Reading about tomato gardening tips can be tricky because some of the advice depends on which part of the country you live in. Advice on basic care is pretty universal, but when it comes to the question, “When should I plant tomatoes?” so much depends on your climate. This article aims to compare the needs of different USDA hardiness zones in regards when you should plant your tomatoes.
You must be informed of your hardiness planting zone or you will be in trouble. These zones are based on average winter temperatures. Each zone has an average winter temperature that are 10 degrees higher(or lower) than their nearby zones. They use winter temperatures because trees and shrubs need to endure winters and annual flowers and vegetables must not be planted until all likelihood of frost is past.
The most crucial hardiness zone information concerning tomatoes is when that magical date for the last frost is. For instance in the Mid Atlantic states it is early May, but in Upstate New York it will be closer to June. Tomatoes require warm soil to develop. The tomatoes themselves will not really develop until the overnight temperature is in the 60’s, There are some great tomato gardening tips for beating the system and plant a week or two sooner, but you should not push it much earlier than that.
If you live in a place that either gets no frost or the temperature only goes below freezing in January or early February, you will be able to plant tomatoes from seeds or transplant greenhouse plants whenever you want to! The local gardening store, or nursery will have all sorts of tomato gardening tips for you that are geared for your particular no-frost climate.
Anyone living in hardiness zones where it isn’t until late April, May or early June can benefit from growing tomatoes from seeds only if you start them indoors and plant outdoors when that magic no-frost date comes. If not, you will transplant your tomato plants grown in a greenhouse when that date arrives. To find out your hardiness zone, search online or go to the United States National Arboretum Website.
People do not always think about the consequence that the sun has on a newly transplanted tomato plant. It is another aspect of when I should plant tomatoes to think about. The hot sun can make a new seedling shrivel up in front of your very eyes if you are not careful. Hazy days work the best, or coming up with some kind of temporary shade for a day or two. If you use good tomato watering practices you can prevent them from drooping away, but the sun will still exhaust energy needed to send energy to nurturing the developing plant.
There are quite a few tomato gardening tips that help you be sure to plant your tomatoes the right way. One of the most important is knowing which of the USDA hardiness zones you live in. this will make sure you questions on, “When should I plant tomatoes?” are answered. When growing tomatoes from seed or when transplanting hearty tomato plants from your local nursery, you will be sure you are getting them planted at the right time.
From the day you plant through harvesting, everyone can use some extra help and advice with some expert tomato gardening tips and advice.
One environmentally friendly way to recycle your newspapers is to use them as mulch on your plants. This process serves to keep in moisture, keep out weeds, and reduce fruit rot, The newspapers will be gone by next season after breaking down in the soil.
If you are an adventurous gardener then I have a new challenge for you. Try to grow upside down tomatoes! If you haven’t seen it done before it may sound strange but many gardeners successfully plant in this way. If done well it can look interesting and attractive and produce healthy tomatoes without the need for staking or support.
Upside Down Tomatoes In a nutshell To grow tomatoes upside down you select a suitable container with a strong handle or support mechanism and create a hole in the base – just large enough for the stem of a mature tomato plant. Next you feed your seedling through the hole root or plant first which ever is easiest. Fill the container with your compost mix and suspend it from a sturdy structure at least 7 feet off the ground so that the plant is facing downwards. Now just maintain your plant as you would a regular container grown tomato. Your plant should grow quite happily downwards as long as it receives enough sunlight and you water it regularly.
Why Plant Upside Down? There are two key reasons why you would want to plant upside down. Firstly it is an unusual method that will provide you with a challenge. If successful your plants are sure to attract attention and it will make you a better tomato gardener. The second reason is that you eliminate the need for staking by letting gravity keep your plant upright.
How Can I Make My Upside Down Planters? You have a few options here. You need to select a reasonably large container with a strong handle or support. Most regular plant pots don’t have handles and the clay ones can be quite heavy which is not ideal when you are hanging it. Many people successfully use large paint buckets (around 5 gallons). While this is a great functional solution the old buckets can look a little unattractive. A prettier solution is to modify a hanging basket by cutting a hole in the base.
Can I buy specially designed containers? The answer is yes – there are two main types of designs available. There is the regular hanging container style and there are larger structures that have stands and are not designed to be hung. The hanging containers are very similar to the method described earlier. The self supported structures are a little more expensive. The idea behind them is good as it removes the need to find a suitable support however many gardeners have reported problems with them. They can become top-heavy with the weight of the soil and plant above the base. Also the container and support structures can prevent sunlight reaching the plant which means fewer tomatoes.
Mark Shelton is a keen home gardener with a special interest in growing tomatoes. He has shown many people how to grow better tomatoes with little effort and he can help you too!
