AdAgrA Conference 2024: Growing Better

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AdAgrA: Adventist Agriculture Association

Turning Tomatoes into Profit

Adner Abreu

Turning Tomatoes Into Profit Part 1

Our Father in heaven, Lord, thank you so much for your love, your mercy.

I pray that you may be with us as we learn about your creation.

I was going to say it's a little warm here, but I haven't been in these temperatures for a long time for the last few months.

In the next few classes, next 2 days, we will be discovering basic principles and as well how to grow tomatoes, how to manage greenhouses and how to really understand how to grow these tomatoes, how to manage your greenhouse to get it to a production level that you can take pictures from your greenhouse the same way that you've seen them in those huge commercial greenhouses that there's like lots of tomatoes, but yet yours are just full of flavor, healthy, and tastes really good, not just the 1 you buy at the store.

So we will be diving into growing tomatoes and as well dealing with greenhouses.

So, in the past 10 years, I would say 10, 15 years, I've been applying some methods and techniques unknowingly that has really helped me in growing anything, but in particular greenhouses.

So I will give you this, what I call the 6 elements of success.

And the 6 elements of success is what I found that will, if you have the 6, it will help you grow anything really, really well.

But of course, when applying 2 tomatoes, this is what will help you as well.

So let's start going right away into the 6 elements of success.

And of course, later on, we'll be dissecting more some of these elements.

And just before I continue here, a lot of farmers and local growers, we tend to focus on 1 aspect of growing.

So I will be mentioning 6 of them, but all of them in my mind are as equal, are as important, very equally important.

So the sun is something that sometimes we don't take in consideration.

I was visiting a family member in California recently, and they were saying, oh, my things aren't doing too well, And I think because of the soil is poor and I say I think your soul is pretty good The thing is is that you you you have a lot of shade You know, you're not you're you're not getting the full amount of Sun you're not really taking that aspect into consideration.

So sometimes we may have a great soil, and we still struggle with disease.

We still struggle with growth, with plant performance.

And that is simply because we don't have enough enough Sun and there is 1 variety in particular that comes to mind of tomatoes and that it requires a minimum of 13 hours of sunlight.

So let's say you're planting that variety you went online and you got that variety and you started your first rotation like early in the season in your greenhouses.

Let's say you started them in March when you still have 9 hours of sunlight you may have a great greenhouse the most expensive greenhouse that you can buy a gray soil you can have great watering system the best fertilizers out there and and you will now see full results of that tomato because you have you don't have the right amount of Sun does that that make sense all right so 1 note as well if you have any questions please write it down and then at the end I'm hoping to finish about 15 minutes early so we can just, that way we don't have to deal with me repeating questions and things like that.

But nonetheless, So that's 1 of the aspects.

Another thing that the sun has a huge implications when it comes to growing things is that in the spring, the amount of sunlight is increasing.

So for example, once you start growing in February, March, you have 9 hours of sunlight.

And every day, The amount of sunlight increases by by by the seconds by the minutes and you can see that on on every Friday It's like it's getting later and later and later and later So basically right now when it comes after after December 25th, which is the shortest day, is it 25th or 24th?

So after the 21st, meaning the 22nd, 23rd, now you start the growing season.

So right, so the Sun starts to grow and now the plants in the Springs are like hey We're getting more sunlight things are warming up and then the back dividend the soil starts activating and you have all this repercussion just because of the Sun is increasing that you're not getting in the fall.

So somebody asked me recently, hey what should I do with my broccoli has a lot of aphids and I said just plant it again in March and don't worry about the aphids you won't have any because the amount of microactivity in the soil the amount of sunlight the plants will be happy the you know the immune system of that plant will be through the roof and and and you're going to have great great crops So that's why like fall planting for example and a little bit of winter growing can be a little hard at times and it's just simply because not enough sun.

So let's keep going here with the second 1.

And when it comes to this 1, you may not take this 1 in consideration.

But if you're having, for example, a lot of fungus problem in your plants, your garden, your location may not have a lot of airflow.

If you, for example, we are surrounded by a lot of trees right now, and if you put a greenhouse like in this area, it might struggle a little, or your garden might struggle a little, because there is not enough wind pushing through.

And so that's you know, you might be like saying, OK, how do I control this fungus?

It's like the first thing you need to control is like where you're planting things.

Of course, some of us can't change that, but in our if we haven't bought property We can look for these things and if we bought property then we need to look for these things in our property Where where it could be?

Convenient So welcome All right, so Our third is water And this is a big 1 here.

When it comes to root fungus and as well, plant performance has to do a lot with your watering and as well how much your soil retains the water.

I remember 1 time back I used to work at Wachita Hills Academy in college and 1 of the greenhouses didn't have drip system and it was all watering by hand.

I watered by hand and lettuce there would get bitter and at the end of April you know it was getting warmer here in the south and I was having bitter lettuce and and things were not doing well.

The soil was very sandy, and it will create a crust very easy.

And the other greenhouses I had drip system.

So I changed the drip system and it's interesting once the soil was not dry all the time, once they have proper moisture, once the water went deep enough, the structure of the soil changed right away.

I mean you would think that I put a different soil there in the past I remember the previous farmer told me that they used to add Triple 13 which is I just a synthetic fertilizer with lots of salts and they would have to take the plastic off every summer to let some of that water, the rains and stuff, kind of leach it through.

And it's interesting, after I added the drip system and I never had to take the plastic off, I never dealt with salt problems.

The soil, the texture was better because simply you never want your soil to go bone dry.

But at the same time, you don't want your soil to not drain.

And the thing is, okay, why water improperly has huge implications and the thing is is that worms microorganisms all these things they don't live in dry soil or sandy soil as as much as you know heavy soil or things that you know will be better for them.

So just by simply changing the drips the watering system in the greenhouse improved greatly.

The 6 elements, you have soil nutrition, and this is where a lot of us, you really get caught up into, you know, okay, the right soil and all these things.

But just having a good soil as much as your possibilities, as much as you can.

1 of the things with soil is that I always say, if you have a sandy soil, you add compost.

If you add a clay soil, you add compost too.

And if you want extra soil, you add compost.

I mean, organic matter, compost to your soil is the answer.

And I won't be talking about compost here, but I'll just tell you a couple of things.

The thing is about compost and organic matter, the reason it works so well is because it has microorganisms and as well, it contributes, it adds foods to the microorganisms that already are in the soil.

So, and the thing is, 1 thing to understand, and you'll hear me talk about microorganisms throughout the class, and it is basically what makes those nutrients available in the soil.

So, without microorganisms, your soil test could show a bunch of things, but they may not be available.

And that's what makes your nutrients available in the soil.

So if you have a sandy soil that has all those minerals, that has a bunch of nitrogen and all those things, but yet your microorganisms are low, then you're not going to basically be doing as well just because there's not, you know, I always say I'm a big rice eater, right?

And so I say, you know, the rice is in the kitchen, but if it's not cooked, it's not available, right?

So basically, it's the same way, you know, your soul can be full of nutrient, but if it's not available for the plant to absorb, it's not ready.

The next 1, and this 1 I could spend the rest of the class and the rest of the week here talking about this 1.

But this is perhaps, if I have to put the most important 1 on the list out of the 6 will be timing.

And this is something that I've been added and learning and really perfecting.

And this is actually, this point here was what led me to come up to put this 6 together.

Because you see for many years people have asked me, it's like, how can you grow such a, you know, great things?

I'm just, you know, so, but timing was always top of my list.

And the thing is, is that in gardening and farming, it's very complex.

It's a set of complexity and a set of parameters that you need to follow.

And it's interesting, Ellen White has an amazing quote, said something that is very interesting that I've never heard in public.

It says, no 1 can succeed in agriculture or gardening without attention to the laws involved.

And it says that the special needs of every variety of plant must be studied.

So sometimes we think of 1 plant, 1 tomato, and it's like, oh yeah, I can apply it to everything.

So Basically, when I read this, I said, oh, there are laws involved, right?

And so we follow 10 Commandments and things like that.

So basically, right here, if broccoli or cabbage, a lot of people, especially when they're starting, they struggle to grow nice broccoli.

And they come and ask me, you know, my broccoli isn't doing too well, what's happening?

And I say, well, it's August, It's the middle of the summer.

And it's like, you should be growing okra.

So and basically, 1 thing that we need to understand is that there are season and times.

Turning Tomatoes Into Profit Part 2

Just a clarification, somebody was asking me, so the class won't overlap in the advanced course for sure.

Just I had to clarify that 1 because somebody was, is the next class the same?

It's like, no, I won't be teaching the 6 elements 6 times.

And we'll be talking about now turning to medicine to profit.

I was just wanting to give you those 6 elements because it will help you really say foundational principles that will help you understand then what I'll be sharing now with you.

They want us to record the questions and answers, so just feel free to ask questions as I go, alright?

So we'll be talking in this 1, for the next 3 classes, we'll be talking about seedlings, understanding tomatoes, timing your rotations, watering and fertilization, pruning, and of course, selling your tomatoes because it's turning your tomatoes into profit, right?

But first, we need to understand how to grow them and how to make bring to market that top quality tomato.

All right very good so the first 1 here is seedlings.

Germinating your own seed and there is a option out there where of course you can go and buy your plants and and not have to do it your own now if you are a home gardener so you want to just plant 2 to 2 3 tomato plants to not go through the stress and troubles of growing your own seed.

Alright but of course I'm assuming since this is an advanced class that all of you are really have a place to do seedlings so do your own and it's interesting so I personally think that it's in the around 50% of the success starts with the seedlings.

And the reason why is that, for example, when it comes to germination, when it comes to the type of soil you use, when it comes to the variety you use, it has huge impact on that.

So let's talk about, for example, here, germination time frame.

So germination time frame is perhaps 1 of the key components, 1 of the most important when it comes to germinating your seeds.

So for me, I have a rule that when the first seed pops up, meaning when you see 1 germinating, within the next 12 hours, 8 hours, I need to see at least 75 to 80% of all my plants germinated.

And the second day, meaning the next day, all of it needs to be almost germinated.

And basically, no more than 36 hours for all your seeds to be already out.

And this will allows you, and this you'll know that you have a good seed, first of all.

The other thing is that in your greenhouse, the last thing you want is a tomato that is this small and another 1 that is this big.

You don't want a roller coaster in your greenhouse.

You want your tomatoes to be the same height from the beginning to the end, all throughout the greenhouse.

Now, the only way you can achieve that is, and the way you know that you're going to achieve that is by germinating your own seedlings.

Because if you buy seed, for example, if you buy plants, when you buy it, they're all the same height.

But that doesn't mean they germinate at the same time.

So you can have a strong plant that is doing really well, and then another 1 that is trying to keep up with a crowd, but you don't really notice that.

So when you plant then, your tomatoes, you will be like some are taken off, other ones are still struggling.

And then you will have problems right from the get-go with your plans.

The other thing is that there's something that is called stress, all right?

So you want to start your seedlings, you want to start those plants stress-free.

They're going to deal later with a greenhouse getting super hot, with the ground cold, with humidity, with no humidity, with air blowing through.

I mean, they will later adapt to all that.

But as they're germinating, for the first 3 weeks of their lives, give them a good life.

So as an adult, we go through a lot of stuff that our parents didn't tell us any about.

So, you know, they didn't tell you, you know, when you're a little baby, oh, so cute.

And then when you're grown, it's like, get out of here.

So, if you've been canvassing, you will know like, get out of my property.

And the way to avoid stress, and the way you know that you don't have stress in your seedlings, you have good germination, you have good growth.

When you have a, and I've had happen, I had this happen to me that for example, you have, you know, a few plants germinate in the morning, a few plants in the afternoon, a few plants the next day, a few plants here, and it's a week later and seedlings are still germinating.

If that is happening to you, just grab that tray and throw it away because you have bad seeds, you have bad germination condition, and you already are going to have problems.

I mean there is no point really in dealing with that set of plants.

Now, it's interesting, you know, when we think about soil, the type of soil that we use to germinate the seeds, we need to think about a few components.

It needs to drain, it needs to hold moisture, and it needs to have lots of aeration.

So basically, The idea to germinate, the soil that we use to germinate, is not about good soil.

It's about proper environment for the seed to germinate.

Don't think about this is a great soil, this stuff is gonna germinate so well.

No, we're thinking about how this stuff is going to germinate so well.

No, we're thinking about how this stuff is going to germinate well.

Because I remember, And I've seen it multiple times, you know, people go and buy this great soil, and it's, you know, and they put their seed there, lovely, and then the seed struggles to germinate, and it's like, what's happening?

The seed doesn't have enough power to push through, that soil may not have proper aeration, doesn't have enough moisture for the seed to germinate.

I remember someone as well that just grabbed peat moss and planted seed and all the seed rotter because the peat moss holds too much water.

So basically, the reason I'm sharing the principle, the idea of what you need in a soil because there's lots of different soil, but what you're looking for is something that drains, something that has proper aeration, and yes, they add a slow release in most seed medium, seed germination medium that has a slow release fertilizer.

So as the plants come out, the root starts to search, then they can find nutrition.

But the reality is, and actually, I don't know why it tells us this, that the seed has the germinating power to go up.

So it doesn't need fertilizer for the next, for the first few days.

It has its own power in there, and that's why, for example, like, Like, what's that called?

When you germinate the seed and you eat it.

So sprouts are so good because that power has burst.

So for the first few days, the seeds aren't even thinking about where they're going to get the food from, because they have their own food.

And if you look at the ceilings right here, this picture has the perlite.

Now, 1 tip in doing this, when you fill your plug tray, the amount of pressure that you put in the plug tray, it needs to be equaled throughout the tray.

And that is for the greenhouse, I use 32s.

Let's say the standard size is this paper.

I almost said pepper, paper that basically they put, you know, 280, 288 holes, you know, 400, 100, 72 or 32.

So The less the holes, the bigger they are.

Turning Tomatoes Into Profit Part 3

But let's start once again to part 3 of turning tomatoes into profit.

This morning, we chatted about seedlings.

We talked about the 6 elements of success.

And now we'll be talking as well, going more into the details.

And it is interesting because, turning tomatoes into profit, for you to sell tomatoes and for you to do really really well in sales then the quality of your tomatoes the production they has to be really good So that's why we are really covering a lot of grounds when it comes to actually growing this stuff and learning how to do well in the greenhouses because that's 1 thing that I have noticed that you know some people may try to sell tomatoes but then the quality and the amount of tomatoes the consistency is not there.

So thank you once again for coming And I'm very excited for this coming lecture.

Father in heaven, Lord, I pray that you may be with us as we keep learning about your creation.

Thank you for your blessings in Jesus name.

So, I will be sharing with you a few slides, and then write some of your questions, and then I'll leave definitely that time to chat more.

But I want to cover a little more ground this afternoon.

So okay variety consideration and variety makes a difference.

So when you're talking about flavor, when you're talking about firmness and the timing, how long it takes, you need to look for these characteristics in your tomatoes.

So for example, you have cold, old or heat resistant.

Are you in an area that is looking to grow tomatoes, but yet you're in a cold environment, you need to look for those things that are actually for the varieties that actually grow better in cold.

And that's when, for example, that's when varieties and hybrids that's when hybrids come into place because what happens is is that We look for a variety that is really cold resistant, that has the characteristics of growing well, but perhaps it doesn't have the right size.

So basically the way hybrids work is that they choose 1 variety that is cold resistant and a variety that has good flavor, mix them to put them together, and then you have variety C.

So that's basically why hybrids are used in farms.

And as well, the American public just loves consistency.

Don't change much on their plates and in their looks because here in the United States, we like consistency and especially in the South.

So basically, you want to look for that, all right?

So that's what my grandpa ate, and that's what I'm eating too.

So and the way we keep that same consistency in the variety is by having hybrids.

Because as many of you know, heirlooms, they don't look the same.

1 tomato will produce, I mean 1 plant will produce a lot of variety.

So hold your question there for a little bit, okay?

So this is 1 as well that is that is big when it comes to rotation and planting your tomatoes in rotation And we'll discuss a little more in the next slide about this.

But 1 of the things we look into when choosing your variety is long-term performance.

And what I mean by that is that each tomato, each variety, doesn't perform the same.

So for example, 1 tomato will do a lot of beautiful tomatoes for the first 3 or 4 sets.

But then, after the third week that you harvest, your productions, the size of your tomatoes, the quality of your tomatoes, and the quantity of the tomatoes start to decline.

So basically that's 1 of the, that's the 1 I think we look for.

Now, We'll chat a little more about this later in the next slide, but basically when you talk about rotations, in the beginning of the season when like in my area in Colorado there at Eden Valley, we have markets starting in April, the last week of April.

But for us, that's like way too early to have tomatoes.

So what it means is that as soon as I have tomatoes, I'm gonna have a lot of people wanting tomatoes.

So 1 of my strategies, instead of planting a tomato, for example, that will produce good size, but not a lot of tomatoes.

So basically there are certain varieties that will produce good sized tomatoes for a long period of time.

There are other varieties that will do good sized tomatoes, a lot of it, in the first 3 weeks.

So For my first rotation, for example, for my first planting, then I'm gonna try to plant a variety that will do really well.

So you produce beautiful tomatoes all at once, so I can come to the market with lots of it, while my second rotation is gonna back me up in a little, in a few weeks, when these are starting to, when the first rotation is starting to decline then my second rotation is going to take over but in the meantime I was able to harvest a lot of tomatoes in a short amount of time And so and I will expand this concept a little more in the next slide, but basically When when you're looking at a tomato these are the things that you need to look for long-term performance It's a short-term performance or a long-term performance can in a 4 months can this plant produce we still have some chairs here on this side, come on up.

So, is this tomato in 5 months, will I harvest a good looking tomatoes?

And that's what you need to look for in a variety so Choose varieties that people are familiar with that this is just another key factor As a farmer I may like certain varieties, I may like certain things, but it's not what I like you know because I'm not gonna be buying the tomatoes.

I want people that I will be familiar with the tomatoes and as well that they like.

So of course, it's not like you're going to not introduce a variety.

We have there at Eden Valley introduced varieties to the public that now are very successful.

There is 1 variety in particular, not of tomatoes, but of cantaloupe.

And it is the sweetest melon, great flavor.

If you don't like honeydew and if you don't like melon you will like this 1.

And if you like watermelon, I mean if you like melons and you like honeydew you're not gonna like those you're gonna like this 1.

So the first time, I mean, we've had people come to our farm stand and be like, you know, pretty much yelling at us and telling us, why you don't have the variety?

Series

Turning Tomatoes into Profit

Turning Tomatoes Into Profit Part 3

Transcript

Parent Series

Parent Conference

Sponsor

Recorded

Market Gardening

The What & Why of Market Gardening

1h 3m

Turning Tomatoes into Profit

Turning Tomatoes Into Profit Part 1

59m

Seminar 1

The Basics of Soil Science

45m

Level 2 Home & Market Gardeners

Bed Prep and Planting for Thriving Plants Part 2

1h 9m

Soil Fertility Fundamentals

Soil Fertility Fundamentals: Chemistry is Foundational

50m

Gardening 101

How to Do It

1h

Short Course: Beginning Market Farming

Beginning Market Farming- Part 2

1h

Intensive: The Life of the Plants Is in the Sap

The Life of the Plants Is in the Sap- Part 1

54m

Starting a Market Garden

A Bird’s-Eye View of Market Gardening

1h 3m

Level 1 Homesteading and Home Gardening

Soil 101

1h

Session 2

What is Soil?

53m

Sound Doctrine