to bottom cut out of it. I place the small end of the pipe next to the plant and I pour the desired amount of lime into the bottle and add water. The water flushes the lime down the pipe to the plant. No bending. Just a thought. KEEP UP THE VIDEOS, LOVE THEM.

[davidclark]

Really great vids
From you girls showing some in green house work north of the border
We're over hear in North east
New England trying learn on our 2nd great house.
We lost our first one to a high wind storm and 1 blown over tree that collapsed n tore it up on a cold night lost heat and everything we had been getting started

Geeeeze
Son planning to rebuild that one
But looking for a good source here in the states that has the best heavy mil thickness for cold climates..
Good growing and learning
Thank you.

[nidal]

Thank you for what you are doing and sharing with us
I am from Lebanon - the Middle East
I wait for your videos and I follow you constantly
I am a new farmer and take advantage of the information you provide us
I wondered if you were planting lettuce in hot weather inside the green house
Or what you sow at this time of year

[Mrsnufleupagus]

looks so darn good! I'm hoping the ground up eggshells help me with BER. Love the short vids, love the long one too:)))

[firecloud]

6:13 Strangely, *Cobra* has never done as well for me in my greenhouse as *Big Beef.*
Last year I tried growing Big Beef in a hydroponic Deep Water Culture system and harvested 34.6 pounds off of one double-vined plant -- which is a record for me. This year I planted the seed 10 days earlier in my indoor grow closet on March 1st.
Hoping for another record year.

[tiffanysmiley]

Thank you for this tip!! I was wondering why some of my tomatoes got black rot on the bottom of them. Beautiful greenhouse ❤️🌱

[highergroundfarm]

Thanks for the info on how you guys help BER. I'm with CB and like the GET-R-Done GH. Seems fitting as you guys always seem to do that. OMG- looking at some of the comments below. good lord what you guys put up with from the Internet trolls and KIAs. Tomatoes are looking great! I know you are happy to have your partner in crime with you more now! Thanks for sharing with us.

[gc]

Would it be a option to allow the lime to soak in water then, put that liquid thru your irrigation system..?

Wondering if that would work or not.. just curious .. great videos, keep them coming

[marthaturner]

I love your channel thank you for sharing and just a question do you need a heating in greenhouse for any vegetable.?

[jasona.neverforgetfukushim]

We can only get pelleted lime here not powdered. can the lime be mixed in the soil when transplanting instead of like this afterwards? would it have any bad effects on the early vegetative growth if mixed in at first?

[DignitaryPoodles]

Hi Patti and Haley, Can you tell me which company you get your green houses from?
Thanks for another great video; I did not know about the granular lime!

[BenjasUberHobby]

I am interested to see how you guys weave your detriment tomato plants. I might have a new skill soon :) Thanks for sharing :)

[adampetherick]

I have a question I want to plant Buttercup squash I. . Butter nut. acorn squash a foot apart buy trellis The Vines is that okay

[carlpenney]

Just a thought, could you put the lime in the water and water the plants? Or maybe with a sprayer?