Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["David Inglis" <mhcsa@verizon.net>]

> Tomato growers say (anecdotally) that they get better yields if they
> rattle or shake the tomato cages whenever they think of it -- every
> day, if possible, once the tomatoes start flowering. This is supposed
> to move pollen around, or strengthen the stems, or wake up the tomato
> devas. (Has anyone tried this? 

 Yes, we do this once a day in the greenhouse by walking down the row and
tapping on the string. We do it mid to late morning after the overnight
moisture has dried off from the flowers but before it gets very hot.
Tomatoes being self pollinating the pollen is only moving around within each
flower. If we don't tap then the still air in the greenhouse can prevent
even pollination of all the ovaries and we get fruit that is not filled out
evenly. We don't find it necessary outdoors or if the Tom's are strung
directly to the frame of the house.
David