How To Grow Tomatoes In Zone 5 : Tomatoes

Growing Tomato in USA

In the smallest of gardens or even an apartment with a window-box, it is worth growing at least one tomato plant for the pleasure it will give you.In containers, use some suitable long term fertiliser pellets or feed regularly when you water.If left without supporting stakes, they will form a dense carpet which excludes weeds and keeps the soil cool and damp. .

Growing Tomato in Canada

tips for growing better tomatoes from seed

THAT OLD, DISCARDED ELECTRIC FAN that isn’t strong enough for the hot summers of global warming…hey, bring it on.It’s still too early for sowing tomatoes in my Zone 5B Hudson Valley, New York, area, with April 15 my target date, but I can dream.My goal is not a tall seedling by transplant time but a stout and sturdy one, about 4 inches high and wide.Work from your final frost date to determine when to sow (mine’s late May-early June).My seedlings would need larger quarters (like a 3- or 4-inch pot each) to thrive for 8 weeks indoors; more work, but to my mind not much extra benefit.I did not use a heat mat until recently because I sowed not in seed flats but in insulated, self-watering foam trays called APS that last many years, but have sadly been discontinued; lately I’ve been doing some of both.Confession: Rather than transplant, I usually put two seeds per cell and use a nail scissors to cut out the weakling, skipping the potting up.I start with slightly larger cells than a conventional plastic 6-pack, however; others swear by transplanting each baby to its own 3- or even 4-inch pot.Or try NC Tomato Man Craig LeHoullier’s “dense planting method,” and really pack the seeds into every cell.Barely cover seeds after sowing with ¼ inch more mix and tamp down, then moisten thoroughly (easiest with a spray bottle).A consistently moist environment is essential, but don’t let them cook or drown, either; vent the lid or bag so no moisture beads are ever running down the sides.Even new T5 grow bulbs (high-output fluorescents) in a reflective hood like this or this provide only a fraction of the light outdoors; read up on why seedlings stretch and get spindly.Discard the weakest or runt-like seedlings–or snip them out with a nail scissor to prevent disturbing roots of the desired plants.I’ve known people to use everything from a houseplant watering can with a very narrow spout to a discarded soda bottle with one of those pop-up tops or even a cream pitcher.If the weather is somewhat settled, I carry my flats outdoors for at least a few hours a day, setting them in a sunny but protected spot. .

How to have the first ripe red tomatoes on the block

They start by choosing the right tomato variety for their geographic location, garden size and desired harvest time.Many gardeners what to pick tomatoes for several months in the summer and fall and plant both early and late ripening varieties.For example, you can place clear plastic over the soil in a raised garden bed about one week before you plan to plant tomatoes.So we promised a follow up this week—although I teased the answer by saying "Start the plants indoors under bright lights two months before you're going to plant them out, use season extending devices to put them out early in the season, choose varieties labeled 'early' or 'cold hardy' and you can pick tasty little tomatoes by the fourth of July.".And this topic also touches on the reason a huge number of people contact us every year freaking out because "all their tomatoes are still green" in August.It's considered by many to be the best-tasting heirloom, but it's a big tomato that is famously slow to ripen, with an average 'days to maturity' rating of about 85 days.And that's not 85 days from seed; with tomatoes, peppers and other pre-started crops, 'days to maturity' are from when healthy six week old plants are tucked into warm soil after nighttime temps are reliably above 50 degrees F.Anyway, the earliest we could reasonably expect the first ripe tomato would be around August 15th, and September 1st would not be unusual.Ah, but grow Brandywine and other big tasty heirlooms you should, weedhopper; their size and complex flavors are legendary.But for ripeness by (or yes, before) the 4th of July you need to look to smaller, hardier tomatoes, whose DNA often hails from places like Eastern Europe, where the complete growing season may only be 60 days.Essentially you want tomatoes whose descriptions include words like "early" and "cold hardy" with days to maturity around or under the number 60.Then follow the same basic plan whether you personally started or bought the plants: Warm the soil in a raised bed by covering it with clear plastic for a week in advance.Harden the plants off by leaving them outside for progressively longer periods of time each day for that week.Then leave the plastic on the bed, cut holes in it, and plant the tomatoes deeply, just as we always instruct.Row covers on hoops or other types of insulated tunnels will gain you an extra week or two--especially if you're not really pushing it and/or the weather leans your way.But most of the people who win 'first tomato' contests in the North protect their plants with individual devices that look like upside-down plastic teepees composed of a series of hollow tubes arranged in a circle.Growing in chilly USDA Zone 5—just like Chicago Jim, who got us started on this topic—Andrea reported that she had picked her first ripe tomato on May 30th of the previous year.We didn't have time for this on the show, but I promised I would provide it as an exclusive extra here at Gardens Alive; my 'back of the envelope' calculator for starting your own plants from seed!I like to allow two weeks for germination (because it makes the math easy)—that's another 60 days, or all of February (a short month anyway) and March.), and do it right you should have nice big plants to put out at the beginning of April, when the odds are mostly good that season extending devices and some common sense will carry you through chilly nights.(But there's a reason April has been called 'the cruelest month'—so don't put them out in a snowstorm; another week or two indoors is much better than planting during a polar vortex!).That's March and April to grow inside, a May 1st planting goal (maybe it won't snow!). .

Tomato Seed Starting Timetable

This seed starting timetable allows 8 weeks for seeds to germinate, grow at least two sets of leaves (or more), reach transplant size, and harden off before setting in the garden.Here are some general rules to follow in North America (according to hardiness zones outlined by the United States Department of Agriculture) about when to start your tomato seeds.Zones 9 & 10: Start seeds indoors in early to mid January.Zones 1-4: Start seeds indoors in mid to late March.This 20-page guide is filled with tips you need to know to have a successful tomato crop, whether you’re a beginning or experienced gardener.The map was developed to provide climate information important to horticulture.Gardeners in other parts of the world use plant hardiness zone maps that follow the USDA model but are modified for their particular climate.Compare seed starting kits for growing tomatoes ...As an Amazon Associate and Rakuten Advertising affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases. .