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INSECTICIDE-FREE HYDROPONIC TOMATOES
Debbie Bulmer, Co-owner
Mesa Creek Farms, Mesa, Colo.
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I.
Hydroponics: growing plants without soil (i.e., soilless culture)
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Ancients cultivated plants in water
hundreds of years B.C. |
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Currently: Commercial crops for 50 years
in all climate zones worldwide, even aboard atomic submarines as the
source for fresh vegetables |
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This isn't going away: it's going to
Mars! |
II. The Technique - see the green
book!
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Aquaculture vs. soilless media - did your subscription to
MOTHER EARTH
NEWS lapse in '85? |
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pH 6.5 Nutrient Solutions
- see Hydro-Gardens! |
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Growing Tomatoes -
see
Hydro-Gardens ...on
Starting Tomato Seeds |
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Varieties
- red and pink beefsteaks, truss
or cluster, cherry, and red grape |
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Cropping
- winter vs. summer, or 2 crops
per year? |
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Temperature
- sprout at 78deg; seedlings 64@N & 78@D; fruiting
64@N & 72@D |
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Light
- intensity, not day length, is
important |
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Pruning
- interactive training at
ag.arizona.edu web site |
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Bio-weapons and Bug Warriors -
success without sprays! IPM |
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Pollinator Bumble Bees
- last approx. 8 weeks |
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Production Estimates –
summer ave. 42#/plant/year; winter ave.
35#/plant/yr |
III. Resources
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Hydroponic Food Production
by Howard M. Resh |
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Recognizing Tomato Problems
by. L. Pottorf of CSU CoopExt
(Pub. No. 2.949) |
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Commercial Greenhouse Tomatoes
by J.E.Ells, et al ofCSU CoopExt
(pub. No. 7.606) . |
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Tomato Diseases,
Eds. Brad Gabor & Wayne Wiebe |
on the web
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Pruning Quiz
- click your mouse where you
think the plant should be pruned.
(Try the interactive pruning training at the
ag.arizona.edu web site.)
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Western Colorado Gardening Foundation
