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Getting a good tomato crop can be a tricky process, especially if you are growing tomatoes outside. Tomato plants are extremely sensitive to the elements, especially the temperature, so it is important to plant your tomato plant at just the right time. Here are some tips to help you figure out when to plant tomatoes. With these tips, you can grow a successful tomato crop instead of wasting your energy on tomato duds.

Planting Tomatoes Outside

If you want to avoid the dangers of outside elements to your tomato crop, you may consider planting your tomatoes indoors. Many people choose to grow their tomatoes inside during the winter so that they can have fresh tomatoes all year long. However, after the winter is over, you may want to move your tomato plants outside, but how do you know when to make the move? You want to wait until after the last frost of the season to plant your tomatoes outside. The problem is that sometimes you may think that the last frost of the season has happened, but it is going to freeze again. To avoid your tomato plants freezing outside, you can wait until two weeks after the average safe date, or the average date when the temperature has stopped going below freezing. Then, as an extra measure, you can use frost protection measures just incase it does freeze again.

Waiting for the Right Temperature

Here are some things you should think about when deciding when to plant your tomato plants. Waiting until after the safe date is a good thing to do, but you should also wait until soil temperatures and air temperatures are above 45 degrees Fahrenheit during the night time. Additionally, you should wait until soil and air temperatures are at least 55 degrees Fahrenheit during the daytime. You may get impatient waiting for the temperature to get up this high because you want to have the first batch of tomatoes as early as possible. If this is the case, you can rely on the safe date, but you have to make sure that you use the means of frost protection to make sure you don’t lose your crop. Frost protection strategies include covering your plants during the night time and using heat storing water containers to keep your plant warm in the case of frosty weather. Additionally, you can use raised beds to keep the roots of your plants in less dense soil, and thus warmer soil. These tips can help you know when to plant tomatoes without freezing or killing your plants.