Dear Lee,
While back East I was talking to a Gal about growing tomato
plants and she asked if I ever heard of hitting the plants with a
stick!........she claimed that while in Italy she saw a man do this with the
end result, twice as much fruit when all was said and done.
If true I know I would not want to do to my beautiful plants,
but what is your take?
-W.
Hi W. -
Sure, we do that---but not with a stickl. We're not so
brutal. We shake the cages, which shakes the plant, which causes more blossoms
to be pollinated. Tomatoes are self-pollinating-they don't need no stinking
bees. Wind accomplishes the same thing, causing more pollen to drop into the
pistil. Commercial growers, in huge greenhouses, have fans that go on
automatically for 5-10 minutes a couple of times a day to accomplish the same
thing as the Italian with the stick-or us with the shake of the cage.
Have a swell day!
-Lee
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