When planning to grow tomatoes, it is worth taking care not only of the right variety and its seedlings, but also to prepare the position as best as possible. This is the key to healthy and abundant harvests. How to take care of it?
All you need is the place where the tomatoes will ultimately grow, sow the forecrop earlier, which will not only improve the soil structure, but also reduce the risk of diseases. Which plants are best as a forecrop for tomatoes?
Still too few people realize that how important it is to take care of the soil before planting plants in the ground. In the case of tomatoes, which are demanding species, this is especially important. Therefore, it is worth taking care of an appropriate forecrop.
It’s nothing more than that plants grown not for direct yield, but to improve the quality and fertility of the soil before actual cultivation. The forecrop is intended to protect the land, increase microbiological activity in it and prepare it for intensive cultivation.
The practice of forecrops is valued in agriculture for its effectiveness and eagerly used, among others, in . A well-selected forecrop will limit the development of diseases and pests, loosens the soil, it will increase the humus content and reduce the risk of sterilization of the substrate.
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Tomatoes cannot be planted in just any placewithout paying attention to what was growing there before. A suitable site is certainly not the one where potatoes or peppers were grown last season.
As they belong to the same family, they are susceptible to the same diseases, which allowed threatening diseases and pests to survive in the soil to quickly attack new plants. Therefore, a properly selected location for tomatoes should be sown with a forecrop. The most suitable for this are:
- Legumes – Species such as peas, beans, lupines and vetches bind nitrogen from the air and enrich the soil with this element. This improves its fertility, which will be appreciated by tomato seedlings.
- Lettuce – a vegetable with a short growing season, which quickly frees up space in the beds by loosening the soil. They do not deplete it excessively, so it is ready for later tomato cultivation.
- Mustard and oil radish – species from the cabbage family that protect the soil against the development of pathogens.
- Calendula and marigolds – they inhibit the development of harmful organisms and attract beneficial insects, while repelling some pests. It is worth planting them not only before tomatoes, but also next to them.
It will also work as a forecrop for tomatoes spring, i.e. rye or oatsbut they should be sown in autumn or winter. In the case of other forecrops a good time for sowing is early springso as to dig up the soil in April or before the planned plantings. After completing pre-crop cultivation, the soil should be properly preparedso that healthy and strong tomatoes can grow there.
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