Tomatoes farming is one best enterprise with good returns if only done well.
Before venturing into tomato farming, carry out market research as well as changing weather patterns as both go hand in hand.
what is the best month to farm tomatoes in Kenya?
Most people prefer to farm tomatoes in dry seasons through irrigation as many believe there are high chances of crop failure in rainy seasons. This is why there is always a hike in prices in rainy seasons due to low supply, especially from June – September.
The best month to plant tomatoes is when the current prices are the lowest. This way, harvesting coincides with high market demand when supply is low.
Here is how much you need to start tomato farming in Kenya
But of late we’ve observed high imports from Ethiopia during this period which leads to low prices but it’s a risk worth taking. I believe outdoor tomatoes can do well in the rainy season as long as it’s not done in areas that experience flooding, landslides or hailstones. We’ve done it and we believe you can also do it.
Land Preparation
The 4-6 weeks of raising seedlings are ample time to carry out both primary and secondary tillage as well as gather enough manure to use during planting. Learn how to raise seedlings here.
Find out the best outdoor tomatoes to farm that are the least to disappoint you.
How to Plant tomato plants
- Ensure you spray Redomil Gold 50gms in 20l of water on the eve of planting to prevent dumping off
- Spacing (60cmx60cm) OR (50cmx50cm)
- Add manure as you can. The more manure the stronger the crop.
- Add 50gms of D.A.P/N.P.K and mix
- Plant at the centre of the pit
- Water and then drench with thunder 10ml in 20l of water to kill any cutworms and soil pests.
How to Manage tomato plants after transplanting
Week 1-4
- Spray Redomil gold on the 7th and 14th day and Top dress with 50gms of urea on the 14th and 28th day. This fastens growth and increases the size of leaves thus creating a large surface area for photosynthesis.
Week 5-8
- Spray thunder 10ml or belt 4ml in 20l of water together with dynamic 10ml/20l plus sticker once every week to control aphids, thrips, whiteflies, leaf miners, bollworms and Tuta-absoluta. For organic farmers, you can spray a mixture of neem extract + ginger+garlic+red pepper +plus fermented cows urine (100ml in 20L of water) to control pests.
- Spray contact fungicides e.g Redomil Gold 50gms or Milor 50gms or Milraz 40ml with systematic fungicides like 20ml of Score plus sticker in 20L of water to prevent early & late blight/tuber blight, Powdery mildew, leaf spots and Botrytis once a week in low rainy periods and twice a week in high rainy periods until the completion of the harvest. Fungal disease management is expensive and that’s why we recommend prevention by spraying before the symptoms are visible.
- This is a Simple home experiment that you can carry out to identify bacterial wilt in your crop.
- Top dress with 50 gms of a mixture of N.P.K and C.A.N in the ratio of 1kg: 1kg per plant after every 2 weeks. This helps in fruit formation. Spraying foliar fertilizers like boom flower does NOT help in flowering, it is just a waste of money as flowering is based on hormones and not nutrients.
- Topdress with CAN and Spray Calmax, a calcium-based foliar feed after every 2 weeks with a proper wedding to ensure there is easy absorption of water and calcium by the plant to prevent blossom end rot. To prevent flower abortion, spray Omex foliar (which contains boron which prevents abortion) at the start of flowering with an interval of two weeks.
- Bacterial wilt is a great challenge for many farmers. it is good to make it clear that there is no tomato variety that has resistance. What they have is tolerance. Tolerance in simple terms is the ability to withstand or endure the effect of the disease. This means it will still be affected but the damage will depend on the level of tolerance. It has no cure and no one should lie to you that the use of nematicides will help.
- The effect is worse. The only solution is carrying out a soil test before planting to identify if the soil has wilt-causing bacteria. However, there is hope but a bit costly. This is how to farm tomatoes in bacterial wilt-affected greenhouses.
How to Prune tomato plants
- This is the removal of dead, old and excess leaves or stems in a plant to increase the leafs-fruit ratio, and increase sunlight penetration which fastens the ripping and creates an unconducive environment for pests like aphids and thrips. Ensure as you harvest above the plant, you prune all the leaves below.
- Good pruning enables the formation of strong and big-sized tomatoes. Both greenhouse tomatoes and outdoor tomatoes are pruned.
How to do De-suckering
- This is the removal of unwanted suckers in greenhouse tomatoes only. Allow only one or two stems per plant to prevent food competition and also to increase the size of fruits.
- Ensure you’ve dipped your scissors in a disinfectant after pruning and de-suckering each tomato plant to prevent the spread of diseases from one plant to another.
How to Stack tomato plants
- In the greenhouse tomatoes; tie a barbed wire 2m or 2.5 m above the tomatoes, put a peg at the foot of each plant and tie a nylon string between the peg loosely and the barbed wire and stake the tomatoes around the string.
- Avoid tying the string directly at the foot of the plant as this strains the plant as it grows to prevent the easy flow of water and nutrients which causes a slow growth rate, small fruits, withering or even death. When the tomatoes reach the barbed wire lower them gently such that the pruned part lies on the floor to enable an upward growth rather than a downward which often leads to the destruction of the crop,
- In outdoor tomatoes, we often use 2 or more 1m sticks to support the protruding suckers to avoid breaking the crops due to overbearing and fruits rot due to their contact with the soil. These tomatoes can only grow to a maximum height of 1m.
Mulching
Consider mulching using wheat straws, dry grass and maize stocks to mulch your tomatoes as this increases soil fertility, reduces water evaporation thus reducing the amount of water used for irrigation and prevents fruit rot as there is no direct contact of the fruits with the soil.
Irrigation
Drip irrigation is the most efficient, especially when done at night as the late evaporation is low. The use of sprinklers or watering cans is also okay only when done early in the morning but not late in the evening or at night as this often causes late or early bright infection.
How long do tomatoes take to grow in Kenya?
Depending on the variety, tomatoes may take 75-90 days after transplanting to mature.
Where You Go Wrong
- Lack of market research
- Poor seed varieties
- Poor management of fungal diseases. It’s good to note that fungal diseases are caused by mists, fog and drizzling “bad rain” and not heavy rains.
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