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  • From: "Windwalker" <windwalker AT computer-services.com>
  • To: market farming <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: strengthening tomatoes
  • Date: Wed, 08 Mar 2000 08:00:28 -0600


>Has anyone tried letting tomato (and maybe others) get windblown
>or blown by fan to strengthen and thicken stems?

we put out around 1250 tomato plants each year and following the transplant
into cells from the flats the tomatoes go into a plastic-covered hoop house
that is open on each end (north/south). it seems that this gently blows the
little plants into very strong transplants. our prevailing wind is from the
south-south/west (eastern Kansas) and we have incredible winds until well
into June so the plants have to be able to stand up to wind.

in Lynn Byczynski's book the Flower Farmer, she recommends brushing the tops
of the little seedlings
for a few minutes every day to make plants stockier and hardier. do it
gently when they are dry with an empty paper towel roll or what ever

we also run a window fan in our small greenhouse, mostly because we need the
ventilation but it also strengthens the plants

joan vibert
windwalker farm



  • strengthening tomatoes, Windwalker, 03/08/2000

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