Growing Tomato

Lycopersicon esculentum : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
    S                  
      T T T            
      P P              

(Best months for growing Tomato in USA - Zone 5a regions)

  • S = Plant undercover in seed trays
  • T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings
  • P = Sow seed
  • Grow in seed trays, and plant out in 4-6 weeks. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 16°C and 35°C. (Show °F/in)
  • Space plants: 40 - 60 cm apart
  • Harvest in 8-17 weeks.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Asparagus, Chervil,Carrot, Celery, Chives, Parsley, Marigold, Basil
  • Avoid growing close to: Rosemary, Potatoes, Fennel, Cucumber

Your comments and tips

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19 Aug 20, Anonymous (USA - Zone 6b climate)
Tomatoes need good rich deep soil. Dig your soil about 40cm deep x about 60cm across. Put some fertiliser in the bottom of the hole and mix with some soil. Keep doing this until the hole is only 10cm deep. Put some Epsom salts in the hole also. When the plant has grown 60-80cm high fill the soil in around the plant and even hill it up a bit. Put some compost/mulch around the plant. Tomatoes need a good deep watering 2-3 times a week.
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10 Aug 20, Gina (USA - Zone 10b climate)
I grow everything in pots due to lack of any place to have a full garden. After the tomato plant is done for the season, what can I grow in the container that will enhance the soil for the next year's tomato plantings? In years past, if I reuse the same soil the plants do not do very well year after year. It is not easy to dump the old soil and start fresh - again, no real space to do so. I had two San Marzano plants that did very well plus one small patio tomatoe Any suggestions are appreciated. Thank you!
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12 Aug 20, colleen (USA - Zone 10b climate)
I suggest growing a legume you like--or a succession of them. You could start with beans and then peas when the days get very short. If you like fava beans, those are very useful--you can eat the tender shoots and leaves, and they make big beautiful plants with pretty flowers that look so cheerful in the coolest months (but they take a LONG time to make beans!). When the beans/peas are done, leave their roots behind in the soil. They'll add a little nitrogen, though not as much if you let them grow to maturity. You will still need to replenish other nutrients with compost or a good tomato-specific fertilizer in the spring. One thing to consider is that tomatoes catch a lot of diseases that accumulate in the soil year after year, so that might be why you have trouble when reusing the soil. You could try solarizing any infected soil by covering it with clear plastic in full sun for a few hot months (March through June minimum), but that's tough when garden space is precious!
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10 Feb 21, Kent (USA - Zone 10a climate)
Maybe consider an organic liquid fertilizer mix.
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11 Aug 20, Sally O'Neil (USA - Zone 10a climate)
Compost and/or Manure
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02 Aug 20, Bruce (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)
Will a plastic grow tent protect seedlings from frost
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03 Aug 20, Anonymous (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)
Maybe if it is totally air tight. You are really stacking the odds up against yourself. It is recommended to start planting seeds in Oct/Nov in cool/mountain NZ and you are trying to grow them in winter. More chance of a good crop when the conditions are with you than against you.
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31 Jul 20, Dennis Naidoo (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
I want to plant tomatoes in containers due to know space in my backyard. What size container can I use and what nutrients should I feed my tomato plants. Also what fertilizer can be used. Regards Dennis
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03 Aug 20, Anonymous (South Africa - Semi-arid climate)
My daughter recommends a big container, about 30+ liters. A general all round garden fertiliser, make sure you mix about 2-3 handfuls into the soil before you put the soil in the container.
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30 Jul 20, lisa johnson (USA - Zone 8b climate)
cannot get my tomatoes to form fruit - in large containers - dropping flowers before forming - all varieties - healthy plants but no fruit - extremely hot in Southern Alabama with humidity and good rain - what times of year are best to plant —please advise!
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Showing 131 - 140 of 815 comments
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More information is needed: for example amount of water... soil conditions. The MOST GENERIC, and probably most correct answer is LACK OF NUTRIENTS. Most people plant their plants (tomato) adding lots of compost and/or manure at the time of planting. The plant grows using the nutrients (some are washed away... maybe trees manage to confiscate some nutrients); but as the soil nutrition drops, the plant, still wanting to grow, starts to take nutrition from its lower leaves so it can grow leaves higher up. That is, it is deciding how to best used it's own self to maximize it chances of success; since it can't source the needed nutrition from the soil What you need to do is: ADD manure or compost or anything else you may have to put nutrition back into the soil. I rinse my coffee pot in the garden, I also try to drain things (like the water from soaking dried beans) into the garden. Manure/compost/nutrition (in any form) needs to be added at planting, middle of the season, and close to the end of the season to give that LAST burst of energy to bring the fruit/vegetables into full form. Don't feel like you need to spend a lot of money; get creative; in Canada we can stop by our local coffee shops and pick up the days used grinds for use in our gardens (free); you can add micro nutrients to your garden by filling a pail with water and adding a layer of rocks (rocks are minerals) stir and use this to water your plants. Left over tea bags, left over coffee grinds, stuff that you might rinse down the sink (food juices), blood from meat when you wash it before cooking it ..... anything like that all puts nutrition back in the soil.

- Celeste Archer

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