It's Been Raining, Can Start Digging And Weeding?

[knight11]

Hi folks,

Need your input here.

I want to grow tomato plants on soil.

1) It's been raining & the soil is wet, is this a good time to plant during this rainy season or after?

2) Previous veg grower of the same plot use moist logs as barrier for the raised beds. I was told by a newbie farmer that the worms or insects that eat logs can also eat roots. Is it a good idea to use log for the plant beds?

3) This guy also said that using wood chips or saw dust for composting is not a good idea becos these will attract wood-loving insects in the soil which attack roots - does he talk sense?

The guy is a newbie farmer and I am an even newer newbie.

Any take on these?

Your advice is much Appreciated.

[loong]

I've never noticed any problems with using logs for raised beds.

Maybe because the insects that attack the logs eat dead tissue, whereas roots are live.

I believe that some wood chippings and sawdust are not so good for composting, but have only been told this and no idea if true or not. Maybe treated timber is no good.

Good luck with the tomatoes, they are not so easy to grow her, so always like to hear of success. I have best results in raised beds with plenty of well rotted Cow manure and rice husks dug in. You can usually get the rice husks for free where they polish the rice. Try to take from the bottom of the pile where the husks have turned black, they are best.

[loong]

I should have added that where you are composting, you will not be growing plants anyway

[Beachbunny]

I'm just at the end of my first "crop" of tomatoes ever in Thailand. Actually this is the first tomatoes I've been able to grow in

over 20 years. We used to live by the ocean in the states, so I blamed that, but we live closer to the ocean here and I had a great

"crop"

What I did was keep them out of to much wind, good ph in the soil and consistent watering and good drainage. I put them in big pots. So far I haven't had too much luck

planting anything directly in the ground, no matter what I did. I do have some black diamond water melons growning now in some new sandy dirt mixed with potting soil, so we'll see. So far so good.

Anyway, the tomatoes don't like to be soaking wet like in the rainy season though. I have found that plants that can take full sun in the states don't do that well in full sun here. My tomato plants only got late morning/afternoon sun. The biggest problem I've had has been towards the end of the life of the tomatoes...and that was white fly. The thais have an organic spray you can make at home with pineapple tops, and I think sadao leaves....I think that's right, let ferment in water then use to spray everyday.

Here are some pictures from Jan-Mar. (I started seed in small pots in Nov.) the big green tomatoes I broke off by accident, but they did ripen.

Beachbunny

Beachbunny

[soidog2]

Hi folks,

Need your input here.

I want to grow tomato plants on soil.

1) It's been raining & the soil is wet, is this a good time to plant during this rainy season or after?

2) Previous veg grower of the same plot use moist logs as barrier for the raised beds. I was told by a newbie farmer that the worms or insects that eat logs can also eat roots. Is it a good idea to use log for the plant beds?

3) This guy also said that using wood chips or saw dust for composting is not a good idea becos these will attract wood-loving insects in the soil which attack roots - does he talk sense?

The guy is a newbie farmer and I am an even newer newbie.

Any take on these?

In Thailand, best time to start planting tomatoes, would be around Nov/Dec.

If you plant now your tomatoes will mature in the middle of the rainy season, problematic.

The plants do not like soaking , you’ll get all kings of fungus infections.

The fruit will crack after a heavy rain, if it does survive will not taste too good because of too much water in the system.

If I were you, I would look for a water loving vegetable to plant now and wait for the next cool season to plant tomatoes.

Good luck

Your advice is much Appreciated.

[Maizefarmer]

Go for it - why not: in Thailands climate they grow all year round - just make sure the soil has decent drainage.

[loong]

In Thailand, best time to start planting tomatoes, would be around Nov/Dec.

If you plant now your tomatoes will mature in the middle of the rainy season, problematic.

The plants do not like soaking , you’ll get all kings of fungus infections.

The fruit will crack after a heavy rain, if it does survive will not taste too good because of too much water in the system.

If I were you, I would look for a water loving vegetable to plant now and wait for the next cool season to plant tomatoes.

You could try toms in pots under an overhanging roof