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Tomato Crop Management
Transplanting - set in the field after the danger of frost is past. Set out only relatively young, firm and blossom free plants. Severe hardening reduces yields. To obtain good yields and fruit size, the plants should become established in the field before the first fruits are set. This is important with early determinate cultivars. Use a starter fertilizer solution.
Mulching - black plastic mulch can be used for weed control and higher yields of marketable fruit. Clear plastic mulch is the most effective for early growth and yields. However, weeds must be controlled with the use of herbicides.
Apply mulches when soil moisture is high and well before planting so the soil can heat up.
Hot caps, row covers or tunnels - these are used by growers to foster early growth and production. Ventilation is critical on warm sunny days. Do not allow temperatures around plants to exceed 35ºC. Grow cultivars suited to this method of culture. Air blasting is necessary for pollinization of early fruit clusters (flowers must be vibrated).
Staking Tomatoes - advantages in staking, or otherwise training tomato plants off the ground include a frequent increase in the percentage of marketable fruit, easier harvesting, and reduced injury to both plants and fruit in harvesting. It is doubtful that staked yields will differ from unstaked plant yields or that fruits on staked plants are firmer. Staking procedures (many systems are possible) that require little pruning seem best because pruning is costly, and removing laterals means removing potential flower clusters, so both early and total yields per plant are often reduced. The practices of staking and pruning most are likely to be profitable when a long harvest season is possible and fairly uniform production over the season is desired. (Only staking greenhouse cultivars should be used in tunnel houses and a limited number of trusses should be allowed to set depending on the intended market and season).
Irrigation - the soil moisture should be kept at a reasonable level to reduce the incidence of cracking and blossom end rot from wide fluctuations in soil moisture. A fixed irrigation system may be used for frost control at planting time or late in the fall. Trickle irrigation may be used in the field or in tunnel houses with or without soil mulches.
This information has been taken from www.gov.pe.ca