Growing Netherlands Tomatoes

Written by: Samira Haleemzai

There are many types of tomatoes in the world and people grow them in different methods. Most Afghan peasants grow tomatoes in the traditional method but they are not satisfied with their crops. 

Recently some peasants grow Netherlands tomatoes seeds and they get convenient products. AEPO’s writer/producer has talked to some peasants about grown Netherlands tomatoes.

Naqeebullah, a resident of Paghman district, Kabul province says, “I always buy tomatoes seeds from the bazaar but the tomatoes do not ripe and I cannot get a good harvest.”

Haji Talib, a resident of Hilmand province says, “In the beginning of this year, I grew tomatoes in my one-acre land. Before yielding, worms ate most of the flowers of the tomatoes. The remained, yielded big and red tomatoes but the inner part of them was black and no one bought them.”

How do some peasants grow Netherlands tomatoes?

Gulbeg says, “Growing Netherlands tomatoes differ from others.

When we buy tomatoes seeds from the bazaar, we also buy special paper trays which have many sells for seeds and some special soil. We put a little soil in each cell of the tray then we put a seed in the cell and add more soil on it. We put the trays near the heater in a room and when the plants grow about 10 centimeters; we plant them in the ground about 4 centimeters away from each other.

We could make iron or wooden lattices for our plants. We tie a narrow nylon rope onto the lattice and we let the other end of the rope climb the tomatoes plants on it. We water the tomatoes field by drip irrigation.”

Abdul Sabour Rahim, an agricultural expert at the experimental garden, Badam Bagh in Kabul city says, “Netherlands tomatoes yield better in greenhouses. The temperature of the greenhouse should not be exceeded from 35 degrees Celsius in the day and 7 degrees Celsius at night.

If the temperature goes up, the plastic cover should be removed and if the weather is so cold, the peasants should burn heaters in the greenhouses. The best time for growing tomatoes seed is the last month of the solar year.”