Tomatoes Vs the Rain

Have you ever wondered why tomatoes are usually more expensive in months of intensive rain? Well, there are various reason but a farmer of Kapiri that we chatted with had his own story to tell.

Most small farmers in Zambia grow crops(especially those who grow maize) and then wait for the crops to be fed by the rain which is not a bad thing necessarily but as we have alluded in previous articles, delays production. However, in as much as it is cheaper to rely on the rain only, there are crops that do not necessarily thrive during the rainy season.

One such crop is the tomato and we had Javis Matimba of Kapiri, a tomato farmer share his experience.

In an article past, we had looked at how to water tomatoes and we discovered that too much water is bad for tomatoes. Well it will interest you to know that rain water has an even worse effect because it comes with force, Mr. Matimba said.

Below are some of the problems that come with too much rain on the tomatoes and then we will conclude with Mr. Matimba’s tip on how he mitigates the problems.

Waterlogged Roots

When there is too much rainfall in a short period of time, the roots are not able to rapidly absorb all the water and this results into waterlogging. Waterlogged roots essentially suffocate because they cannot survive without air and room to expand.  This will then cause the leaves to wilt.

Cracking and Splitting

Tomato shave fragile skin that can easily crack and split due to heavy rain and inconsistencies in soil moisture. Once a tomato starts to ripen, it forms a protective skin that helps it during harvest, but if rain is heavy during ripening time and the tomato receives too much water, that skin will crack and split.

‍