There are three basic things which determine how our plants grow: sufficient water, sufficient carbon dioxide and sufficient heat. The absence of any one of them will stop your plants growing in their tracks. Commercial growers in glasshouses can inject carbon dioxide into their crop when CO2 levels fall too low, but for most of us that is out of our experience and we have little or no control over it.
We can and do influence the supply of water to our plants, which is more important than most people think. Without wishing to become any more complicated than I already am, the water which you give to your plants is taken in through the roots, and is then ‘split’ into two parts by the action of the sun (a process that is called hydrolysis). In other words into its components – hydrogen and oxygen.
The hydrogen part of water combines with carbon dioxide taken in through the leaves to form simple sugars which we often eat. The oxygen part of water is given off into the air which we breathe through the leaves.
If the temperature is too low, then none of these things happen and the plant becomes ‘dormant,’ until the temperature gets high enough for growth to start up again. I have often said that it is very important for us all to plant and grow as much as we can, especially trees, in order to reduce the excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. That should be one of life’s missions for all of us. Don’t keep your plants too dry otherwise you will stop their valuable contribution.
Try growing some tomatoes from seeds. My favourite is ‘Moneymaker,’ one of the best and most prolific tomatoes ever produced. It is not one of the bush varieties (which don’t normally grow very high) but a variety which will climb several feet and need a strong stake or a tallish fence for support. Unlike the bush tomato, climbing tomatoes need to have their side shoots rubbed off until five or six bunches of fruit have been formed, and only then is the growing tip pinched out to prevent the plant getting any taller. Bush varieties of tomato are not staked and side shoots are not normally pinched out and all are allowed to develop.
All tomato plants in flower benefit from being sprayed with water (tepid, not hot or cold). It helps the fruit to set, and it is a good idea with bush tomatoes in particular to cover the ground with straw (left over from the rice crop) or plastic sheeting to prevent the fruit getting soiled. I would say that normally in Guyana you could easily sow tomatoes in the spring (March/April), and be getting fruit within a few months. How quickly you get fruit will depend on the nutrition your plants receive, and the compost into which they are planted. A rich medium loam in a warm, well-drained border is ideal. Prepare the ground by digging it over. It’s a good idea at that stage to add a good general balanced fertilizer to the newly dug soil, and once it has settled the young tomatoes can be planted out. Don’t forget the old dodge about sinking an empty pot against each plant. Watering is then just a matter of filling the empty pot and allowing it to filter down to the plant roots at a lower level, rather than wasting some of it because of run-off. In prolonged dry weather water conservation can be really important.
Until next week may your God go with you wherever you may be.
