GENERAL CULTURAL PRACTICES - (Crop & Cultivar Selection) – MARKET

INTRODUCTION
General cultural practices include all information, techniques and skills required to successfully produce a crop and optimize yields – the main goal of any grower! We will concentrate on tomatoes with reference to other crops to illustrate the variability in cultural practices between crops.
CROP AND CULTIVAR SELECTION
This is one of the most important decisions a grower will make and depends on:
MARKET… LOCATION… EXPERIENCE

1)MARKET:

• Research the region. Know if there are other growers in the area = competition. If there are too many tomato growers… try cucumbers, peppers, basil, melon, chillies/capsicum etc.
• Know the market. Brokerage houses, grocery vs specialty stores, farmer’s markets, restaurants, etc.
• Hydroponics/greenhouse culture is expensive. Therefore, a high cash-value crop must be chosen. These include: 1)Tomatoes: Indeterminant (vining) varieties to take advantage of the vertical space in the greenhouse that has been paid for! Beefsteak: large fruit, harvested individually. Cluster, truss or TOV (tomato on the vine): medium to large fruit, harvested as an entire truss. Cherry: small fruit, harvested individually or as an entire truss. 2)Peppers/Capsicums: Colored bells only, primarily yellows – require sun protection. 3)Cucumbers: Long (European, seedless, parthenocarpic, burpless). They are thin-skinned and must be wrapped in plastic after harvest. 4)Lettuce: Head, leaf or cos; specialty or bred for hydroponics/CEA ( Controlled Environment Agriculture). Summer Bibb or “Limestone” lettuce. 5)Melons: Many types of Melons (Musks, Signal, Cupid, Rock, Sweet etc) 6)Specialty Greens, Herbs and Medicinals: Several types and varieties.
  

NOTE: Consult seed companies for suitable crops/varieties.