How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Tomatoes

Pick the right variety

Tomatoes come in two growth habits. Determinate types grow to a set size and ripen most fruit within a few weeks, which suits containers and canning. Indeterminate types keep growing and fruiting until frost, so they need tall stakes or cages.

For a first season, grow one reliable cherry tomato and one slicer. Cherry types ripen early and forgive mistakes.

Start seeds indoors

Sow seeds six to eight weeks before your last spring frost, a quarter inch deep in a fine seed-starting mix. Keep the soil around 75°F until they sprout, usually in five to ten days.

Give seedlings 14 to 16 hours of strong light a day. A grow light a few inches above the leaves prevents tall, floppy stems.

Harden off and plant deep

A week before transplanting, set seedlings outdoors for a few hours a day, increasing the time gradually so they adjust to sun and wind.

Plant when nights stay above 50°F. Bury the stem up to the top few sets of leaves. Tomatoes grow roots along any buried stem, which gives you a stronger plant.

Water, feed and support

Water deeply at the base two or three times a week rather than a little every day. Even moisture helps prevent blossom end rot and split fruit.

Mix compost into the planting hole and side-dress with a balanced organic fertiliser when the first fruits set. Put stakes or cages in at planting time so you do not damage roots later.

Harvest at the right time

Pick tomatoes when fully coloured and slightly soft to a gentle squeeze. If heavy rain is forecast, pick ripening fruit early and let it finish indoors so it does not split.