Tomatoes are one of the easiest crops to grow because once a plant begins to sprout, fertilizers and pesticides are applied.
Before planting you should remember to put fertilizer and mix with humi powder which helps with absorption of nutrients. Although tomato farming has a couple challenges like pests and diseases; it is preferred by farmers due to being a money making investment and tomatoes do not need a lot of labour.
Taking care
Spray the tomato plants until when they start producing fruits. This is because when fruits starts producing the tomato plants requires more water. Prune on the side shoots, old leaves, diseased leaves and laterals on a weekly basis.
Remove suckers that grow between two branches as they never bear fruit but take away energy and nutrient from the plant. Support the tomato plants after transplanting to avoid stem damage.
Plant duration
Tomato fruits are usually left to grow until they turn from green to golden. This is when they are ready for harvest.
Flowering starts when the plant is about one and a half months. At two months, it starts fruiting and fertilizer is added after every month.
It takes about three months for the first tomato fruits to be ready for harvesting.
Pest control
Pests and diseases like tuta absoluta which affects the leaves of the plant are a challenge to tomato farming. Spraying of pesticides sprayed help to control.
Blight in tomatoes is another problem and all these are controlled by spraying insecticides in the first week and fungicides in the second week.
