When to Plant and Grow Tomatoes
I get asked all the time for advice on when the perfect time is to plant tomatoes.
A lot of sites will give you a specific date, like May 5, but unfortunately it isn't that easy.
There are factors to take into account such as are you planting tomatoes from seeds or are you using purchased seedlings? What part of the country do you live in? Are you planting short season or longer growing varieties? All of these questions must be answered before you can decide on the best time to plant tomatoes.
The first thing to remember is that tomatoes are very fragile and thrive in warm weather.
They need night time temperatures to stay at least above 50 and should never, ever be exposed to frost.
If the plants do manage to survive a frosty night, the growth of your plant will be slowed significantly.
Tomatoes also need on average about 8-10 hours of direct sunlight per day.
For most areas of the country, that means you should plant your seeds in late spring or plant your seedlings in early summer.
If you decide to grow your tomatoes from seeds rather than buying an established plant from your local home improvement store, you will need to check your locality's weather patterns to determine the latest expected frost dates for the area.
You can check weather.
com or the Farmer's Almanac for the information.
Once you've determined the correct date range, seeds should be started indoors approximately 6-8 weeks prior.
Keep your seeds in a warm, well-lit place.
Once the plants reach 6in -8in tall and you've past the last expected frost date, go ahead and plant them outdoors.
Most varieties of tomato plants will start producing fruit within 65-80 days.
Therefore if you have a slow growing variety and you set your plants out around May 10, you will be able to harvest around early to mid-August.
If you live in a Southern state, you could plant tomato crops as late as August and still have a great harvest because those states don't fall below freezing until late November.
As you understand now, there is no one right answer for the best planting times for tomatoes.
Just remember that your plant needs night time temperatures of at least fifty degrees and 8-10 hours of sunlight per day.
Once you've determined the constraints for your geographic area, go ahead and plant as many "waves" of tomato crops as you want.
A lot of sites will give you a specific date, like May 5, but unfortunately it isn't that easy.
There are factors to take into account such as are you planting tomatoes from seeds or are you using purchased seedlings? What part of the country do you live in? Are you planting short season or longer growing varieties? All of these questions must be answered before you can decide on the best time to plant tomatoes.
The first thing to remember is that tomatoes are very fragile and thrive in warm weather.
They need night time temperatures to stay at least above 50 and should never, ever be exposed to frost.
If the plants do manage to survive a frosty night, the growth of your plant will be slowed significantly.
Tomatoes also need on average about 8-10 hours of direct sunlight per day.
For most areas of the country, that means you should plant your seeds in late spring or plant your seedlings in early summer.
If you decide to grow your tomatoes from seeds rather than buying an established plant from your local home improvement store, you will need to check your locality's weather patterns to determine the latest expected frost dates for the area.
You can check weather.
com or the Farmer's Almanac for the information.
Once you've determined the correct date range, seeds should be started indoors approximately 6-8 weeks prior.
Keep your seeds in a warm, well-lit place.
Once the plants reach 6in -8in tall and you've past the last expected frost date, go ahead and plant them outdoors.
Most varieties of tomato plants will start producing fruit within 65-80 days.
Therefore if you have a slow growing variety and you set your plants out around May 10, you will be able to harvest around early to mid-August.
If you live in a Southern state, you could plant tomato crops as late as August and still have a great harvest because those states don't fall below freezing until late November.
As you understand now, there is no one right answer for the best planting times for tomatoes.
Just remember that your plant needs night time temperatures of at least fifty degrees and 8-10 hours of sunlight per day.
Once you've determined the constraints for your geographic area, go ahead and plant as many "waves" of tomato crops as you want.
Source...