Tomato Growing Guide

Planting Tomatoes

This chart provides a comprehensive guide to growing tomatoes, covering key factors like temperature, sunlight, water requirements, soil pH, and growing zones.

Tip: Use our zone chart map to find your zone & when to plant.

Tomatoes are a rewarding and relatively easy crop to grow. They offer fresh, flavorful fruit throughout the summer. Plant them in a sunny location after the danger of frost has passed.

Support & Growth Types

Tomatoes need proper support to stay upright and productive. Setting up a staking system early prevents breakage and disease. Understanding the two main growth types helps you select the right variety for your space and needs.

Determinate (Bush or Patio Varieties): Grow to a set size, making them ideal for small spaces or short growing seasons. All fruit ripens at once.
Indeterminate (Vining Varieties): These plants continue growing and producing fruit until frost or nutrient depletion. They include cherry and grape tomatoes.

Essential Care Tips for Container Tomatoes

Healthy plants require consistent watering, proper nutrients, and pest control. Calcium nitrate helps prevent blossom end rot, a common issue that damages fruit. Tomatoes are also heavy drinkers, so check soil moisture regularly.

Pests like tomato hornworms can quickly strip plants of leaves. Hand-picking is the best control method, but hornworms with small white eggs should be left alone—these are parasitized by beneficial wasps that help keep pest populations in check.

Common Issues with Tomato Plants

Tomatoes are vulnerable to various pests and diseases. Regular monitoring helps catch problems early before they spread.

Common Pests: Look out for aphids, flea beetles, whiteflies, stink bugs, mosquitoes, and potato beetles. Use our insect identifier to determine what critters are attacking your tomatoes.
Diseases & Disorders: Common issues include blossom end rot, cracking, magnesium deficiency, mosaic virus, blight, bacterial spot, wilt, canker, black mold, gray mold, and yellow leaf curl disease. Learn about these and more on our page about common plant problems.

Growing Recommendations

Feed your plants with a balanced 7-7-7 fertilizer to maximize yields, and use the EarthBox Tomato Planter or Original container gardening system for an optimized growing environment.

Our tomato planter and growing kit includes a planter box, staking system, wire ties, casters, standard fertilizer, and dolomite lime. It also includes Tomato & Veggie Boost to get your plants off to a great start.

With proper care, tomatoes will reward you with a steady supply of fresh, delicious fruit all season long!