Tomato Farming Business : One of the most popular yet still lucrative farming ventures worldwide is the production of tomatoes.
Most of the world’s population consumes tomatoes and tomato-related products.
Think about it! It means that tomato is used by billions of people in some capacity in their everyday diet.
Fortunately, the tomato farming industry is not one that is expected to decline with the introduction of new technologies.
It is more likely that the commercial enterprise will get better as a result of the technology improvements.
Because of this, starting a tomato farm is one of the finest options for anyone looking to work in agriculture.
Now, if you happen to be considering beginning a tomato farm business and you are asking;
“How does one begin a tomato farm?
since this post provides you with advice on how to launch your tomato business together with additional details like:
Is growing tomatoes profitable?
How profitable is growing peppers?
But first, some advice.
10 Simple Steps For Starting A Tomato Farming Business
Before beginning the process of launching your preferred farming enterprise,
Before beginning the process of launching your preferred farming enterprise,
To really understand tomato farming, you must do a sufficient amount of research.
Similar to how you’re approaching this post,
You can carry out your research by visiting websites online and contacting knowledgeable farmers with questions since you need to learn more about:
The ideal time of year to plant
the numerous tomato plant kinds
Moreover, the ideal sort of soil for cultivating the tomato variety you have picked.
Pest management techniques
application of fertilizer
transport, processing, and storage facilities, as well as
how many tomatoes each acre of plants will yield.
Even though you might not have realized it at the time, this knowledge will be quite helpful as you work towards launching a tomato growing business.
Once the study is complete, move on to the next phase.
You’ll need to apply a lot of the information you’ve learned through study in this situation.
Any land you decide to purchase must be well suited to tomato cultivation requirements.
Sand or clay loam will support the growth of tomatoes, but pure loam is the optimum soil type for growing tomatoes.
If the soil is excessively hard, the area should be completely removed and ploughed if necessary.
Before taking any further action, the ground should be given time to recover after cleaning it.
Check the soil’s acidity and, if necessary, add lime to lessen it.
After all of this has been completed, a tiny sample of the soil should be examined to determine whether tomato plants will thrive there without any problems.
How to establish a business in tomato growing
Learn about nine gardening errors to avoid when growing tomatoes by watching the video below;
There are around 10,000 different tomato plant varieties, including;
- Heirloom tomatoes
- Globe tomatoes (they are the most common variety)
- Alicante specie
- Beef steak tomato specie
- Adoration specie
- Azoychka specie
- Big rainbow specie
- Enchantment specie
- Ferris wheel specie
- Dester specie
- German lunch box specie
- Great white specie. (This specie is actually yellow in colour)
- Juliet specie
- Mcdreamy specie
- Wild cherry specie
- Monterosa specie
- Orange icicle specie
- Red currant specie
- Rosa de Barbastro specie
- Rosella specie
- Super sweet 100 specie
- Cherry Bambelo specie
- Cherry Nebula specie
- Bush Goliath specie, among others.
After your land has been cleared and has passed all necessary tests,
you’ll need to acquire seeds of the variety of tomatoes you want to plant.
To do this, you can walk into any agricultural produce store and ask for the seeds.
You can also get recommendations from other experienced and successful tomato farmers.
Before you start planting make sure fertilizers are applied to the soil first,
Applying fertilizer after the seeds have been planted might not be as effective.
Tomatoes are seasonal fruits i.e they have periods when they produce a very high and healthy yield and other periods when the yield will be pretty low.
For this reason, it is best to plant the tomato seeds between March and April.
This is the start of the raining season and is the most favourable time for planting tomatoes.
You have to plant the seeds in nursery beds at first which can be in a green house.
This is optional but to you can cover the soil with dry grass to reduce loss of moisture in the soil.
The seeds will germinate under a week but they are to be kept in the nursery for about a month before they are transplanted to the main field.
Transplanting is better done by hand as use of tools or machinery can damage the plant.
This simply means to water the plants, Tomato needs enough moisture to grow, not too much but just the right amount.
If your tomato seeds were planted during the dry season, which is not recommended, irrigation needs to be done every three to seven days.
based on the soil type it is grown in and the requirements of the tomato variety.
During the rainy season, it doesn’t require as much watering because the rain will provide the tomato plants more than enough moisture.
Using watering cans, it is possible to manually water plants.
A fixed irrigation system is more convenient and preferable on a large scale.
The plants will receive regular waterings from the fixed irrigation system.
The fact that it doesn’t require manual operation, has larger coverage, is faster, and has more
Compared to manually watering, it is less stressful and more convenient.
6. weeding and insect management
A plant that grows in an unplanted area is considered to be a weed.
On a farm, weeds that are allowed to grow amid the crops suffocate the plants by occupying space and stealing nutrients intended for the cultivated plants.
In light of this, it is best to remove them as frequently as possible rather than letting them develop alongside the plants.
There are two secure methods for doing this:
Then, they can be manually removed i.e removal by hand.
The farmer is more aware of what is happening and will take extra precautions to avoid harming the tomato plants while weeding.
The use of chemicals is the second method, which is more efficient than the first (herbicides).
Herbicides are a safe technique to get rid of weeds because they only harm the weed they are intended to kill and do not harm tomato plants if they come into touch with them.
Pest infestation is another problem that could arise on a tomato garden.
Your tomato plants will be destroyed by pests including rust mites, thrips, nematodes, cutworms, and aphids, which will also lower the overall output.
Even if pest infestations can be managed by hand-picking and eradicating them or applying pesticides, prevention is still preferable to cure and can be accomplished by;
observing good sanitary hygiene
burying or burning badly diseased plants to end their life
Crop revolving
7. Harvest time – Tomato Farming Company
Tomato plants typically take 12 weeks, give or take a few weeks, to reach the point of maturity necessary for harvest.
If you want to be completely certain that it is ripe, look at the color.
The ripe fruit is red for the majority of tomato types.
Other types come in a variety of colors, including green, pink, yellow, and others.
Tomatoes are considered perishables since, in their raw state, they don’t have a very long shelf life.
For this reason, the tomatoes that have been harvested should be stored in the appropriate facilities.
As sealed up boxes may cause the tomatoes to rot, it is advised that the harvested tomatoes be stored in clean, dry wooden crates.
Keep in mind that the tomatoes should be kept in a location that is convenient for transfer.
You can choose to process your tomatoes into purees, pastes, or even ketchup, but this step is entirely optional.
You are completely free to make your choice; just be sure your processing facilities are sufficient.
10. Market and distribute your tomatoes and tomato-related products.
You will still need to promote your produce/product whether you want to process your tomatoes or decide to keep them uncooked.
You can accomplish this using any of the following methods:
Sell to local customers in your city, state, or nation.
Here are the answers to any additional questions you might have about a tomato growing business that were promised at the beginning of this article:
How much tomato crop can one acre produce?
On average, 5000 tomato plants produce roughly 37,500 pounds of fruit each acre.
We’ll leave the math to you, but the price of a pound of tomatoes is around $4. Sure seems promising, huh?
How profitable is growing peppers?
It is quite profitable, with an average 52 tonnes of pepper produced per acre (11,023 pounds).
According to estimates, a pound of pepper costs about $3. Once more, we’ll let you handle the math.
Is growing tomatoes profitable?
Yes, tomato farming can bring in thousands of dollars when done properly, in the appropriate season, on a large scale, and under the right circumstances.
More so, in countries like Nigeria, Italy, Spain, South Africa, Ghana etc, there is always a demand for tomatoes throughout the year.
So if you have healthy and well stored tomatoes, you’re looking at a steady source of income throughout the year.
