Plow & Hose Organic Gardening in Central Texas | Julie Rydell
Happy New Year!
January may seem l ike an odd t ime to be thinking about homegrown tomatoes, but i f you want to t ry your hand at start ing your own tomato plants f rom seed, now is the time.
To get ahead of the game and t ransplant your favor ite warm season veggies as early as possible, tomato seeds need to be star ted six weeks before the last average f rost. For our par t of Central Texas, March 5 marks the end of f reezing temperatures when it ’ s general ly safe to t ransplant warm season crops outside.
Six weeks from the last average frost date for us is the week of Jan. 18.
This is the ideal time to start your warm season vegetables indoors so they will be the perfect size for your planting in your garden.
Even though it ’s chilly now, remember tomatoes and peppers are large heatloving plants. They are also slow growing so starting them inside now is advantageous. Planting seedlings outside in early March gives them plenty of time to get established, grow and become productive plants before summer’s brutal heat overwhelms the garden.
Starting seeds can be a challenge, but they are a much better value than store bought transplants.
For the price of one seed packet, you can grow a lot more plants, but transplants save you quite a bit of time. There are significantly more varieties sold as seeds than grown for the transplant market.
If you are looking for rare or unusual plants, seeds are the best option for unique varieties. With a little planning, you can save money and grow lots of interesting crops by starting seeds.
Tomatoes are a great crop to start from seed if you want to add interest to your garden and dinner plate. Tomatoes come in a myriad of shapes, colors and flavor profiles.
When shopping for tomato seeds, you may notice them described as determinate or indeterminate. These are terms that describe how the tomato plants will grow, either as a vine or as a bush.
Determinate tomato varieties are also called ‘ bush’ tomatoes because they are fairly compact and only get to be about 4 feet tall. Once they grow to this size, they will stop growing and start setting lots of f lowers. They have one primary f lush of fruits before going dormant.
Determinate tomatoes tend to be early producers so you can harvest lots of tomatoes fairly quickly into the growing season. Since they are smaller plants, they are better for container gardens and don’t require extra support, but stakes and cages will help keep the fruits off the ground. Determinate tomatoes put al l their energy into making f lowers and fruits so that you get one abundant crop.
A simple way to remember this term is that bush varieties are determined to make tomatoes. Vining varieties are called indeterminate.
Their stems continuously grow through the summer until the first frost.
Indeterminate tomatoes produce flowers and fruits all throughout the growing season. Vines can grow 10-15 feet long and require large cages or stakes to keep them upright and prevent them from breaking from their own weight.
Heirloom or heritage tomatoes tend to be vining, indeterminate varieties.
Hybrids and improved varieties are often bushy determinate plants.
Try growing both types of tomatoes.
Grow determinate varieties for larger harvests to freeze or can as sauces. Plant indeterminate types so you can enjoy fresh tomatoes throughout the growing season.
With 25 years of backyard gardening experience, Julie is a plant and nature enthusiast. She lives in Taylor and hosts the “Plow & Hose Organic Gardening in Central Texas” podcast and radio show that airs on KBSR, Black Sparrow Radio every Saturday and Sunday at 9 am.
