Healthy tomato plants are what every gardener wants, but tomatoes can have serious problems in bad weather and a lot of rain that can shorten the harvest season and affect yield. We'll show you how to protect your tomatoes from rain to keep them healthy and productive. There are some natural measures to take in the garden and you can also use a homemade rain cover for tomatoes. You can find out everything you need to know from this post.
Can tomatoes tolerate rain?
Are tomato plants healthy when it rains? This depends on a few things, namely your normal watering schedule, the age of the plant, and the amount of rain you've had recently. Seedlings and newly planted tomatoes need a lot of water, while established plants don't always need as much water.
Gardeners know that some plants do well with rain, but others suffer when rainfall lasts a long time. Tomato plants can tolerate rainfall if the soil they are planted in has good drainage capacity. Due to the good drainagethe plants canabsorb rainwater into the soil to nourish the roots and wash away excess water.
But if it rains too heavily and if the rains last too long, and if gardens or containers don't have proper drainage, the tomato plants end up standing in the middle of puddles. No matter how well the soil drains, heavy and heavy rains can pose a threat to plants.
Why do you need to protect tomatoes from rain?
You may be wondering: Can tomatoes be left in the rain and what happens if it rains too hard? Rain and excessive humidity can cause cracking and blossom end rot in tomato plants. And too much rain can cause late blight. Leaving tomatoes in the rain can lead to fungal disease and can destroy a tomato plant. The infection begins with dark spots that first appear on the lower leaves. Then the leaves turn yellow and fall off the plant.
How to protect tomatoes from rain naturally?
There are some measures you can take in the garden to provide good tomato protection from rain. Note that if you water regularly on a timer, you may need to change your watering schedule to accommodate a rainstorm.
Mulching is important– is best to useorganic mulch. Mulch acts as a barrier to keep fungal spores from the soil away from the lower tomato leaves, as the roots are at risk of waterlogging during a heavy rain.
Pruning contributes to plant health, because this promotes air circulation. Prune the lower leaves to minimize the plant's contact with the ground. When removing diseased leaves, use sterilized scissors and do not throw the leaves into the compost.
Another measure is foliar fertilization.After the rain, fertilize with foliar fertilizer to promote the fertility of the plants.
DIY tomato rain cover
If a wet period is coming, you should cover your tomatoes. You can make a tomato canopy yourself to protect your tomato plants from rain by keeping rainwater away from the plants. The DIY tomato shelter can also be mobile if you plant your tomatoes in different locations in the garden every year. The simplest structure can be made from 4 free-standing posts that you cover with fleece or plastic film. But you can also make a sturdy structure so that you don't leave your tomatoes out in the rain. Here we show you the process.
Materials and tools needed for tomato roofing:
Frame:
9 x T-pieces (female-female-female)
4 x 90 degree elbows (male-female)
2 x 45 degree elbows (male-female)
2 x ground-joint screw connections
4 x Nippel
2 x 1m and 3 x 1.2m pipes
Pier:
4 x 2m pipes
Roof:
3 x 1,5 m
Corrugated transparent PVC plastic sheets
M5 screws and bolts
Optional, for the continuation of the roof at the back:
1 x 1.5 m PVC rain gutter
3 x 0.5m long tubes
3 x 90 degree elbows (female-female)
Tools:
Pipe thread cutter
Wrench
hacksaw
drill
DIY instructions:
- Cut the pipes to the desired length and cut a thread on each side.
- Build the roof by cutting the PVC to the desired size depending on the size, or use multiple sheets with a slight overlap. The PVC should be about 5 to 10 cm longer than the frame on each side. Just make sure the roof has a slope of 5 degrees or more.
- Drill holes in the PVC and pipes to connect them with screws. Drill where the PVC touches the pipes.
- Cut the top tubes to the required length.
- Drill holes and assemble the top tubes, PVC and frame together using a piece of plastic as a spacer.
- Build the columns by cutting the pipes to the desired length. One side needs to be threaded.
- Mount the T-piece to the frame.
- Optionally, you can build a rain gutter.The gutter willattached with a piece of wood as a spacer to ensure sufficient slope.
- Install the canopy.
