Growing Tomatoes: From Seed to Harvest

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Do you remember the first time you felt like a ‘true’ gardener? I do. My husband and I were newly married, living in a rental home and had whipped up a quick garden a few months prior. It had the usual zucchini plants, tomatoes, beans. The first time I plucked a ripe tomato off of the vine, I remember thinking “…I grew this!”

Then I promptly gave it to my husband to eat because I have yet to try a tomato I like. Haha!!

But that does not mean I do not enjoy growing them! In fact, tomatoes may be my favorite thing to grow. Between all of varieties and watching a tiny seed erupt into a gigantic tree-bush thing, how can you not fall in love with growing tomatoes?

Today I want to walk you through my process of growing tomatoes, from seed to harvest to everything in between.

But first, let me start by saying that there are literally hundreds of varieties of tomatoes out there, all with different growing needs and growing zones they do best in. Do yourself a favor and do a little research and pick a tomato conducive to your growing zone. Here in Colorado, I favor a fast-ripening tomato because of our unpredictable weather in the summer. I want to be able to harvest the tomatoes before the hail storms decimate them. Or, if the hail storms decimate them, I want them to be able to set fruit and mature quick enough to be able to harvest them before fall frost.

See what I mean?

Tomatoes from Seed

 

Now that you’ve chosen what variety (or many, many varieties, in my case) you want to plant, let’s get started. We like to start our tomatoes about 6-8 weeks prior to the last spring frost date. The last spring frost typically happens around Mother’s day around here, sometimes as late as June 1st. For that reason, I’ll usually start a few seeds 8 weeks out, then plant another round 6 weeks out for insurance in case we get a freak frost.

Just like most seeds, your tomatoes will germinate best in a loose, fertile soil. Heat benefits germination rates as well as humidity. The easiest and most cost effective way to achieve this that I’ve utilized is by using covered casserole trays from the dollar store. Once your seeds have germinated in a few days, uncover the tray (you don’t want them to rot!) but make sure you keep the soil evenly moist throughout their time indoors.

Your seeds may outgrow their starter pots before they make it outside, and that’s quite alright. Tomatoes are very forgiving when it comes to repotting and transplanting, unlike squash. Simply choose a slightly larger pot to size up to and gently move your plant over. Check out how you can make biodegradable pots here!

 

Tomatoes in the Garden

The last spring frost has passed, and it’s time to plant out your tomato babies! Just like all other plants started indoors, be sure to properly harden off your tomatoes prior to outdoor planting.

Tomatoes enjoy plenty of sunshine, so choose a very sunny spot in your garden for them. Depending on the growth habits and your pruning habits, you can generally plant one tomato plant per square foot of growing space. This assumes that you will be diligent in pruning. If you are not the pruning type, give yourself some extra space between plants to allow your tomatoes to stretch out a little.

Your plants are going to need some support and it is best to have that in place prior to transplanting them so you do not destroy their roots. The handy tomato cage is a good way of providing support and is widely available in most gardening centers. I am excited to try a new cattle panel method next year, so stay tuned to see the verdict on that!

Tomatoes will appreciate an extra boost of nutrients a few times during the growing season, as well as some mulch to keep their water needs met. My go-to fertilizer is homemade compost and diluted fish emulsion.

Unlike squash plants, tomatoes are a self-pollinating plant, meaning both the male and female parts exist in the flower. They typically do not need any human assistance with pollinating, but go ahead and tickle your blooms a few times to ensure most flowers are being jiggled around enough to pollinate properly

 

Tomatoes in the Kitchen

Is it harvest time yet?!

I always feel like the most impatient person in the world when it comes to ripening tomatoes. From the moment you see that first little tomato budding out feels like an eternity, am I right?

Around here, depending on the variety, tomato harvesting typically starts in early September. Again, this deeply depends on the variety – I’ve gotten tomatoes by the 4th of July before!

But watch out – once it starts, they all seem to explode in color! Which is never a bad thing. As long as you have a plan for all those beautiful fruits.

We love growing paste tomatoes around here because my husband has a killer pasta sauce recipe that utilizes a bunch of canned crushed tomatoes. Whenever we grow snacking tomatoes such as cherry or pear varieties, they rarely make it into the house because of one particular snacking mouth.

Regardless of the variety, if you are planning on making some tomato sauce with your bounty, the easiest way to save up enough tomatoes is to throw them in the freezer. It wasn’t until this year that I even realized you could freeze tomatoes! Doing so does not diminish the integrity of the flavor one bit. Once we have enough saved up, I like to take them out and either run them under water to slip the skin off (yes it’s that easy) or put them straight on a baking sheet to roast them.

I bet you want my husband’s killer pasta sauce, huh? Did I mention he learned how to make it while living in Italy? Yeah, it’s that good. Well, hang tight. It’ll be on the blog soon!

Tomatoes are a fairly easy plant to grow from start to finish, and incredibly satisfying to harvest shirtfulls and bowfulls of rainbow colored fruits. Not to mention you can totally grow them in containers on patios. There are even mini varieties that grow no more than a foot tall – perfect for those of you with limited space but a taste for the good stuff!

What are your favorite tomato varieties? Do you have any lingering questions about tomatoes that you would like me to address? Feel free to drop a comment below. As always, I love hearing from you and discussing the joys and trials of gardening. After all, it’s just one giant wonderful experiment, isn’t it?

Until next time,

Becca

 

Special thanks to amosfarm, skygirlfarm and smalltowngardengal for their generous and beautiful photos! Check them out on Instagram!