- Time propagation, training and topping from published greenhouse tomato schedules.
- Pollinate by vibration or bees and thin clusters to a source’s fruit counts.
- Read irrigation, temperature and fruit disorders together before changing the recipe.
01 / Propagate and transplant at a known size
Start from clean transplants. UF/IFAS HS788 calls rooted suckers from an existing crop a very dangerous practice. In its cube method, seedlings emerge in about 7–10 days and about 3–4 weeks produce a minimal plant of about 4–6 inches; seed 10–15% extra. The New England Vegetable Management Guide sows approximately 5–7 weeks before transplanting.
Oregon State EM 9456 names indeterminate tomatoes as bucket crops. Wet the medium first: HS788 warns that dry perlite wicks moisture from a seedling cube and desiccates the seedling, so aim the emitter at the cube until roots grow out. HS788 gives 3–3.5 square feet per plant, the New England guide 3.5–6 per leader; both are published ranges.
Reading: Production of Greenhouse Tomatoes—Florida Greenhouse Vegetable Production Handbook, Vol 3 (HS788/CV266) ↗ · Tomato, Greenhouse and High Tunnel (New England Vegetable Management Guide; no publication number shown on the page) ↗ · Hydro hints: Buckets ↗
02 / Train one leader, remove suckers small
HS788 trains each plant up a string from an overhead cable. Stringing starts at 6–8 large leaves; clips go just below a leaf every 3–4 leaves, never at a flower-cluster node. Anchor the cable to the structure, not to the irrigation manifold.
Every lateral shoot is removed to keep a single leader. HS788 sets the interval at every 3–4 days so only small shoots come out; the New England guide removes suckers ideally at 2–3 inches. Work early in the day when plants are turgid but dry, keep the terminal bud, and skip cloudy weather.
Reading: Production of Greenhouse Tomatoes—Florida Greenhouse Vegetable Production Handbook, Vol 3 (HS788/CV266) ↗ · Tomato, Greenhouse and High Tunnel (New England Vegetable Management Guide; no publication number shown on the page) ↗
03 / Pollinate, then thin each cluster
A tomato flower pollinates itself, but the pollen must be shaken loose. HS788 vibrates each cluster for a second or two with an electric pollinator, at least every second day between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.; cloudy, humid days defeat it. Bumble bees grip the anthers and buzz instead; Ohio State ENT-0092 calls the dark bruise left on the anther a reliable measure of visits.
HS788 counts six to eight fruits set per cluster under good pollination, too many for large-fruited cultivars: thin those to three to four fruits, intermediate sizes to four or five, fewer in winter. HS788 prunes clusters about once a week, removes cracked or misshapen fruit whatever the size, and rechecks each cluster a week or two later for small late fruit.
Reading: Production of Greenhouse Tomatoes—Florida Greenhouse Vegetable Production Handbook, Vol 3 (HS788/CV266) ↗ · Bumble Bee Pollination in Tomato Greenhouses (ENT-0092) ↗
04 / Temperature, irrigation and the leach
HS788 puts the best yields in Florida greenhouses at days of 80–85°F and nights above 62°F but below 72°F, and never below 60°F; above 90°F it reports poor pollination. The New England guide gives 75–80°F by day, nights of 62–65°F after sunny days and 60–62°F after cloudy ones, and a pollination optimum of 68–75°F night and 60–90°F day.
HS796 describes Florida tomatoes in perlite, rockwool or NFT receiving 10–20 cycles a day to maintain about 20% solution leach, and says a medium with high water-holding capacity needs fewer cycles and may then need a stronger solution. UKY CCD-SP-20 adjusts frequency with crop size. Measure drain from a marked bucket. Stage nutrition lives in the fruiting-crops chapter, which carries the HS796 table and its pH of 5.8–6.2.
| Stage or task | Published figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seed to transplant | 3–4 weeks to a 4–6 inch plant; sow 5–7 weeks ahead | HS788; New England guide |
| Pollination | At least every second day, 10 a.m.–3 p.m. | HS788 |
| Cluster thinning | About once a week; 3–4 fruit large-fruited, 4–5 intermediate; recheck a week or two later | HS788 |
| Irrigation | 10–20 cycles a day for about 20% leach | HS796, Florida |
| Topping | 40–45 days before termination | HS788 |
Reading: Production of Greenhouse Tomatoes—Florida Greenhouse Vegetable Production Handbook, Vol 3 (HS788/CV266) ↗ · Tomato, Greenhouse and High Tunnel (New England Vegetable Management Guide; no publication number shown on the page) ↗ · Nutrient Solution Formulation for Hydroponic Tomatoes in Florida (HS796) ↗ · Irrigation in Hydroponic Systems: An Illustrated Overview (CCD-SP-20) ↗
05 / Lowering and fruit disorders
When the head reaches the cable, HS788 removes about four to six of the oldest leaves with a clean snap, prunes spent cluster stems, then lowers the plant 18–24 inches so 8–10 inches of air stay between floor and lowest leaves, usually every 10–14 days.
UF/IFAS HS787 calls blossom-end rot a calcium-deficiency related disorder and notes that calcium moves with transpiration; HS796 adds that excess potassium can interfere with calcium uptake and is often followed by blossom-end rot. The New England guide links irregular watering to blossom-end rot and cracking, and high humidity to restricted calcium uptake. HS788 ties cracking to wide temperature swings and finds cat-facing more prevalent where nights are cold. Check delivery, drain, humidity and night temperature before changing the recipe; consult local extension for anything that looks like disease.
Reading: Production of Greenhouse Tomatoes—Florida Greenhouse Vegetable Production Handbook, Vol 3 (HS788/CV266) ↗ · Fertilizer Management for Greenhouse Vegetables—Florida Greenhouse Vegetable Production Handbook, Vol 3 (HS787/CV265) ↗ · Nutrient Solution Formulation for Hydroponic Tomatoes in Florida (HS796) ↗ · Tomato, Greenhouse and High Tunnel (New England Vegetable Management Guide; no publication number shown on the page) ↗
06 / Harvest, top and end the crop
The New England guide reports wholesale fruit picked at the turning stage or later, fully ripe where the market allows, with cracking the risk of waiting. HS788 tops the plant at the cable about 40–45 days before termination; pollination stops, feeding continues, and the last fruit ripens by that date.
HS788 then leaves at least a month to clean and removes plants from the house. On media, the two sources split by scale: EM 9456 tells home growers not to reuse it, while HS788 allows a second use of perlite bags where no root disease occurred.
- Seed 5–7 weeks (New England guide) or 3–4 weeks (HS788) ahead, plus 10–15% extra.
- Wet the medium, aim the emitter at the cube, transplant at about 4–6 inches (HS788).
- String at 6–8 leaves; remove suckers every 3–4 days (HS788).
- From first flowers, pollinate or place bees; thin clusters about once a week and recheck a week or two later (HS788).
- Raise irrigation frequency with the canopy; log drain fraction and EC.
- Remove 4–6 old leaves and lower every 10–14 days (HS788).
- Top 40–45 days before termination, harvest out, clean for a month (HS788).
FIELD QUESTIONThe crop must be out by 30 June and transplants go into the buckets on 1 September. When do you top, and when do you seed?
HS788 tops 40–45 days before termination: 30 June minus 45 days is 16 May, minus 40 days is 21 May. HS788’s 3–4 weeks puts seeding between 4 and 11 August, or up to 10 days earlier if that count starts at emergence; the New England guide’s 5–7 weeks puts it between 14 and 28 July. Record the height reached on 1 September.
Reading: Tomato, Greenhouse and High Tunnel (New England Vegetable Management Guide; no publication number shown on the page) ↗ · Production of Greenhouse Tomatoes—Florida Greenhouse Vegetable Production Handbook, Vol 3 (HS788/CV266) ↗ · Hydro hints: Buckets ↗
Parts & buying criteria
Build your own parts & cost worksheet →
Showing drip / dutch buckets. Quantities describe the teaching model. Specify real working volume, support, fittings and instruments for your installation.
01Nutrient reservoir1 · illustrated quantity+
Stores the measured nutrient solution beneath or beside the growing area.
Inspect: Compare the surface with the pump intake or lower roots; freeboard is deliberate.
Maintain: Record level before refilling, keep light out and verify temperature, EC and pH.
Opaque, cleanable, intended-use container with volume marks and service access.
Check size, materials and operating conditions with your chosen supplier before ordering.02Pump & supply1 · illustrated quantity+
Moves nutrient solution from the reservoir to the growing area.
Inspect: Trace installed lift and branching; the pump label does not prove delivered flow.
Maintain: Measure output after service and inspect intake, filter and minimum water level.
Pump curve matched to installed head, required pressure and service needs.
Check size, materials and operating conditions with your chosen supplier before ordering.03Dutch buckets3 illustrated · illustrated quantity+
Contain a large root-zone medium with a defined drainage outlet.
Inspect: Inspect the outlet height, any internal water reserve and the drain screen on each bucket.
Maintain: Verify each bucket drains freely after an event and inspect moisture at several depths in representative buckets.
Rigid, opaque, food-safe buckets with screened outlets on a supported gravity return.
Check size, materials and operating conditions with your chosen supplier before ordering.04Root-zone mediumFor illustrated containers · illustrated quantity+
Stores moisture and air around the roots in the illustrated containers.
Inspect: Compare the medium surface with irrigation and drainage.
Maintain: Inspect wetting at several depths; prevent fines from reaching drains and emitters.
Prepared, stable grade matched to the irrigation method and crop.
Check size, materials and operating conditions with your chosen supplier before ordering.05Drip emitters3 illustrated · illustrated quantity+
Distribute solution separately to each container.
Inspect: Trace the manifold and the small outlet above each plant position.
Maintain: Collect equal-time samples and compare output; flush the main line before installing emitters.
Emitter pressure requirements matched to pump and filter; flushable connections.
Check size, materials and operating conditions with your chosen supplier before ordering.06Gravity return1 · illustrated quantity+
Collects each bucket outlet into a supported return line to the reservoir.
Inspect: Follow each bucket outlet into the shared return and check the continuous fall to the reservoir.
Maintain: Test pump-off drain-back and keep roots and medium out of the outlet.
Accessible fittings and verified capacity under normal and fault conditions.
Check size, materials and operating conditions with your chosen supplier before ordering.Evidence beside the lesson.
Source checks: September 2026. The geometry, inspection exercises and worksheets are original teaching material. The named organizations have not endorsed or reviewed this site.
Published recipe rates and planning ranges retain their source context. Calculator equations are accounting tools; they do not predict uptake, yield, toxicity or safe stocking. Model dimensions, water speeds, roots and fish counts are illustrative. Verify species, crop, source water and product labels for a real system.
- University of Florida IFAS ExtensionProduction of Greenhouse Tomatoes—Florida Greenhouse Vegetable Production Handbook, Vol 3 (HS788/CV266) ↗
Rooted suckers as a dangerous transplant source; emergence in about 7–10 days and 3–4 weeks to a 4–6 inch transplant with 10–15% extra seed; dry perlite desiccating a seedling cube; 3–3.5 square feet per plant; string trellis on an overhead cable, stringing at 6–8 large leaves and clips every 3–4 leaves not at a cluster node; sucker removal every 3–4 days, early in the day when turgid but dry, not in cloudy weather; vibration pollination for a second or two at least every second day between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., ineffective on cloudy days; six to eight fruits set per cluster, thinning to three to four or four to five fruits about once per week with a recheck a week or two later, fewer in winter, and removal of cracked or misshapen fruit no matter the size; day 80–85°F and night above 62°F but below 72°F, 65°F nights for economic reasons, not below 60°F, poor pollination above 90°F; cat-facing with low night temperatures and cracking with wide temperature fluctuations; removal of four to six oldest leaves and lowering 18–24 inches every 10–14 days leaving 8–10 inches above the floor; topping 40–45 days before termination with feeding continued, at least one month between crops, and perlite bags reused once where no root disease occurred.
- University of Massachusetts Amherst ExtensionTomato, Greenhouse and High Tunnel (New England Vegetable Management Guide; no publication number shown on the page) ↗
Seed sown approximately 5–7 weeks before transplanting; 3.5–6 square feet per leader; single-stem pruning with suckers removed ideally at 2–3 inches; day temperature 75–80°F with ventilation or shading below 85°F, nights 62–65°F after sunny days and 60–62°F after cloudy days; pollination optimum 68–75°F night and 60–90°F day; irregular or insufficient watering leading to blossom-end rot and fruit cracking and excess humidity restricting calcium uptake; wholesale fruit picked at the turning stage or later with cracking a risk if left too long.
- Oregon State University ExtensionHydro hints: Buckets ↗
Bucket crop support, delivery, media and drainage.
- Ohio State University Extension, OhiolineBumble Bee Pollination in Tomato Greenhouses (ENT-0092) ↗
Buzz pollination in which the bee grasps the anthers and vibrates to dislodge pollen; anther bruising as a reliable measure of pollination activity with darker anthers showing more visits.
- University of Florida IFAS ExtensionNutrient Solution Formulation for Hydroponic Tomatoes in Florida (HS796) ↗
Elemental ppm by fruit-cluster stage in Florida greenhouse tomato production.
- University of Kentucky Center for Crop DiversificationIrrigation in Hydroponic Systems: An Illustrated Overview (CCD-SP-20) ↗
Illustrated overview of DWC, NFT and flood-and-drain, including drip-fed individual containers (bags or buckets) draining to a shared gutter; cycle frequency and soak time adjusted with crop size and conditions.
- University of Florida IFAS ExtensionFertilizer Management for Greenhouse Vegetables—Florida Greenhouse Vegetable Production Handbook, Vol 3 (HS787/CV265) ↗
Blossom-end rot of tomato as a calcium-deficiency related disorder in which fruit cells deprived of calcium break down, and calcium uptake and transport as a passive, transpiration-driven process so that conditions affecting transpiration affect calcium movement.
The next useful connections.
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8 min + guided practice →