Don’t delay on tomato starting!
Love of the tomato
Tomatoes may be the quintessential veggie garden plant, and while I love them fresh out of the the garden, tomatoes are probably the most fussy plant routinely grown. In order to get a worthwhile yield, not only is a truly sunny spot with good soil needed, but you also likely need to trellis, prune, mulch, water and scout for diseases. That being said, they are our highest productivity vegetable crop for home gardens in Minnesota at 4.5 pounds or 15.63 servings/ square foot! So they are worth the effort. See this publication for all the top yielding crops in Minnesota gardens. I try to grow as much of my annual tomato supply as possible since tomato storage and preservation is versatile.
The little free seed distribution sites are now stocking tomato seeds. Find them sorted with the other Warm Season seeds for indoor starting. We are trying to offer a number of different varieties, and as with other crops, and are regularly restocking and updating the offerings in the cabinets. Check back frequently!
Tomato seed starting
Tomatoes are usually started indoors. When you get your seeds home, you can use traditional indoor seed starting if you have supplies. No worries if not, instead try the wicking container method I posted for peppers and eggplants. The wicking container method is a solid alternative that uses regular household supplies once you have seeds and potting soil. It is also possible to use the outdoor winter sowing method for tomatoes, an good option if you do not have indoor situation for seed starting. Winter sown seedlings will be a bit behind ones started indoors, but they will quickly catch-up. Regardless of which type of starting you choose, take extra care to label them well so you know which variety is which. I often double label my seed starting containers to prevent unknown tomatoes due to markers fading, or peeling off tape, or sticks falling out. Labeling is important with tomatoes!
Tomato variety matters
Now that your seeds are tucked up into a container of soil, take some time to learn about the tomato varieties you have. Tomato growing techniques are dependent on the variety you have planted. Here are some characteristics you will want to know about the tomato plants you install into your garden:
The number of days until harvest. Some tomatoes have a very long growing season and your wait-time until picking could take until September-October. A rule of thumb is the larger the tomato, the longer time until harvest. I like to mix up my tomato garden so that at least 1 plant is harvestable earlier than the others. Really short season tomatoes might be 50-60 days, longest season tomatoes run 80-100 days; a big difference. Plant and seed descriptions will list the number of days, Google this information for the seed names that you have.
Bush vs Vining tomatoes. Most tomato plants are vines and are usually categorized as “Indeterminate”. Tomato vines in good soil and sun can easily grow taller than 6 ft and do best when trellised. Once the fruit matures, harvesting from indeterminate vining tomatoes happens daily until freezing temperatures in the Autumn. Do some garden planning to determine how many tall, trellised plants can actually fit your space & supplies. (I will share tomato trellising information later.) Bush tomatoes, or “Determinate” types, are generally much shorter, can get by with less space, smaller trellises, and are particularly well suited for containers. Determinate tomatoes are favored by people who like to do food preserving because they can be harvested at one time. Knowing if your tomato variety is indeterminate or determinate will allow you to accommodate its growing needs.
Disease resistance. Some tomato varieties have disease resistance naturally, or bred into them. Tomato disease is almost a certainty in our climate, which contributes to the fussiness of growing tomatoes. It often comes down to a late-season sprint between the tomato grower and the tomato disease to see who will win. To hedge your bets, it might be good to plant at least 1 variety that has disease resistance. You will find disease resistance coded by a series of letters following the variety name such as HR: F, IR: N or HR: F2, FOR, LM, TMV, TOMV, V. The different abbreviations code for different diseases. Unfortunately, varieties with these codes are not generally heirloom, heritage, open-pollinated or saved varieties. The vast majority of tomatoes that provide us with a well-loved array of colors, shapes and sizes of tomatoes are not disease resistant. To balance disease with variety, I try to hunt down 1 plant that has resistance to ensure some yield. Don’t let tomato disease information turn you away from trying tomatoes, they are too valuable a crop! There are lots of ways you can slow disease progression. I will share more about this topic after planting.