Now is the perfect time to prepare beds for tomatoes. Appropriate actions taken before planting can improve the soil structure and enrich it with nutrients. Thanks to this, the plants grow faster, are stronger and produce much greater yields.
When growing plants in your garden, we must not forget about a very important procedure, which is the forecrop, i.e. sowing the plants before the planned planting of the actual specimens. This is not intended to harvest crops previously sown, but to prepare the soil for subsequent plantings.
This is due to the fact that these specimens improve the structure of the earth, also protecting it against erosion, sterilization and enriching it with valuable ingredients. At the same time, the forecrop loosens the soil and limits the development of weeds.
Moreover, it improves the ability to retain moisture, thanks to which plants planted there later have better conditions for development and produce crops faster. This treatment is worth performing, among others: in the case of tomatoes, which need fertile and well-aerated soil, which is rich in minerals.
The date of the forecrop depends on the place of cultivation and conditions. It is assumed that at the turn of January and February we can sow plants in foil tunnels, greenhouses and boxes placed on the balcony.
In the case of open ground, we do it only at the end of winter or early spring, when the ground is no longer frozen. However, remember to sow the forecrop very densely, and when it grows, we cut it or dig it into the soil.. Thanks to this, the plants can be used as natural fertilizer and mulch.
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We have a lot of plants to choose from that are suitable as forecrops. These are species that do not have high requirements and grow quickly. The most frequently chosen specimens include:
- lettuce,
- rye,
- white mustard,
- łubin,
- oat,
- vetch,
- radish.
These plants will greatly improve the structure of the soil and enrich it with valuable ingredients. Thanks to this, our tomato crop this year will be very successful.
