Tomato business steps to targeting all seasons
Tomato business is big business and in our earlier article about How to start a tomato business in Nigeria I have explained the steps you’ll need to start your own tomato farm.
The market is always there for tomatoes in Nigeria.
A lot of questions have been asked about the best tomato season in Nigeria.
Sometimes last year, we sat and discuss why tomato seems to be seasonal and we realized that many farmers just cultivate it seasonally and that makes people think that’s the only option.
The good news
The good news is, it’s not. You’ll need to understand how tomato operates first.
Tomatoes respond to temperature changes.
In other words, when temperature change (from winter to summer) the production drops until the plant adapts to the summer temperature before it continued at the required production.
To be able to maximize profit, you’ll need to maintain the temperature all year round when cultivating it.
What will you implement in your tomato business in other to target all seasons?
Here is the one method and that is the use of a greenhouse.
Tomato business steps to targeting all seasons
Get your greenhouse materials
Depending on your budget, you can get both local and ready-made materials which can be used to create the greenhouse for your tomato business.
Local materials include:
Wood
Metal
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Nail
Binding wire
For the ready made, you can go to google and search for suppliers and you’ll see different types that you can choose from.
How to build a greenhouse from scratch. Video on how our trust for the greenhouse
Construct your greenhouse
If you’re doing it yourself (locally) then you decide whether to make the greenhouse in u or box shape.
The idea is for you to be able to use your polyethene to cover the tomatoes help maintain the temperature.
Maintain your greenhouse
Make sure your greenhouse is in good shape all the time. Replace old polyethene or wood and make sure nothing that will damage it come close to it.
Greenhouse shade tomatoes from direct sunlight and diffused the sunlight and provides the warm that enables a plant to feed regularly.
Thereby making it produce in all season. In low temperature, nutrients are unable to be absorbed
in addition, you get:
Longer shelf life
Great tasting sweet juicy flavour
Firm shape
Higher yield
Longer growing season
Energy efficiency requires less water to grow out fruit
Disease tolerance.
When next you want to do a tomato business, it’s important to target all year round to maximize profit