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Getting Started Growing Tomatoes

For those new to gardening it can be hard to know where to begin. You may see a picture of a beautiful garden with all the different vegetables and wonder how you’ll learn to grow them all when they have different nutrient needs, spacing, diseases, etc. My recommendation is to focus your energy on growing one or two staple crops – a more achievable goal – and adding more once you feel more confident. This fact sheet will cover how to grow tomatoes, a popular and versatile crop you can enjoy fresh, processed into salsa or sauce, or canned for winter use. Here’s what you’ll need to know to successfully grow tomatoes in the North Country, starting with site prep and ending with frost protection.

 Site and layout

First consider the garden site and whether it is suitable for growing tomatoes.

  • Does it receive enough light? Tomato plants need at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight each day – the more the better.
  • Is the pH of the soil in the ideal range of 6.0-6.8? Contact CCE about soil testing services and interpretation of test results and recommendations at SLCGrowline@gmail.com.
  • Is there water at the site? Adequate water is essential, particularly when seedlings are young, and when the plant is fruiting.

A rule of thumb for estimating the number of plants needed is three to five tomato plants per family member. For a family of four, two dozen tomato plants would provide some extra tomatoes for canning and making sauce.  When planning the layout of a tomato planting, allow two to three feet between each plant within the row and three to four feet between rows. For example, two rows of twelve tomato plants spaced two feet apart with three feet between rows would be about eight feet by twenty-six feet, or 208 square feet. This includes a two-foot perimeter on all sides of the tomato plants for paths. Drawing up a sketch of the tomato patch will be helpful.

Tomatoes benefit from ample space for air circulation and sun penetration.

Culture

Timing: Tomatoes are in the “very tender” category of vegetables, which means they like warm weather and can be damaged or killed by frost. For this reason, tomatoes are generally planted in late May here in Northern New York, as transplants which were started from seed five to eight weeks earlier. 

Transplants: Ideal for the beginner, transplants are readily available from greenhouses or farm and garden supply outlets. Buying plants that are local is a good idea since plants from outside of the region have on occasion introduced plant diseases from other parts of the country. When selecting transplants, look for healthy, stocky plants with dark green leaves, healthy roots, and thick stems. Be sure to check the plants carefully for insects. Ideally, plants will be six to eight inches tall. Bigger is not necessarily better in tomato plants; tall, spindly tomato seedlings may be set back when transplanted.

tomato transplants before and after planting
Tomato seedlings give us a head start on a short growing season and on weed competition.

Varieties: While there are hundreds of tomato varieties, most retailers will have a far more limited selection divided into three categories: standard (or “slicers”), paste, or cherry. Standard varieties are meant for eating and canning; paste tomato varieties such as Roma or Amish paste are best for making tomato sauce; cherry tomatoes have small bite-size fruits that are great to eat fresh, enjoy in salads or dehydrate as halves. Ask the sales staff for assistance if it is not clear which varieties they have.

Note: The term “indeterminate” refers to tomatoes that continue to grow and produce fruit until they are killed by frost, whereas “determinate” tomatoes are varieties that reach a more modest height (though they still benefit from trellising) and have a much smaller harvest window.

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Festivities at the Learning Farm

On Saturday May 6th, Extension’s Harvest Kitchen and high tunnel were filled with families and friends enjoying the beautiful sunny day during the Grow and Preserve Open House. Visitors learned about numerous food preservation and gardening resources available at Extension through an assortment of activities. We shot some photos of all the happenings, check them out below!

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As a result of our many years of teaching food preservation classes, the Harvest Kitchen has a well-stocked kitchen. For the Open House, we assembled a Preservation Equipment Showcase so community members could wander through the shelves to compare tools. In 2022, after 50 years of putting up food for her own household, Mary Robinson went through the training to become a Master Food Preserver volunteer. She’s pictured here, sharing information about food preservation with a visitor. Other volunteers sharing their experiences in preserving the harvest include Kathryn Farr, Sasha Kocho-Williams, and John Youngblood.
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One thing our Master Food Preserver volunteers love is how canned foods pack a lot of flavor while simplifying future meals. Danielle Barse and Jan DeWaters gave out free samples of chili and corn relish in the Harvest Kitchen, along with the recipes to make these water bath canned and pressure canned recipes at home.

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Using nature’s signs to time your planting

Ever wonder if those old sayings about gardening are useful or even true? For example, “Snow is the poor man’s fertilizer” (turns out, that one is true.) And many gardeners know the old planting rhyme: “One for the blackbird, One for the crow, One for the cutworm, and One to grow.” The saying has various origins, different constructions, and offers advice about HOW MANY seeds to plant, but just WHEN to plant those seeds in that fertile soil requires additional research.

Phenology, the study of plant and animal cycles and how they are affected by environmental and seasonal changes, can provide clues and answers to spring planting questions. According to phenology, events that would seem to be unrelated (lilac bloom and planting beans) can be linked and are indicators of when the local climate is suitable for planting certain seeds and transplants. Since phenology is based on local observations, it can apply regardless of what zone or local microclimate you’re gardening in. The Wisconsin Cooperative Extension and Cooperative Extension in Maine  offer additional information about phenology. 

The Old Farmer’s Almanac and others have long used these signs of nature as indicators for planting. Lilacs figure into many of these signs. For instance phenology indicates that beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, collards, lettuce and spinach can be planted when lilacs first begin to leaf out and the dandelions are in bloom. When lilacs are in full bloom, they say, it is time to plant beans, cucumber, squash, and tender annuals.  Plant potatoes when the dandelions bloom. Read more Using nature’s signs to time your planting