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market-farming - Re: Can tomatoes cross pollinate?

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Chronological Thread  
  • From: Lucy Goodman <goodows AT infinet.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT franklin.metalab.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Can tomatoes cross pollinate?
  • Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 11:34:35 -0400




Carol Deppe in her book "Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties" discusses
the fact that in organic gardens there are at least 500 times as many
pollinators than on conventional gardens/farms and that means all
spacing recommendations by the USDA are wrong and need to be much larger
for the organic seed breeder. Tomatoes need at least 25 feet of
isolation and she also suggests planting a cleaning crop between
varieties. A cleaning crop is either a flower of dense shrub that the
pollinators would have to travel through on their way to your next crop
that clean the pollen off.

You can also make cages and wrap the tomato plants with tuffbel to keep
pollinators out.

The above mentioned book is a really good one if you are breeding your
own varieties or needing to keep a strain genetically clean. Lots of
good information.


Lucy Goodman-Owsley
Boulder Belt Organics
New Paris, OH
http://www.angelfire.com/oh2/boulderbeltcsa

Looking for a CSA, Farmer's market or other venue for fresh local food?
Check out
http://www.localharvest.com

It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong

Voltaire (1694-1778)




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