Description
Botanical name
Lycopersicum esculentum
Family
Solanaceae
Spacing
1 plant per square foot. Climbing.
Depth
Plant seeds 1 cm (1/2″) deep, indoors.
Requirements
Full sun, hot weather plant. pH around 6-6.5
Germination
Seeds will sprout in 7-14 days.
Pests
Tomatoes are susceptible to some fungal diseases, but problems with this plant are mostly caused by cultural practices that stress the plants. Make sure you keep the garden clean and tidy, water consistently and avoid directly spraying water onto the leaves. When plants get off to a good start, few pests will bother them. Protect young plants with floating row covers that are removed when flowering starts.
Timing
Start tomatoes indoors in early April indoors under bright lights. Transplant into the garden at the mid to late May. Night-time temperatures need to be reliably above 10°C (50°F) to avoid shocking the seedlings. Before planting, pluck off the lower two thirds of branches and leaves to increase root growth. You won’t believe the difference in growth rate and especially in the yield.
Growing
Best to have them climb a trellis to save space and keep pests away. Indeterminate tomatoes keep shooting off suckers, or side shoots, from the crotch between the stem and a branch. Pinch out the suckers to have the tomato plant focus its energy on producing fruit.
Harvest
85 days, 72 days from transplant
Season
Warm, annual
Links
‘Pinching Out’ your growing tomato plants (Suckers)
Harvesting heirloom tomatoes
