A single seedline per bed facilitates cultivation and is less costly to hand-weed than two seedlines. In some areas, flaming can be used before tomato plants emerge or as a directed application after planting. Flaming the bed just before tomato emergence eliminates emerged weeds so the crop comes up without competition. An advantage to flamers over cultivation is that the soil is not disturbed so new weed seeds are not brought to the surface. Transplanting into fields with high potential weed populations provides the crop an initial growth advantage over the weeds.
Subsequent cultivations can further reduce weed populations along the sides of the planted row.
Within the crop row, soil can be directed toward the base of the tomatoes, covering small emerged weeds and creating a dry mulch as previously described. As hybrid tomato varieties become more expensive, transplanting may become a more widely used method, thus reducing herbicide inputs, hoeing, and thinning costs. Subsurface drip irrigation can also aid weed control by keeping bed tops dry. The crop should be well established and free of emerged weeds before the subsurface drip irrigation is used. Perennial weeds are likely to remain a problem with this system.