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About Tomatoes

Tomatoes are the reason many people garden. Determinate (bush) types set a concentrated crop and suit sauce and containers. Indeterminate types vine all season and need a sturdy cage or trellis. Space plants 24–36 inches apart — not two plants per square foot.

When to Plant

Start indoors 6–8 weeks before last frost. Transplant 1–2 weeks after last frost when nights stay above 50°F.

How to Plant

Sow ¼ inch deep at 70–80°F. Bury transplants to the first true leaves — stems root. 24–36 inches apart, rows 36–48 inches. Cage at planting. Water deeply at the soil line. Mulch after the soil is warm (see Mulch). Feed with compost and a balanced organic fertilizer; skip 5-10-5 salts.

When to Harvest

Pick at full color for the variety, slightly soft. Store at room temperature. Refrigerate only extra-ripe fruit, knowing flavor drops. For seed saving, ferment scooped gel 2–4 days, rinse, and dry.

Pruning suckers

On indeterminate plants, a sucker is the shoot in the crotch between the main stem and a leaf. Pinch when small to keep a single or double leader if you are short on space. Determinate plants: do not strip suckers or you cut the crop. Never prune in wet weather.

Blossom-end rot

A dark leathery patch on the blossom end is a calcium-transport problem, usually from uneven watering — not a cue to dump lime on the plant midseason. Keep soil evenly moist, mulch, and avoid high nitrogen. Test soil before adding lime; excess lime raises pH and locks up micronutrients.