I've been growing tomatoes for the past 15+ years. Am I an expert? No probably not. I still have a lot to learn to get better. But I have done enough reading, and trial and error, and talking to other tomato growers to know more than the average bear.
When I first started growing in Denver, the conventional wisdom was to plant after Mother's Day when there is a lower chance of frost. So I learned to check the long-term forecasts around the first part of May. When I see a 10-day forecast with no snow/frost I drop them in the ground. Some years the weather changes because it's impossible to predict 100%. And we have to cover the plants with pots and tarps. And we've never lost plants to frost.
Nobody EVER said anything about "waiting until it's in the 50s at night ". But then suddenly within the past year I started to see several people proclaiming that's the "RIGHT" way to do it and you're a dummy poopy pants if you plant before that.
There's even a person on here just today that was trying to tell me that now when lows are back down in the 50s that "the tomatoes stop growing".
Well, friends, I have good news. 40s at night absolutely does not harm or slow down the plants, either at the start of the season or now as the season is winding down.
I planted my tomatoes immediately after the last frost in May, like I do every single year. And I have had my biggest harvest ever this season. Every plant is thriving and making so many tomatoes we can't keep up with them. We go out every evening and eat easily 10-20 ripe tomatoes each right off the vines. And still we went out this morning and picked probably 10 lbs of ripe tomatoes for a batch of salsa. And this is after we picked every ripe tomato last weekend to make salsa, also with over 10lbs last weekend. Probably more.
Oh and to the person claiming that the tomatoes stop growing when it gets to the 50s: it has been in the 40s every night in Denver for at least the last 10 days. And our tomatoes definitely haven't stopped growing. They haven't even slowed down.
Oh and another myth I kept seeing on here. People kept trying to say tomatoes won't pollinate and fruit won't set if temps get above 95. We had above 98 with no rain for almost the entire month of July. It never slowed down our tomatoes.
Oh oh oh and let's talk about shade cloth lol. I've also seen people saying "you have to do it when it gets too hot". Nope. Didn't use shade cloth either. And the plants are in great shape.
So the moral of the story is that there are a lot of helicopter plant parents in these groups who spread a lot of misinformation and dogma. Just ignore them and listen to tried-and-true practices from veteran gardeners, and you'll be just fine.
I know, I know…..I know what the "helicopter" tomato parents are going to say. "Herp derp your anecdotal evidence doesn't change science". Well, guess what, buttercup? I have both a Bachelor's and a Master's in science so unless you can say the same, spare me the lecture about "science". Instead, try to explain why my results go against your dogma. And do better than the chucklefuck last week who said "you're just lucky" lol.
by denvergardener
10 Comments
I stagger plant in the spring and start when temps are still dipping to the 40’s.
Can’t say the early planted ones differ too much from the later planted ones.
I have lost some to frost and see that as a risk to planting early.
I had temps mid and high 90’s and noticed a drop in my harvest – not a wipeout though. Overall my harvest has been great. I didn’t use shade cloth but have seen folks like Millennial Gardener get great results from it – but he gets over a month of sweltering temps vs my 2 weeks.
Obviously not everyone is growing in yours or my region – mileage may differ!
Those look so beautiful and delicious.
Yah baby!
I might plant out a tad earlier next year. I am still harvesting in zone 6a, Maine.
https://preview.redd.it/t2f6fqvdlcqf1.jpeg?width=5712&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=88b8e60c6d3fa611082db4897295c01fb732be19
I say just try and see. Consider other people’s advice but just do it. No point in being afraid to fail. Fail and learn and do better next time. All these hacks/tips may work and may not. They’re meant to get clicks and views, recycling information from every other garden influencer. Environments and conditions differ for everyone.
I don’t understand why people are so strict with “advice”, especially since there are so many varying factors involved that influence a grow. For me it’s like a recipe. it gives you a starting point and you modify it as you go to suit your ingredients/resources and taste.
I know that for my tomatoes and peppers if temps are high and humidity is high, flowers won’t pollinate easily even with an electric toothbrush doing the pollination. It’s just the way it is because the pollen is not releasing well. So I have a hygrometer and manually pollinate when humidity is below 55% and in the morning when temps are cooler. use other people’s advice to make your own observations and experiment to find your own solutions. Research to form a base knowledge that you can apply but don’t be afraid to experiment and deviate.
I think alll the advice is good for beginners. So often on this and the gardening subreddit people post about their failures and ask for advice about how to get a better outcome. So we all try to give them good general advice. But there are so many variables here. Frost dates, heat index, microclimate and the tomato variety itself. I think it’s fine to push boundaries and see what works best for you. But to me it’s like baking. I follow the recipe the first time I make it. But after awhile I invariably modify it so the taste or some other metric works better for me
The office gardening group put me on blast for planting too early (April, PNW) but were happy to eat the heirlooms I brought for July 4th potluck…
Great harvest!! I think more people need to be like you and experiment a bit and figure out what works in their own garden. “All gardening is local” is a great phrase to grow by, which is to say not everything that works for folks in one region is going to be the same for others in different regions. Even different gardens in the same region may get different results due to micro climates, soil, etc.
Some of this is climate and part is weather. Example I’m on the East coast in MD. We had a hot muggy gross summer. But once the last hurricane came up the coast it pulled the Jetstream south and we haven’t had a 90F day since. It’s actually been cool the month of August, when typically it has been ass all month long and into September. But the reverse can happen like the beginning of the summer. We had a cold spring and then it just RAMPED up. It went from 70’s to upper 90’s in a week and didn’t stop.
Point being it really depends. I’ve been there and put tomatoes in the ground in Easter to have them all zapped a week into May.
Ok but what are the varieties???? Can’t post awesome tomato pics without stating what the varieties are. It’s basic tomato science.
One thing I’m learning about this stuff is…. JUST PLANT IT. Don’t overthink it. Just put it in the ground. Things just work out way more often than they don’t. You can completely pamper a plant and it won’t do shit, and then a random seed from tossing out old leftovers will grow and be the best producing plant on your property. Just put the plant in the ground at see what happens