I get asked all the time for advice on when the perfect time is to
plant tomatoes so I thought I would share with all of you what I've
learned. A lot of gardening sites will give you a specific date, like
May 5, but unfortunately it isn’t that easy. There are factors to take
into account such as are you planting tomatoes from seeds or are you
using purchased seedlings? What part of the country do you live in?
Are you planting short season or longer growing varieties? All of
these questions must be answered before you can decide on the best
time to plant tomatoes.

The first thing to remember is that tomatoes are very fragile and
thrive in warm weather. They need night time temperatures to stay at
least above 50 and should never, ever be exposed to frost. If the
plants do manage to survive a frosty night, the growth of your plant
will be slowed significantly. Tomatoes also need on average about 8-10
hours of direct sunlight per day. For most areas of the country, that
means you should plant your seeds in late spring or plant your
seedlings in early summer.

If you decide to grow your tomatoes from seeds rather than buying an
established plant from your local home improvement store, you will
need to check your locality’s weather patterns to determine the latest
expected frost dates for the area. You can check weather.com or the
Farmer’s Almanac for the information. Once you’ve determined the
correct date range, seeds should be started indoors approximately 6-8
weeks prior. Keep your seeds in a warm, well-lit place. Once the
plants reach 6in -8in tall and you’ve past the last expected frost
date, go ahead and plant them outdoors.

Most varieties of tomato plants will start producing fruit within
65-80 days. Therefore if you have a slow growing variety and you set
your plants out around May 10, you will be able to harvest around
early to mid-August. If you live in a Southern state, you could plant
tomato crops as late as August and still have a great harvest because
those states don’t fall below freezing until late November.

As you understand now, there is no one right answer for the best
planting times for tomatoes. Just remember that your plant needs night
time temperatures of at least fifty degrees and 8-10 hours of sunlight
per day. Once you’ve determined the constraints for your geographic
area, go ahead and plant as many “waves” of tomato crops as you want.

Just FYI - I found out all this information from an ebook I bought
at: simple-organic-gardening.com. It’s awesome if you’re new to
gardening.