Mulch the Tomatoes

One of the most important steps in producing a good tomato crop is mulching. It is really important and I highly recommend to all who plant tomatoes to take the time and energy to protect the tomato plants with a good mulch. In fact, I think that if you plant a tomato and mulch it properly you really don't have to do much else but water the plant to get a decent crop. This year I have used red pine bark. Other growers use pine straw, wheat straw, hay, and some just use black plastic. Any organic loose material will do- grass clippings, leaves or even gin trash. Be sure the mulch surrounds the plant and that it is loose enough not to form a seal over the ground. I try and have four to six inches of mulch cover the entire bed. The plants need to get water down to the roots and to breath which is why I don't recommend controlling the weed problem with a plastic cover.

The first and obvious benefit to mulching is weed control. Never cultivate the tomato plant. No hoeing, digging or tilling around the plant is allowed. The lateral roots are shallow and digging around the plant will only cut off its arteries and veins which take in all the moisture and nutrients in the soil. If you don't mulch to control the weeds, all your time will be spent pulling weeds

Mulch also helps control the temperature and moisture in the soil. In hot weather mulch helps to keep the soil as cool as possible. Likewise mulch will keep the soil temperature level during cold snaps (as if we get cold snaps in the Delta). On a hot day just take the temperature above ground and compare it to the temperature of the soil beneath the mulch. It will be five to ten degrees cooler under the mulch.

Disease control, to me, is the most important reason to properly mulch a tomato crop. Most diseases effecting tomatoes in the Delta are soil borne and are caused by allowing the tomato leaves to contact the soil. A good mulch prevents the soil from splashing up and hitting the leaves of the plant. If you fail to mulch, the underside of the leaves will be covered with dirt after a hard rain. The heat and humidity that follows a rain in the Delta is the perfect breeding ground for fungus which causes the dreaded blight. I will discuss organic and chemical control of fungal diseases later in this blog; however, suffice it to say, the first defense against this killer problem is a good mulch.

A good organic mulch is also beneficial to the soil. Most of the mulch will decompose during the growing season. After the plants are pulled simply till the remaining mulch into the soil. The earth worms will love it and so will your crop the next year.

NEXT--- SUPPORTING THE TOMATOES