The Japanese Tomato Ring, which, by the way, has nothing to do with Japan, originated in South Carolina with a postman named Callahan. The name of this planting method, which promotes the sharing of resources (water, space and nutrients) resulted, so the story goes, from a newspaper reporter’s error.
The ring was constructed in the PAMGA Demonstration & Trial Garden on May 13, 2004, and was followed by two (2) weeks of daily heavy rains. The extreme rain may have caused fertilizer to leach into the soil more quickly than anticipated. After five (5) weeks of great duress, during which the plants were shriveled and yellow, the tomatoes recovered and began setting blossoms in late June. Green tomatoes first appeared on the vine the first week of July. Harvest began in mid-August. Tomato hornworms were detected September 11, 2004. Harvest continued until December 14, 2004.
The Process
Start with 2 bags of topsoil for each ring. That's about 2 wheelbarrows of good garden soil. Add 2 bags of mulch. Cypress mulch works well, buy you could use any other shredded bark mulch or good quality finished compost. The only other ingredient is a 10-lb bag of 10-10-10.
Take 14 feet of 5-foot farm fence (or concrete construction wire) and roll it into a 5-foot diameter circle, placing the cylinder in a sunny location, protected from north and northwest winds if possible. Clear a 7-foot-wide circle and disturb the topsoil a few inches deep. Place the wire ring in the circle leaving a foot of cleared soil on the outside of the ring. Place the mulch or compost 6 inches deep inside the ring and top it with a layer of soil and half the fertilizer. Add another layer of mulch or compost, another layer of soil and 2/3 of the remaining fertilizer on top of that. Save the rest of the fertilizer to sprinkle around the plants. Pat down the topmost layer in the middle to create a depression to hold water.
Plant only four (4) tomatoes, spacing them evenly around the ring outside the cylinder. They will look small, but in time will grow roots under and up into the center pile. Lightly fertilize the new plants. We mean LIGHTLY, too much fertilizer will wither them. If things start looking dry, water the plants outside the ring when they are small and inside the ring as they grow. Support vines by tying them to the wire with soft cloth. Once tomato production begins, top off compost with another 5 lbs of fertilizer. Some have harvested as many as 600 tomatoes per ring per year with this method.
Harvest Record
Date # Harvested Date # Harvested Date # Harvested
8/10 1 8/17 2 8/31 36
9/4 14 9/7 14 9/11 32
9/12 5
Evaluation
Now that the growing season has ended, it’s time to evaluate the Japanese Tomato Ring. We encountered some difficulties. The heavy rains of late May got us off to a rocky start. Throughout June, the plants looked sickly. We attribute this to quick leaching of the fertilizer. After all, ten pounds of fertilizer far exceeds the recommended rate for just four tomato plants. Pesky hornworms were detected two days before our September 18, 2004 Open House. Perhaps they expected an invitation.
Still, once the daily rains subsided, the plants matured and exhibited lush, deep green foliage and a profusion of blossoms. Tomato production in our area of Western Kentucky was generally late this year. However, we continued harvesting fruit until a really hard frost on December 14, 2004.
The Japanese Tomato Ring was a novelty for us and a good experiment. Using a very small square of land we enjoyed good production and juicy, good-flavored fruit. Our results may have been better with more even watering. The plants did not always get a good, deep soaking and we experienced drought conditions this fall. Lack of consistent watering resulted in split skins on several tomatoes.
Will we try this method again? Perhaps, but with a few changes. For one, we would make the diameter of the cylinder smaller. We found it difficult to harvest tomatoes in the center of the ring. When setting the cylinder, make certain your arm will easily reach to the center so you can pick the produce inside the ring. This will also ensure you can remove any weeds that grow in the center.
Because it is important to rotate crops, we will not plant tomatoes in the same spot next year. However, the concentrated fertilizer, topsoil and mulch means the area used to create the cylinder in 2004 will be a highly prized growing location in 2005.
These area businesses contributed to this project:
Schmidt Farms – Better Boy & Rutgers tomatoes (indeterminate varieties)
Phelps Farm Service – 10-10-10 fertilizer
Tractor Supply Company (TSC) – 6-foot T-posts and hardware cloth
Long Block – Concrete re-enforcing wire
When you visit these businesses, please thank them for supporting the 2004 Spring Sampler and Open House as well as other programs of the Purchase Area Master Gardener Association.
Tobacco Hornworm Stages
This picture shows various stages of the hornworm. The recommended IPM approach is Bacillus thuringiensis. The second recommendation would be Sevin (carbaryl).