Too much rain...

pinakbet · August 4, 2010

Tomato experts, I need some advise...

I'm just kinda new in growing tomatoes... Just started late last year so I can say that I'm still a novice in growing tomatoes and other nightshades..

Right now, we are experiencing a very wet season in our side of the globe. Heavy rain fall almost everyday makes the soil too damp. I've lost several plants that are exposed in the open due to the heavy rains..

What might be the best counter measure for this wet condition?

thanks

b54red · August 4, 2010

Raised beds help a great deal. We had daily rain last year from early July til the middle of August and it was very frustrating. Foliage diseases and tomato splitting were a real problem along with pests that couldn't be controlled very well because the rain washed away the pesticides before they could work.
Right now I would gladly trade you a few days of 100 degree blazing sunny days for some of your rain which we are really lacking this past month.

**mdvpc** · August 4, 2010

I see you grow mainly, or all, in containers. You can use something to cover them and shunt the rain away when you need to.

pinakbet · August 5, 2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by b54red

Raised beds help a great deal. We had daily rain last year from early July til the middle of August and it was very frustrating. Foliage diseases and tomato splitting were a real problem along with pests that couldn't be controlled very well because the rain washed away the pesticides before they could work.
Right now I would gladly trade you a few days of 100 degree blazing sunny days for some of your rain which we are really lacking this past month.

if its only possible to trade weather for a few days, I'll gladly agree on it. I only have a few plants planted direct on the ground due to my limited growing space. most are confined in containers..

had that problem also a couple of months ago. I need to stay late at night so the water pressure coming out of the faucet is greater so I can gather water to be used in watering the plants every day...

Quote:

Originally Posted by mdvpc

I see you grow mainly, or all, in containers. You can use something to cover them and shunt the rain away when you need to.

Thanks for the tip/ Yes most are grown in containers. Is it advisable to change the growing medium?

**mdvpc** · August 5, 2010

Are you talking about changing the growing medium after your season is over and when you replant? If so, yes, you should change it out. You dont know what potential diseases are lurking there after a season's usage.

pinakbet · August 5, 2010

How about changing the medium in the containers right now? I find the medium so damped by the rain, Thinking of replacing it with fresh soil before the plants will get some kind of disease.

**mdvpc** · August 5, 2010

Pinabet:

Dont have any experience with that. You might try shielding them from the rain so that they can dry out. Maybe someone else can help you. I live in a climate where we get 8 inches of rain a year, so no experience with this problem.

pinakbet · August 5, 2010

Thanks mdvpc.

The weather here is just so weird this year.

TomatoDon · August 6, 2010

I can't remember where...maybe here at T'ville...but I saw a post and some pictures of a man in France or Italy I think, who had just bought a tiller and had pictures of it and something like a tomato shed. It was all a very neat and attractive arrangement, and it seems like the tomato shed was like a small garden with a clear roof, like plexiglass.

That would give you some ideas if I could remember where I saw the picture. If it was here at T'ville maybe someone will remember it and may can find that thread. This would have been back in the winter months I believe.

I'm not sure I understand the exact nature of your tomato and excess rain problem, but if you have drain holes and light soil the water should run right out and not cause problems. If the plants are already established and have some good growth and root set, it will be a practical impossibility to change out the soil with new.

Raised beds and containers with drain holes are the best remedy I know for handling excess water. You may also notice on some of the Earth-Tainers like Raybo does. A lot of pictures show the top fastened to the container, but with a hole to plant the tomato through. Such a top, or even a plastic topping like visqueen, should keep out excess water. If it's a continuous pelting of water on the plant it self there is not much else to do but put it under a roof, shed, on a porch, etc. and where it can still get sunlight. That is...sunlight when it's not raining.

habitat_gardener · August 6, 2010

A summer or two ago, when it rained a lot, Ami in Germany posted a photo of a roof he built to shelter some tomato plants. It looked like a greenhouse with no sides, only a plexiglas roof.

If your tomato plants have not grown to the tops of the cages, you can put a clear umbrella over the cages and then drape plastic over it to keep some rain off. Or just put plastic over the tops of the cages, but be careful that the plastic cannot collect water and then dump it all at once.

TomatoDon · August 6, 2010

You've described the type structure I'm referring to, but the one I saw wasn't by Ami. I'll try some more searches.

DS

TomatoDon · August 6, 2010

I still can't find it. But I did find the Ami thread you're probably referring to.

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...ht=tomato+roof

DS

**mdvpc** · August 6, 2010

Containers can definitely get too much water-believe me, I have done it! And its hard to do in the desert Southwest. It can depend on the type of fill you have in your container. You should have a very light mix so the water drains out real good. Sand and topsoil, etc can really bog down your mix. I am trialing coir right now, and it seems very light. I am going to try it mixed with about 20-25% perlite next.

pinakbet · August 6, 2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by habitat_gardener

A summer or two ago, when it rained a lot, Ami in Germany posted a photo of a roof he built to shelter some tomato plants. It looked like a greenhouse with no sides, only a plexiglas roof.

If your tomato plants have not grown to the tops of the cages, you can put a clear umbrella over the cages and then drape plastic over it to keep some rain off. Or just put plastic over the tops of the cages, but be careful that the plastic cannot collect water and then dump it all at once.

thanks for the tip. I'll look for a cheaper alternative for flexiglass here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TomatoDon

I still can't find it. But I did find the Ami thread you're probably referring to.

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...ht=tomato+roof

DS

thanks for time in digging up the archive for the link tomatodon. really appreciated it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mdvpc

Containers can definitely get too much water-believe me, I have done it! And its hard to do in the desert Southwest. It can depend on the type of fill you have in your container. You should have a very light mix so the water drains out real good. Sand and topsoil, etc can really bog down your mix. I am trialing coir right now, and it seems very light. I am going to try it mixed with about 20-25% perlite next.

actually that is what i have in mind in changing the growing medium --> to mix perlite on the fresh potting mix for better drainage. thanks for the ratio on the perlite.

dice · August 6, 2010

I saw a picture of a larger setup like Ami's in Vietnam when
researching something online. They simply had a frame with
a clear roof, fiberglass or polycarbonate or whatever, some
material rigid enough that water will run off of it instead of
pooling up on it, that still lets plenty of light through. It was
covering test plots at some research facility rather than at
a commercial farm, if I recall correctly. They probably get
weather like you do in the rainy season and must take some
measures to prevent drowning their project plants.

One can also use fine mesh metal screen instead of a solid
covering the same way. The mesh is cheaper and lasts longer
than rigid plastics, but water will still run off of it if it is stretched
tightly across a frame, and it lets enough sunlight through
in hot climates that the plants will not suffer from lack of light.

Something like this:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/71/22...d8e1f2.jpg?v=0

Construction does not have to be that elaborate or permanent,
of course, or even that shape, but that is the idea. Most of the
rain gets directed away by the fine metal mesh. You probably
want galvanized steel or stainless steel mesh, fine enough to
keep mosquitoes out. A flat roof with a slight pitch to it above
the plants should work fine, at least until a wind storm sends
it off into the hills somewhere.

One endemic problem that they have in the rainier parts of
Asia when growing tomatoes is bacterial wilt, a soil-borne
disease that thrives in warm, wet soil. Grafting is one approach
to dealing with it:
http://www.new-ag.info/focus/focusItem.php?a=38

Treating the soil with compounds high in thymol (like thyme oil)
before planting is another approach to controlling
bacterial wilt. (Thyme oil is an essential oil. One mixes it with
some kind of organic soap and water to apply it to soil. There
are probably other essential oils high in thymol that would
work, too.)

A comprehensive summary on bacterial wilt, with pictures:
http://plantpath.ifas.ufl.edu/rsol/T...to_Module.html

August 4, 2010	#1
pinakbet Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Pearl of the Orient Posts: 333	Too much rain... Tomato experts, I need some advise... I'm just kinda new in growing tomatoes... Just started late last year so I can say that I'm still a novice in growing tomatoes and other nightshades.. Right now, we are experiencing a very wet season in our side of the globe. Heavy rain fall almost everyday makes the soil too damp. I've lost several plants that are exposed in the open due to the heavy rains.. What might be the best counter measure for this wet condition? thanks

August 4, 2010	#3
mdvpc Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 4,386	I see you grow mainly, or all, in containers. You can use something to cover them and shunt the rain away when you need to. __________________ Michael

August 5, 2010	#5
mdvpc Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 4,386	Are you talking about changing the growing medium after your season is over and when you replant? If so, yes, you should change it out. You dont know what potential diseases are lurking there after a season's usage. __________________ Michael

August 5, 2010	#7
mdvpc Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 4,386	Pinabet: Dont have any experience with that. You might try shielding them from the rain so that they can dry out. Maybe someone else can help you. I live in a climate where we get 8 inches of rain a year, so no experience with this problem. __________________ Michael

August 6, 2010	#9
TomatoDon Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MS Posts: 1,523	I can't remember where...maybe here at T'ville...but I saw a post and some pictures of a man in France or Italy I think, who had just bought a tiller and had pictures of it and something like a tomato shed. It was all a very neat and attractive arrangement, and it seems like the tomato shed was like a small garden with a clear roof, like plexiglass. That would give you some ideas if I could remember where I saw the picture. If it was here at T'ville maybe someone will remember it and may can find that thread. This would have been back in the winter months I believe. I'm not sure I understand the exact nature of your tomato and excess rain problem, but if you have drain holes and light soil the water should run right out and not cause problems. If the plants are already established and have some good growth and root set, it will be a practical impossibility to change out the soil with new. Raised beds and containers with drain holes are the best remedy I know for handling excess water. You may also notice on some of the Earth-Tainers like Raybo does. A lot of pictures show the top fastened to the container, but with a hole to plant the tomato through. Such a top, or even a plastic topping like visqueen, should keep out excess water. If it's a continuous pelting of water on the plant it self there is not much else to do but put it under a roof, shed, on a porch, etc. and where it can still get sunlight. That is...sunlight when it's not raining. __________________ Zone 7B, N. MS

August 4, 2010	#2
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Raised beds help a great deal. We had daily rain last year from early July til the middle of August and it was very frustrating. Foliage diseases and tomato splitting were a real problem along with pests that couldn't be controlled very well because the rain washed away the pesticides before they could work. Right now I would gladly trade you a few days of 100 degree blazing sunny days for some of your rain which we are really lacking this past month.

August 5, 2010	#8
pinakbet Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Pearl of the Orient Posts: 333	Thanks mdvpc. The weather here is just so weird this year.

August 6, 2010	#10
habitat_gardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: California Central Valley Posts: 2,543	A summer or two ago, when it rained a lot, Ami in Germany posted a photo of a roof he built to shelter some tomato plants. It looked like a greenhouse with no sides, only a plexiglas roof. If your tomato plants have not grown to the tops of the cages, you can put a clear umbrella over the cages and then drape plastic over it to keep some rain off. Or just put plastic over the tops of the cages, but be careful that the plastic cannot collect water and then dump it all at once.

August 6, 2010	#15
dice Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: PNW Posts: 4,743	I saw a picture of a larger setup like Ami's in Vietnam when researching something online. They simply had a frame with a clear roof, fiberglass or polycarbonate or whatever, some material rigid enough that water will run off of it instead of pooling up on it, that still lets plenty of light through. It was covering test plots at some research facility rather than at a commercial farm, if I recall correctly. They probably get weather like you do in the rainy season and must take some measures to prevent drowning their project plants. One can also use fine mesh metal screen instead of a solid covering the same way. The mesh is cheaper and lasts longer than rigid plastics, but water will still run off of it if it is stretched tightly across a frame, and it lets enough sunlight through in hot climates that the plants will not suffer from lack of light. Something like this: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/71/22...d8e1f2.jpg?v=0 Construction does not have to be that elaborate or permanent, of course, or even that shape, but that is the idea. Most of the rain gets directed away by the fine metal mesh. You probably want galvanized steel or stainless steel mesh, fine enough to keep mosquitoes out. A flat roof with a slight pitch to it above the plants should work fine, at least until a wind storm sends it off into the hills somewhere. One endemic problem that they have in the rainier parts of Asia when growing tomatoes is bacterial wilt, a soil-borne disease that thrives in warm, wet soil. Grafting is one approach to dealing with it: http://www.new-ag.info/focus/focusItem.php?a=38 Treating the soil with compounds high in thymol (like thyme oil) before planting is another approach to controlling bacterial wilt. (Thyme oil is an essential oil. One mixes it with some kind of organic soap and water to apply it to soil. There are probably other essential oils high in thymol that would work, too.) A comprehensive summary on bacterial wilt, with pictures: http://plantpath.ifas.ufl.edu/rsol/T...to_Module.html __________________ -- alias