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The Southern Grow Guide Vegetable

How to grow Tomato

Solanum lycopersicum

Zones 7a to 11aAnnualBeginner

The quick facts, free

Zones7a to 11a
SunFull sun
WaterMedium
Days to harvest75
Harvest windowMay-June and October-November in South
DifficultyBeginner
TypeAnnual

From Jermaine's notes: Plant March 1 in 9b for a June harvest. Plant September 1 for a Thanksgiving crop. Heat-tolerant varieties only between June and September. Skip Northern beefsteaks.

The Tomato file is inside the Plan.

Here is exactly what is in it. No mystery, no teaser.

  • Where it comes fromThe history, the trade route, who carried it here
  • How to grow it herePlanting window, spacing, sun, water, feeding
  • What kills it down hereThe Southern failure mode, the part nobody writes down
  • Taking the harvestWhen to cut, where to cut, how to keep it producing
  • Keeping what you pickedDrying, freezing, curing, how long it holds
  • In the kitchenHow to cook it, how to dry it, how to brew it
  • Its job in a food forestLayer, nitrogen, chop and drop, shade, pollinators
  • What hunts itPests, diseases, and who to plant it beside
  • Where to get itSeed, nursery, or a cutting from somebody who has one
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Growing information is written for zones 8 to 11 and checked against UF/IFAS Extension guidance where it applies. Your yard is its own place, so read it as a starting point, not a promise. Nothing in the Grow Guide is medical advice.