Tomato Economics

I transplanted a few of my tomatoes into larger pots this morning. It got me thinking about the economics associated with growing tomatoes.

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Tomatoes can be very lucrative at our local farmers markets selling for $5/pound on average. Tomato starts can also sell for $2 - $3 each on average. I tend to sell mine in 3" square pots for $3 each or 2 for $5. So far this year I've spent about $20 on seed, $25 on seed starting mix, and $15 on potting soil for a total of around $60. All of my containers are recycled, or will be recycled so I'm not going to include their cost since it will be spread out over a longer period of time.

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We normally don't put tomatoes into the field until after March 20th, so I've been transplanting many of them into 4" diameter pots since they'll be in them for a few more weeks. Each flat of round pots has 15 plants. Two flats are enough for a 50' row of tomatoes at 18" spacing. So far I've potted enough for 3 rows. I've also potted 3 flats of 3" square pots at 18 plants each. I should have no problem selling these for $135 - $162 at market. With an initial cost of $60 I'm already ahead of the game.

The real profit, however, is going to be seen if, and I stress if, I can get any production out of these plants. I'm planting all determinate varieties this year. In years past I've never had much luck with the indeterminate types. They always seem to succumb to some disease or insect pressure right about the time they start producing. This year I'm not going to invest time in training and pruning and see what happens. I'm sure I'll get some tomatoes, but time will tell if this will be a worthwhile endeavor.

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