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Cleaning Between Greenhouse Crops
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Information in green provided by the Florida Greenhouse Vegetable Production Handbook, Vol 31
Horticultural Sciences Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Original publication
date December 1990. Revised June 2001. Reviewed February 2008. Visit the EDIS Web Site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu. G.J. Hochmuth, professor of Horticultural
Sciences and Center Director, North Florida Research and Education Center, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. The Florida
Greenhouse Vegetable Production Handbook is edited by George Hochmuth, professor of Horticultural Sciences and Center Director, North Florida Research and
Education Center - Quincy and Bob Hochmuth, extension agent IV, North Florida Research and Education Center - Suwannee Valley, Cooperative Extension
Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611.
Horticultural Sciences Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Original publication
date December 1990. Revised June 2001. Reviewed February 2008. Visit the EDIS Web Site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu. G.J. Hochmuth, professor of Horticultural
Sciences and Center Director, North Florida Research and Education Center, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. The Florida
Greenhouse Vegetable Production Handbook is edited by George Hochmuth, professor of Horticultural Sciences and Center Director, North Florida Research and
Education Center - Quincy and Bob Hochmuth, extension agent IV, North Florida Research and Education Center - Suwannee Valley, Cooperative Extension
Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611.
"About 40 to 45 days prior to termination date, the plants can be topped by cutting the plant top off at the trellis cable. Pollination can stop but fertilizer
solution application is maintained. Fruits on the vine will continue to ripen and the last ones should be harvested by the projected termination date."...
Cleaning the house involves removing the old plants and disinfesting the house and growing surfaces. For all cultural systems, plants need to be removed
from the house and dumped in an area away from the house to avoid reintroduction of insects and disease organisms. Burying the plants is best.
In the NFT system, the channels or pipes need to be cleaned of plant debris and roots and disinfested with a 10% bleach solution. Surfaces should be wiped
clean of dust and insect honeydew, if present. The sump tank should be flushed and cleaned thoroughly.
For the trough system, all plant material should be removed and the irrigation system flushed and cleaned. Chlorination and/or acidification might be needed
to clean out bacteria and/or calcium carbonate scale.
Mix in the trough should be replaced or sterilized with steam or fumigated where labeled chemicals are available for that purpose. Additional mix might be
needed to replace that which was oxidized during the previous season.
In the bag system, the house needs to be cleaned and disinfested. The irrigation system needs to be flushed and cleaned as above for the trough system.
Ideally, the bags should be replaced, however most research shows that the bags can be used for a second season as long as no disease problems are
suspected.
In the perlite or rockwool systems, the bags or slabs are dried out by turning off the irrigation system and letting the plants absorb the remaining water from
the media. Plants are then removed and the irrigation system cleaned as above. Rockwool slabs can be used for at least a second crop. Prior to reuse, the
slabs are removed from the plastic sleeve and sterilized. New sleeves are placed around the slabs. Perlite bags also can be reused at least once, as long as
no root diseases were present the year before. The greenhouse should be disinfested as for any of the above cultural systems."
solution application is maintained. Fruits on the vine will continue to ripen and the last ones should be harvested by the projected termination date."...
Cleaning the house involves removing the old plants and disinfesting the house and growing surfaces. For all cultural systems, plants need to be removed
from the house and dumped in an area away from the house to avoid reintroduction of insects and disease organisms. Burying the plants is best.
In the NFT system, the channels or pipes need to be cleaned of plant debris and roots and disinfested with a 10% bleach solution. Surfaces should be wiped
clean of dust and insect honeydew, if present. The sump tank should be flushed and cleaned thoroughly.
For the trough system, all plant material should be removed and the irrigation system flushed and cleaned. Chlorination and/or acidification might be needed
to clean out bacteria and/or calcium carbonate scale.
Mix in the trough should be replaced or sterilized with steam or fumigated where labeled chemicals are available for that purpose. Additional mix might be
needed to replace that which was oxidized during the previous season.
In the bag system, the house needs to be cleaned and disinfested. The irrigation system needs to be flushed and cleaned as above for the trough system.
Ideally, the bags should be replaced, however most research shows that the bags can be used for a second season as long as no disease problems are
suspected.
In the perlite or rockwool systems, the bags or slabs are dried out by turning off the irrigation system and letting the plants absorb the remaining water from
the media. Plants are then removed and the irrigation system cleaned as above. Rockwool slabs can be used for at least a second crop. Prior to reuse, the
slabs are removed from the plastic sleeve and sterilized. New sleeves are placed around the slabs. Perlite bags also can be reused at least once, as long as
no root diseases were present the year before. The greenhouse should be disinfested as for any of the above cultural systems."
Types of Tomatoes-
*Money Maker- Indeterminate. Seed to fruit 80 days. Reliable producer of heavy crops of medium-sized, four to five ounce red, globe-shaped tomatoes.
Sets fruit well in the greenhouse or outside in many weather conditions. Does well under humid conditions.
*Money Maker- Indeterminate. Seed to fruit 80 days. Reliable producer of heavy crops of medium-sized, four to five ounce red, globe-shaped tomatoes.
Sets fruit well in the greenhouse or outside in many weather conditions. Does well under humid conditions.
Tomato Blossom Drop- Blossom drop is a common tomato problem where otherwise healthy looking tomato plants set flower blossoms that dry up and
fall off the plant before a fruit is formed. The most common cause of tomato blossom drop is temperature.
short periods, several days or nights with temps outside the ideal range will cause the plant to abort fruit set and focus on survival. According to the
University of NV, “...temperatures over 104̊ F / 40 C for only four hours can cause the flowers to abort.
Other possible causes of tomato blossom drop include:
fall off the plant before a fruit is formed. The most common cause of tomato blossom drop is temperature.
- High daytime temperatures (above 85 F / 29 C)
- High Nighttime Temperatures (Below 70 / 21 C)
- Low Nighttime Temperatures (Below 55 / 13 C)
short periods, several days or nights with temps outside the ideal range will cause the plant to abort fruit set and focus on survival. According to the
University of NV, “...temperatures over 104̊ F / 40 C for only four hours can cause the flowers to abort.
Other possible causes of tomato blossom drop include:
- Lack of pollination- Tomatoes need some help to pollinate. Either insects, wind or hand shaking of the flowers is necessary to carry the pollen from
- Nitrogen - too much or too little. Don't automatically feed your plants every week. Start with healthy soil and apply a balanced fertilizer at planting and
- Humidity- The ideal humidity range is between 40 - 70%. If humidity is either too high or too low, it interferes with the release of pollen and with
- Not enough water- Water deeply. Tomatoes have very deep roots. Make sure there is enough water to reach the bottom of your media.
- Stress from insect damage or disease- Treat your plants as soon as symptoms appear.
- Too Heavy Fruit Set - When a tomato plant has too many blossoms, the resulting fruits are all competing for the limited food supplied by the plant.
Only the strong will survive. The plant will automatically abort some flowers. Once the initial crop is harvested, the problem should subside.
Transplant Production- Greenhouse tomato crops are started from transplants to ensure uniform crop establishment. One of the keys to successful
tomato crops is high quality transplants and each grower must be careful that everything possible is done to ensure that the highest quality plants are set in
the production house. Disease transmission is the biggest concern. The use of rooted suckers from one's own crop or from someone else's house is a very
dangerous practice. The suckers may contain insects such as white flies or thrips or the suckers might be infected with a disease such as a virus."...
"Tomato transplants should be started in a separate transplant house, growth room, or growth chamber. Smaller-size transplant facilities are more
economical to heat, cool, and light than a small bench within the large production house. Disease and insect problems are easier to contend with in a small,
separate space. All supplies and equipment must be new or completely disinfested of disease organisms prior to seeding."...
"For most cultural systems, the transplants can be produced in small cubes made of rockwool or foam material. The root ball can be successfully
transplanted to most cultural systems. For peat trough and bag culture, the transplants can be started in peatmix in the containerized cell system. For the
rockwool or foam cube method, it is best to seed into slabs of cubes (75 or more cubes per slab). The slabs of cubes can be placed in plastic trays to
facilitate handling. The trays should have drainage holes to remove excess nutrient solution. The cubes come pre-drilled with a seed hole into which to drop
a single tomato seed. It is not necessary to cover the seeds, however, a thin covering of perlite or vermiculite might aid in wetting the seed and improve
uniformity of emergence. Working only with dry cubes and dry seeds, will help the seeding operation. Wet fingers, etc., leads to frustration in getting the
seeds into the holes. Growers should plan to seed 10 to 15% extra seeds so that extra plants are available to replace unhealthy or damaged seedlings.
Once a tray is seeded, it should be watered with plain water adjusted to pH 6.0. The trays should be placed on a bench in the germination area taking care
to see that all surfaces are clean."... " All trays should be labeled carefully as to seeding date and cultivar. Seedlings will emerge in about 7 to 10 days. The
seedlings should be moistened with the nutrient solution until they are ready to be transplanted to the production house. About 3 to 4 weeks are needed to
produce a minimal size plant (about 4 to 6 inches tall) ready for transplanting. Individual seedlings may need to be separated from the cube mat and spaced
out in trays to prevent etiolation (spindly plants). If the containerized peat-based system is to be used, the soilless mix must be sterile and the trays must
have been disinfested with at least 10% bleach solution. Trays that produce plants with a 1-inch-square root ball are optimum for tomato plants. The trays
are filled with peatmix and lightly tamped. Using a dibble or pencil, a slight depression ½ inch deep is made into which the tomato seed is dropped. The seed
is covered by pinching the hole shut and the mix is dampened with the dilute nutrient solution. The tray is then marked and placed in the germination area.
The soil is kept moistened with nutrient solution until the seedlings are ready to transplant.
tomato crops is high quality transplants and each grower must be careful that everything possible is done to ensure that the highest quality plants are set in
the production house. Disease transmission is the biggest concern. The use of rooted suckers from one's own crop or from someone else's house is a very
dangerous practice. The suckers may contain insects such as white flies or thrips or the suckers might be infected with a disease such as a virus."...
"Tomato transplants should be started in a separate transplant house, growth room, or growth chamber. Smaller-size transplant facilities are more
economical to heat, cool, and light than a small bench within the large production house. Disease and insect problems are easier to contend with in a small,
separate space. All supplies and equipment must be new or completely disinfested of disease organisms prior to seeding."...
"For most cultural systems, the transplants can be produced in small cubes made of rockwool or foam material. The root ball can be successfully
transplanted to most cultural systems. For peat trough and bag culture, the transplants can be started in peatmix in the containerized cell system. For the
rockwool or foam cube method, it is best to seed into slabs of cubes (75 or more cubes per slab). The slabs of cubes can be placed in plastic trays to
facilitate handling. The trays should have drainage holes to remove excess nutrient solution. The cubes come pre-drilled with a seed hole into which to drop
a single tomato seed. It is not necessary to cover the seeds, however, a thin covering of perlite or vermiculite might aid in wetting the seed and improve
uniformity of emergence. Working only with dry cubes and dry seeds, will help the seeding operation. Wet fingers, etc., leads to frustration in getting the
seeds into the holes. Growers should plan to seed 10 to 15% extra seeds so that extra plants are available to replace unhealthy or damaged seedlings.
Once a tray is seeded, it should be watered with plain water adjusted to pH 6.0. The trays should be placed on a bench in the germination area taking care
to see that all surfaces are clean."... " All trays should be labeled carefully as to seeding date and cultivar. Seedlings will emerge in about 7 to 10 days. The
seedlings should be moistened with the nutrient solution until they are ready to be transplanted to the production house. About 3 to 4 weeks are needed to
produce a minimal size plant (about 4 to 6 inches tall) ready for transplanting. Individual seedlings may need to be separated from the cube mat and spaced
out in trays to prevent etiolation (spindly plants). If the containerized peat-based system is to be used, the soilless mix must be sterile and the trays must
have been disinfested with at least 10% bleach solution. Trays that produce plants with a 1-inch-square root ball are optimum for tomato plants. The trays
are filled with peatmix and lightly tamped. Using a dibble or pencil, a slight depression ½ inch deep is made into which the tomato seed is dropped. The seed
is covered by pinching the hole shut and the mix is dampened with the dilute nutrient solution. The tray is then marked and placed in the germination area.
The soil is kept moistened with nutrient solution until the seedlings are ready to transplant.