oh the tomato

i am growing cherry tomatoes for market this year in a somewhat unsatisfactory soil. to give some more context: this plot was a community garden 5 years ago, was left to return to basically grass meadow (not native meadow) and there is only still about a foot and a half of fertile soil, underneath it is gravel and clay, and under that well it seems to be hard as rock! there IS drainage but it is not very good at all, and lesson learned was the first of the two pea sowings was not as successful because of the heavy april rains (toronto ontario) waterlogging the soil. SO, i am still going forth with the cherry tomatoes, a very high quality seed and my seedlings are ready to plant now after i finish preparing my beds (walk behind tractor with minimal compost tilled in). but I really dont like using a bunch of amendments and fertilizers other than compost so i would like to hear some honest experiences possibly similar to my own, i cannot invest in something new like hugelkultur or spend loads of money on worm castings, so my problem is finding an economic and low intervention way of giving these cherry tomatoes a healthy life! i dont care tremendously about the highest yield, i just want a healthy, productive plant that does not require too much feeding if possible! despite what i have heard on the internet about tomatoes needing lots of supplements, i know they didnt recieve them as a native plant other than through compost, however the heavy modification of the tomato makes me wonder what the truth is ?!?!!?!

i am part of a community farm and this site was just started up this year, so our compost is still in progress, i also wonder about compost teas and such, there is so much mixed information!

OH! the TOMATO!.........

side question: any success growing nasturtium with cherry tomatoes?

~cappucine, 27, toronto, canada, first year market farmer

My very first garden was in some heavy clay soil, and in my experience tomatoes did wonderfully.

Organic matter is your friend when dealing with clay, keep adding things like grass clippings to start breaking up that clay. It will be a 'long' process but pays of wonderfully.

If you do have some compost, fall leaves, grass clippings, or whatever you might have on hand. Consider adding that to the planting hole as you place them instead of mass spread. This might allow better targeted application with less material needed.

Hi Cappucine,
Are there any organic cow farms in the area? These places often have an abundance of cow manure. While it wouldn't help much this year, it would help future years to compost the manure and spread it on top. I like to use a combination of animal manure compost and plant based compost so I have some variety.

My climate is very different from yours, so keep that in mind. I have always found cherry tomatoes to be the easiest tomatoes to grow.  I have quite a bit of clay in our soil and never had any problems growing veggies/fruit/ herbs.  Compost is definitely  great. If you like you could add organic general fertilizer, or blood and bone meal, azomite. These are good amendments, but not a necessity. Compost will probably be enough.
If you decide you want worm castings for the future, a worm bin is pretty easy to make, and maintain.  In my opinion it's the easiest way to compost.  
Compost tea is never a bad thing, but again not a necessity.  
I recommend planting some companions for your tomatoes. Nasturtiums, marigolds, basil, radishes, onion, carrots. I would plant at least 3, even if you don't my want to sell, or eat them.  It's very helpful to reduce pests.
Good luck to you.

You've got 18 inches of fertile soil? Luxury - I've managed to grow tomatoes in my polytunnel in less soil than that! Mind you, I'm not relying on mine for income, they are just a luxury (home grown tomatoes oh my!).

good truss of tomatoes

My understanding is that tomatoes use their surface roots to feed and the deeper roots for water, so mulching with any green leaves, especially things like comfrey and nettles ought to be quite successful. Too much feed can also lead to pest problems. Polyculture helps keep predators at bay, but that is very much climate specific too. Consistent watering will help with quality of fruit, but I think that cherry tomatoes tend to be a bit more forgiving in that respect too. I suspect that this year the tomatoes will do fine with the green matter that has been tilled in. Next year that reservoir will be depleted, so replacing that with other organic matter will be more important - either with mulch this year or compost next year.

A foot and a half of fertile soil is a blessing!

Our soil is overused, chemically altered for decades and has lots of clay. We are actively changing our half acre back lot using different mulches and cover cropping. I plant almost everything straight into rabbit manure at this point because that is what is available and I'm moving from the original beds we built where all the best soil is now to a better location where the soil is still in progress. Might be worth asking around if anyone has any, no need to wait on it to compost, holds moisture great and the plants seem to love it.