Vegetables in Permaculture: Tomatoes

We have been trying to grow tomatoes at Aanandaa for many years now, but have almost always met with failure as we would grapple with pest attacks. This year however, it played out differently, and we have jeevamrut and agnihastra to thank for that.

This year, we got seeds from online sources like Nimai seeds and made sapling in late summer. We chose a heavily mulched and adequately well lit area on the farm to plant tomatoes in two rows. Here is where all the trees we planted as a part of our permaculture design come in handy. We use the branches from the trees to give support to our plants, and use the leaves as mulch.

This winter, we got a good crop of tomatoes with no sign of pest infestation. We sprayed agnihastra periodically, and even did one round of khatti lassi.

As the winter started waning. we found the tomatoes ripening. Initially the farm help would pick them when they were still yellowish-orange, wary that they would rot if allowed to stay any longer. But later we got the confidence to keep the fruit on the plant till it completely ripens.

We have been rewarded with a great harvest of juicy tomatoes. Every week we are picking 5-6 kilos.

For more information on growing tomatoes, watch these videos: