Benefits of planting tomatoes through plastic.
Have you ever planted tomatoes in your garden and they seem to just sit there and not grow much for the first few weeks? Well there is an easy technique used to help jump start the growth of your plants.
Planting tomatoes through plastic can drastically improve growth, yield and speed up the ripening time.
It is also a sustainable and earth friendly practice because the plastic helps retain moisture and drastically reducing evaporation and water waste. The plastic also helps prevent weeds from growing around the plant so herbicides are no longer needed.
Black plastic is the preferred color to use because it absorbs sun rays, heats the soil faster and keeps it warmer, longer. This will help reduce transplant shock and give your new plant a jump start. As a result your plant will grow faster, healthier and produce a higher yield.
Planting tomatoes and other plants through plastic is environmentally friendly and is very beneficial to the growth of your plants.
How do you prevent mold growing under the plastic, and various critters making home there ??
Hi Jeremy sorry it has taken so long to respond! Great questions! I have never experienced to bad of a problem with mold because the black plastic mulch is dark enough that not enough light penetrates to promote mold growth. From time to time I see a little mold where there is a hole in the plastic but have never had any issues with it hurting the plants. Critters are an on going battle! If possible keep the area clean of weeds, grass and other food sources for the mice. I definitely noticed that reducing their food supply will greatly reduce the mice population but it is extremely difficult to keep them all out. In previous years when the mice population was high I used mouse bait. I put a little under the plastic and I even made a few bait boxes that I put out in the field. I hope this was helpful for you, thank you for your questions!