tomatoed soil

GardenForums.com a friendly and growing community of gardeners. We feature a Garden Discussion Forum and Garden Photo Gallery. It's a fun and friendly place to talk with other gardeners, ask questions, share you knowledge, view and post photos and more! Whether you're a master gardener, or brand new to the hobby, you'll find something of interest here.



mngardenguy

New Member
The tomato area of my garden was rather large and I could not keep up the harvest, thus much of the fruit rotted on the vine and dropped to the ground where they are now tilled in. It was very wet, juicy soil and nearly got stuck tilling.
Question is, will the acidity remain in the soil until the next growing season or will it neutralize on it's own? If it will remain acidic, what can I grow there successfully next season?
Thanks.
 

Blueaussi

New Member
Welcome to the group!

I doubt the tomatoes will make much difference in the pH, I would be more concerned about the possibility of disease than acidity. Tomatoes like it a little acid, anyway.
 

mngardenguy

New Member
Would it be good idea to treat the soil int that area before the ground freezes in preparation for next year? If so, what could I use?
 

Randy

Super Moderator
Staff member
It really depends on the present condition of your soil. Compost never hurts and is a great soil conditioner. Our soil here i western Oregon is subject to a lot of rain through the wet months (Sept. through JUne) so it is leached constantly. To offset that, I use a bag of lime on it in the spring. But I also have horse manure from the stall in the barn that accumulates and I spread that out in the spring also. I like to get that spread before tilling and before the wet season is over so part of the leaching actually will add to the nutrients in the soil. I do rotate my garden though so the tomatoes are never in the same location two years in a row. Our ground is not frozen that often and when it does freeze, it won't be frozen long.
 

Flower4Yeshua

Super Moderator & vegemm
Staff member
Hello and Welcome....there is actually two ways you could do this...rake it all in a pile and burn it then spread that ...once spring comes test several parts with on eof the home soil kits you can get at many garden places....another is leave it...this is what I do...then also put a layer of leaf...grass clippings ...even newspaper...allow to rot over the winter...come spring and till all in and go from there...nice oyu have joined us
 
K

Kale

Guest
Welcome Veggie Gardener!

A Crop Rotation is in order.
You can do a few searches to find a rotation that works for your space.
I am limited on beds and rotation is an absolute chore, I have to pile compost in each bed. In Fall /Spring and throughout the season.
I only have 4 families I grow usually..
Genus cucurbita (Pumpkin/Squash/Gourds etc..)
Crucifer (Brassica) (Kale/ Collards etc..)
Solanaceous (Nightshade family) Tomato/ Eggplant /Peppers
(and Potato grown separately)
Root Crops (Carrot/ Turnip/ Radish etc.

You are most likely going to get little tomato seedling next year, I would let them grow a few inches then transplant them into different bed , a place none of the Nightshade family grew last year, if at all possible.

How many seasons did you have tomatoes (or family members) in that plot? The fruit that rotted, how did it rot? Did it have a solid circle on the bottom or brown lines (cracks) on the top near the stem, entry holes or just a natural age process?
NOTE:
Oh just for future knowledge, if the soil is that wet it is not advisable to till.
Many undesirables occur.

Flowers4Yeshua,
How do you burn soil?
Also one has to make certain that soy ink is not used for the newspaper, I know here in this whole SE Mi. it is .Soy Ink is not biodegradable.Concluded that in my beds, then researched.
I have not found any ills with unprinted cardboard.
I try to only till in fall if it is a must and in the spring if it is a new bed.


Kale :)
 

farmerlon

New Member
I had a compost pile in a corner of the garden, and had composted a lot of tomato scraps/rejects in that pile.
Later, when I tilled & planted that area, I had hundreds of little tomato plants pop up. It was no problem to pluck them out; but I was surprised by how many there were.
 

Mainegal

Super Moderator
Staff member
I get 100's in my compost bin every yr. Have transplanted them and they have done awesome for me
 


Gardenforums.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com

Top