The greenhouse tomato industry in Mississippi has experienced unprecedented
growth over the past few years. Our number of commercial growers has
increased from about 15, in 1988, to 135 now, a 700 percent growth over
10 years. These growers make up about 18 acres of greenhouse space, all
under plastic. Today, Mississippi is ranked 12th in the United States
in greenhouse tomato production, with a gross sales value of over $6
million each year. Our most common greenhouse sizes are 24 X 96 and 30
X 96 feet. When more than one greenhouse is used, they are generally
connected at the gutter, referred to as "gutter-connected bays." Most
of our businesses are small, averaging 2.4 bays.
The national greenhouse tomato industry has also been growing rapidly, but this is a more recent trend. From 1996 to this year, there has been about a 40 percent growth in greenhouse tomato acreage in the United States, now at about 850 acres. Leading states are Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Pennsylvania, New York, California, Ohio, Tennessee, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Florida.
Growers interested in learning how to grow greenhouse tomatoes should plan on attending the Greenhouse Tomato Short Course which is held each March in Jackson, Mississippi. Complete details are posted on the web site.
Frequently Asked Questions
- I would like to convert our poultry houses (or pig barn or cow barn) to greenhouses for the purpose of growing tomatoes. What is the best way to do this?
- My tomatoes are not ripening to an even red color. What is the reason?
- What kind of fertilizer can I use for greenhouse tomatoes?
- Are greenhouse tomatoes a good business for me?
- How many greenhouses do I need in order to get rich?
- If I grow tomatoes in a greenhouse, does this mean they are organic?
- I am planning on using a deep well for my irrigation water. Do I still have to have this water tested? If so where should I send the water sample?
- How often do I need to pollinate?
- Can I use a vibrating toothbrush for pollination?
- What variety of tomato should I use in the greenhouse?
- How many plants can I grow?
- How much yield can I expect per plant?
- What pH should I use?
- Some of the leaves on my plants are turning yellow. What is causing this?
- At what color should greenhouse tomatoes be harvested?
- Why are my plants wilting?
- What are those funny little white flies on my plants?
- What is the fuzzy looking gray colored mold growing on my plants?
- Why do the plants get flowers, but don't set any fruit?
- The fruit are setting and have good size, but they have strange shapes.
- Why do many fruit have a blackish area on the bottoms?
- Why are my plants so tall, like they're stretched out?
- There are cracks in the fruit. Now what?
- Why do the plants produce fruit that are too small?
- Should I use supplemental lighting to increase my yield?
- Can I grow various crops, e.g. tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, and strawberries, all together in the same greenhouse? Or will this create an unmanageable problem for me?
- I've been thinking about growing greenhouse strawberries. Will this work?
- Where can I get help in learning more about greenhouse tomatoes?
- How can I get answers to other questions which I don't find in this FAQ?
Publications
- Greenhouse Tomato Handbook (Also
available in PDF)
Español: Guía del Cultivo del Tomate en Invernaderos - Greenhouse Tomato Growers' Glossary
- Environmental Control for Greenhouse Tomatoes
- Fertigation: The Basics of Injecting Fertilizer for Field-Grown Tomatoes
- Starting Vegetable Transplants
- A Spreadsheet Approach to Fertilization Management For Greenhouse Tomatoes
- Greenhouse Tomatoes: Pest Management in Mississippi
- Budget for Greenhouse Tomatoes
- Other MSUcares Commercial Horticulture publications
Other Information
- Diseases and Abiotic Problems
- University of Florida Protected Agriculture Project
- Ohio State University's Hydroponic Tomato Production program
- University of Arizona's Growing Greenhouse Tomatoes Web Site
- North Carolina State University Greenhouse Food Production
- North Carolina State University Horticulture Information Leaflets
- Kansas State University has good information on greenhouse tomato and cucumber production. Note: this is in PDF format so will require downloading the Acrobat Reader.
- University of Florida Hydroponics Site: Growing Vegetables Without Soil
- Michigan State University Hydroponics. Look for the "Hydroponics At Home" section.
- Oregon State University - Greenhouse Tomato Production Guide
- The Cornell University Hydroponic Lettuce Page shows you the most high tech way to maximize the yield of lettuce hydroponically. Do not try this at home!
- Louisiana State University Commercial Horticulture web page
- For the Canadian version of hydroponics (Harrow, Ontario), see the Growing greenhouse tomatoes in soil and in soilless media page.
- A good source for seeds, fertilizers, greenhouses, and greenhouse tomato supplies of all kinds is Hydro-Gardens, Inc.
- Aloha 'Aina Hydrofarm's site shows information about this Hawaiian hydroponic vegetable company.
- The Florida Tomato Committee site includes educational information, has a marketing section (including how to export to Japan), retail and food service resources, "How to get the most out of your tomatoes", etc.
- There are also two hydroponics mailing lists (email) that you can subscribe to for free. This will allow you to learn and discus hydroponics with other growers. To subscribe to the Hydro Mailing List, send the on line command "subscribe" to this email address: hydro-request@lists.best.com or, to subscribe to HGA-L, the Discussion list for Hobby Greenhouses, send the command "subscribe" to this address: listserv@ulkyvm.louisville.edu.
- Listen to two recorded radio interviews from Better Farming Radio, hosted by Tyson Gair, Senior Editor - Broadcast, MSU Office of Agricultural Communications, Mississippi State University: February 28, 2000 and March 14, 2001 - Programs run 5:00 minutes: "Extension Vegetable Specialist Dr. Rick Snyder provides some facts and figures about Mississippi's greenhouse tomato industry and previews the Greenhouse Tomato Short Course to be held at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum in Jackson."
- Watch Farmweek TV feature on Wayne Smith's Greenhouse Tomatoes (7 minute video clip, 56Kbps) or listen to the audio track of the same clip (4 minutes, 14 seconds) April 30, 2002.