Master Gardener: Dry farming tomatoes for increased flavor

[bhalford]

Master Gardener: Dry farming tomatoes for increased flavor
By★MERCURY NEWS★|★themerc@bayareanewsgroup.com★|
March 15, 2012 at 6:44 am - Old article but good information
Q I have purchased dry farmed tomatoes at the Farmers Market and absolutely loved them. They were so flavorful. Is it possible to do dry farming at home?
A Dry farming is a method by which tomatoes, as well as grains, grapes, fruit trees, winter squash and other deep-rooted food crops, are planted and trained to access retained subsurface water, instead of relying upon irrigation.
The plants and fruit are smaller, but the sugar in the fruit is more concentrated and therefore sweeter than irrigated plants. On tomatoes, the skin may also be a bit tougher.
The native clay soil that makes up much of Contra Costa County, California and the Bay Area is ideal for dry farming because it retains water, while sandy soil, such as that is placed in raised beds, dries out too quickly.

Soil preparation is the first step. Double dig your entire bed of native clay soil. Double digging is a technique that fluffs up and aerates the soil to a depth of 16 to 24 inches. Because we have had such a dry winter, your garden bed may first need to be watered well and deep, and then allowed to dry out a bit before digging. Do this as soon as possible in the spring.
Remember that the soil should be moist enough that you can easily crumble a handful. If it is too wet or too dry, digging will result in poor soil structure that cannot support the plants well.
An entire bed needs to be prepared, because one or two holes alone will have too much compacted clay soil around them to allow the tomato roots to grow. This can create a “clay pot” effect where the roots are constricted.
When dry farming, plants need to be spaced about 4 to 5 feet apart in order to have enough water resources. Add up to 2 inches of finished compost and mix it into the top 3 to 4 inches of the double-dug bed. Water well, then add a layer of straw or leaf mulch and wait for planting day.
Keep your seedlings in a warm location and allow them to get tall and a little leggy — do not pinch them back. Continue to care for them and perhaps repot into gallon pots in order to give the roots more room for strong growth. The taller the plant, the deeper you can put it in the ground. All those little hairs along the stem will become roots when the stems are buried.
Early to mid-May is typically warm enough in California for planting. Dig holes deep enough to leave only the top 4 to 5 inches of the seedlings above ground level. Add a specially formulated tomato fertilizer to the soil, water the hole and let it drain.
Pinch or cut off all the leaves and branches up to the top 4 or 5 inches of the plant and pinch off any flowers and suckers between the branches. Plant the tomato, mixing a little compost with the clay, and leaving the top leaves and branches exposed. Water deeply; cover the surrounding soil with 3 to 4 inches of leaf mulch, straw or other mulch.
Water deeply a few days later and then once a week for about three weeks. When you see fruit begin to develop, stop watering altogether.
Do not be tempted to water your tomatoes after that because irregular watering can result in a disease called blossom end rot.
If you have prepared the bed and mulched well, the tomatoes should be able to find their own water by searching deeply into the soil.
Ideally, a cover crop of legumes would have been planted in the tomato bed the previous fall, and turned under in the spring as the legumes started to flower and the soil moisture content was at that crumbly stage. This adds nitrogen and organic material to the soil, which helps with the dry farming process.
Not all varieties of tomatoes do well with a dry farming method. In Moraga I have had good luck with Early Girl, Chianti Rose, Red and Yellow Brandywine; Sun Gold and Sweet 100’s cherry tomatoes; and Black Krim.
Be advised, however, that Black Krim is so delicate you have to eat it right then and there, so take a loaf of rustic bread, some olive oil and some fresh mozzarella outside and enjoy.
If you plan on growing tomatoes this season, either by dry farming or conventional methods, you should check out the “Heirlooms of the World” tomato plant sale being hosted by the Contra Costa Master Gardeners.
More than 30 varieties of heirloom tomato plants will be for sale, including some of the mentioned varieties suitable for dry farming.

[bhalford]

I am going to try this method early in my season with Early Girl and Celebrity.

[Tormato]

And, you're going to hope for little rain.

[BigVanVader]

Originally Posted by bhalford

I am going to try this method early in my season with Early Girl and Celebrity.

There are certain varieties that do well dry farmed. One that I had success with was Siccagno di Valledolmo. It has been dry farmed for generations and makes superior paste tomatoes when done this way.

[Tormato]

Anthos and dry farming are not recommended, going by my experiences. Basically, I have to kill the plant to get tasty tomatoes.

[Nan_PA_6b]

As a lazy farmer, my tomatoes are always dry-farmed. I water to establish the plants, and then never unless they are wilting.



Typo near the end of that article: should read "Black Krim is so delicious..." not "so delicate".

[b54red]

With the drought in our area last summer and early fall I had no choice but to dry farm all my crops. The tomatoes did taste extra tasty and were smaller than usual but the biggest downside is the lessening of fruit set once the water is cut off. I did water to stop them from dying but not much more after July. Bell peppers did remarkably well and were actually larger than normal but with far fewer per plant. I rarely over water tomatoes but sometimes the weather will do that for me and the result is watery and less tasty tomatoes with a lot more splits. One of the reasons I grow a fair number of my black tomatoes latter in the summer and fall is to take advantage of the drier weather and heat to get far tastier tomatoes from them. Black varieties seem to be the most negatively affected by too much water of any of the tomatoes I grow and they seem to set better in the dry heat than most others.

Bill