‘Less than half’ fresh produce sold globally makes any profit

Re:‘Less than half’ fresh produce sold globally makes any pr... by pixl97 on Wednesday September 20, 2023 @12:40PM (#37586395)

I'd love to grow tomatoes, but I live where it's too hot and they'll stop flowering sometime in June.

But I'm wondering if you're not growing your tomatoes right, or the cultivars you have are not great? One of the biggest issues I run into when I lived somewhere I could grow is the plants getting so large they uproot the posts I have them staked up with if it gets windy.

Good soil goes a long way, you'll want it to be mostly a decomposed manure. Then you'll really want to get the biggest plant you can find at the store as early as weather allows, then bury most of the plant you buy. If you're just planting it like a normal plant, you've wasted a ton of its potential.

In one of the best years I've had my plants grew nearly 8 feet tall and with only 4 bushes I had to have the kids load up a wagon with tomatoes and give away them to the neighbors I had so many.

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Re:‘Less than half’ fresh produce sold globally makes any pr... by zargon on Wednesday September 20, 2023 @01:23PM (#37586967)

Cherokee Purple and Black Krim are two of my favorites, but they admittedly don't always grow quite as vigorously as some other (less tasty) varieties. Still, they grow 5 to 6 feet high and produce 40+ pounds of fruit per plant. And the tomato growing season here is only mid-May through mid-September.

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Re:‘Less than half’ fresh produce sold globally makes any pr... by mythrwy on Wednesday September 20, 2023 @02:11PM (#37587688)

Can verify, and of the two, Krim has the better flavor in my opinion. But they do not produce like the hybrids and the Krims tend to crack.

Another (cherry) that is really tasty is Rosella (a dark purplish variety like the other two). So tasty.

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Re:‘Less than half’ fresh produce sold globally makes any pr... by mythrwy on Wednesday September 20, 2023 @02:08PM (#37587644)

Check this stuff out for growing tomatoes where it is hot.

https://shadeclothstore.com/product-category/aluminet-shade-...

I've had great success with the 40% setting tomatoes all season and my temps push 110F in the summer. One thing I learned the hard way, in addition to this, leave the plants bushy so it shades internally.

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Re:‘Less than half’ fresh produce sold globally makes any pr... by pixl97 on Wednesday September 20, 2023 @02:17PM (#37587780)

Eh, this year we had over 60 days of 100F+ weather, with temps not going below 85 at night for a considerable portion of that. Even if I grow them in the shade of the porch they won't get flowers for a month at a time.

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Re:‘Less than half’ fresh produce sold globally makes any pr... by mythrwy on Wednesday September 20, 2023 @09:58PM (#37592411)

Ya I live in a very dry climate and the nights cool down and evapotranspiration cools a bunch, so maybe that's why it works so well.

I was very impressed with the material though. Complete game changer in my environment. I can grow all kinds of things through summer. Parsley, lettuce, I even had Brussels sprouts and rhubarb go through the heat this summer looking perky the whole time.

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Re:‘Less than half’ fresh produce sold globally makes any pr... by ilyt on Wednesday September 20, 2023 @06:39PM (#37591066)

>then bury most of the plant you buy. If you're just planting it like a normal plant, you've wasted a ton of its potential.

Elaborate ?

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Re:‘Less than half’ fresh produce sold globally makes any pr... by pixl97 on Wednesday September 20, 2023 @10:13PM (#37592517)

So you buy a tomato that is 8" tall at the store. When you plant it you'll only want 2 to 3 inches of it sticking out of the soil. You bury it deeper than the soil and roots it comes with. The now buried stem will grow roots and the existing roots will also grow and reach more deep soil.

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