by Jackie Mcguire

Created on: July 23, 2011

Does Red Plastic Make Tomatoes Grow?

You have probably seen it, if you get many garden catalogs like I do – it’s a new innovation, a new discovery, developed by the USDA and Clemson University. It is quite amazing, really. They say that the color red stimulates tomato plants to release a natural protein that stimulates growth!

One of the catalogs, Gardener’s Supply Company, (and maybe others) is offering a red plastic “mulch” and red plastic cloches that you can fill with water and put around the young plants to keep them warm (and exposed to the color) during the cold, early days after planting.

Now, that sounds really strange and not quite believable. It was interesting - tempting, even - but I am not inclined to send off for many things, even though I love to browse the catalogs to see what’s new. 

But around Christmastime at church, a red plastic tablecloth got torn, and they were going to throw it away – guess what! I grabbed it and took it home. Later when I planted my tomatoes, I remembered it. I had six plants of different varieties, and they were rather spindly, having been saved back in my greenhouse for a while – we’d had a long, cold spring.

I planted them and cut up the plastic and spread it under them. Would just “any red” do? A few days later I noticed they were taking hold well. Then they began really taking off! The stems became thick and hearty-looking, and the leaves big and deep green!

Well, maybe it was coincidence – maybe they would have done that anyway. But I had six more plants, all of one variety, that I had bought very small in a six-pack, transferring to a little larger pots as I awaited the warm weather. I planted three in one raised bed, and three in another. I spread red plastic under one in each set of three.

The ones with the red plastic really do seem to get heavier and greener more quickly! I could hardly believe it, but my friends have agreed that it does seem to be working. The tablecloth plastic is cheap and thin, but it seems to do the trick anyway. It’s supposed to help the fruit ripen, too, but I would have to get some new red plastic, as the color fades away after a while.

So, you might try it, whether you buy from the catalog, or just use some kind of red material for your own experiment. It’s things like this that keep gardening interesting!

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