Tomato Season Isn’t Over Yet. Here’s How Long You Can Keep Harvesting, Plus Tips for Improving Your Yield

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If you tried your hand at growing tomatoes this summer, you likely have a produce bowl overflowing with plump, juicy fruit. As the hot weather winds down, you might be wondering how long your tomato plants will keep producing fruit, and the good news is that, depending on where you live, you still have some time to keep harvesting. Tomato plants don't die until the first frost, and they'll keep growing fruit until then, too. They may not be as prolific as in the height of summer, but rest assured that you can expect to keep harvesting until the weather fully turns cold.

Thinking of growing your own tomatoes next year, or looking to improve your yield? Growing your own tomatoes is a fulfilling activity with several benefits, both spiritual and material. First of all, providing for yourself and your family by growing your own food can ground you and connect you to Mother Nature and her sometimes unpredictable cycles. But if that doesn’t do it for you, growing tomatoes is also fun and, more often than not, results in a bountiful harvest you can enjoy fresh or throughout the colder months.

As a beginner, growing tomatoes is a “choose-your-own-adventure” kind of enterprise. How you go about it will not only depend on the tomato variety you plant, but also on factors such as your location, space availability, the time and effort you want to dedicate to your plants, and how much you want to challenge yourself.

Sounds like a lot, but fear not—this beginner’s guide on growing your own tomatoes will take you step by step into your harvesting era.

Step 1: Understanding the Tomato Life Cycle

First, some Tomato 101. Tomatoes are a seasonal fruit—yes, fruit—whose mother plant has a limited lifespan: They start growing indoors by the end of winter, get stronger after cold temperatures become mild, reach their producing peak during the hottest days of summer, and die with the first frost in the fall. After that cycle is over, you do it all over again next year.

Understanding this timeline is crucial to deciding when to start growing tomatoes at home. You want to give your plants the best fighting chance at surviving, while also providing them with the longest possible season so that they can bear as much fruit as possible.

Step 2: How to Start Your Tomato Garden From Seeds, Seedlings, or Grafts

In terms of time, growing tomatoes from seeds takes the longest, followed by planting seedlings (minimally developed plants), and grafts (small cuttings with leaves but no flowers).

The Easiest Way to Plant Tomatoes

For beginners, the easiest way to grow tomatoes is to use seedlings. Since these are baby plants, you’ll be able to skip the sowing of seeds and cut a month or two from the entire tomato growing process.

You can buy seedlings online, at your local plant nursery, or at a big box store, but keep in mind that you probably won’t find the same variety range you would if you were starting from seeds. Seedlings are also more expensive, so consider this in your calculations if you plan to plant a large area.

If you have experience sowing seeds and you already have the necessary tools and materials, then starting from scratch is a great alternative. Just calculate the start of the sowing process four to six weeks before the last frost of the season.

When to Plant Tomatoes

Regardless of the approach you use, you want to plant tomatoes when there’s no risk of frost at night, as the temperature plunge will surely kill your plants—especially when they’re small.

According to the UK’s Royal Horticultural Society’s tomato growing calendar, in general, you should sow indoors between February and April.

If you’re going with seedlings, you can skip the sowing process, so you’ll only have to calculate at least two weeks before the last frost to account for the hardening off process—we’ll get to that.

Planting will happen in May and June.

However, these are rough dates, and whether they work for you will depend on what the weather is like where you live, and whether you’ll be growing seedlings yourself.

The sweet spot is when the night temperature stays steady between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit, which, depending on where you live, should happen between May and June.

Use historical weather data for your location as a benchmark for the best time to plant your tomatoes. However, be sure to check the temperature using your phone or an old-fashioned thermometer a couple of nights before planting.

Step 3: Choose the Tomato Variety You Want to Grow

The Farmer’s Almanac says there are at least 100,000 tomato varieties out there, each encompassing a specific set of attributes, including the type of plant and fruit, yield, and pest and disease resistance.

What Tomato Plant Should You Plant

To choose what to plant, first ask yourself what you want to do with your tomatoes. If you want to eat them fresh in salads, a cherry tomato variety or beefsteak tomatoes could be a good fit. If you’re planning to can, sauce, or make jams, Roma and San Marzano tomatoes are excellent choices.

All of these varieties have different specifications regarding when to plant them, how long it takes for plants to bear fruit, and how long tomatoes should stay on the vine before harvesting. Make sure to do your research and plan accordingly.

Once you figure out what you want to do with your tomatoes, think about how much space and time you want to give them. Tomato plants come in two formats—determinate and indeterminate.

Cherry tomatoes are one of the easier varieties of tomatoes to grow in pots.

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What Are Low-Maintenance or Determinate Tomato Plants?

Determinate tomato plants are basically bushes, also known as dwarf plants, and they’re compact and easy to tend to. This type of plant is an excellent choice for growing indoors, and you can even hang it from planters.

According to the Farmer’s Almanac, most paste/sauce tomato varieties grow on determinate plants.

What Are High-Maintenance or Indeterminate Tomato Plants?

On the other hand, indeterminate tomato plants are what most people imagine when they think of a tomato plant, also known as the plant on which Don Corleone falls dead in The Godfather: Part I.

These are fast-growing, large plants that take up a significant amount of space and become top-heavy relatively easily, which is why they require robust support systems. They tend to grow larger tomatoes and bear more fruit, but because they grow so much, so fast, they require quite a lot of work.

Pruning is crucial with viney indeterminate tomato plants, as you want them to have proper air flow and homogeneous sun exposure for proper fruit ripening. You also want them to use their energy efficiently, meaning growing fruit—not foliage.

With indeterminate plants, you’ll also need to constantly monitor their growth and tie them to their respective supports, as they won’t do that themselves.

Keep in mind that if you plant an indeterminate tomato plant in a pot, it’ll probably get top-heavy as it grows, and it runs the risk of toppling over. If this is your preferred planting method, in addition to providing a good support system, you’ll need to find a proper spot for your plants, ideally next to something sturdy to rest against, such as a wall or a pillar.

Step 4: How to Harden Off Seedlings

Whether you started from seeds or seedlings, when the temperature is right (see above), you’ll need to plant your tomatoes. But before you do, you have to harden off your seedlings—this is a seven-day acclimatization process for your plants, where they get used to the weather conditions in their final location.

This process is key, and you should not skip it—even if you found your seedlings or graft plants outdoors at the store.

The Farmer’s Almanac offers an easy-to-follow five-step hardening-off process.

Pick your fighters. Choose the most vigorous seedlings—they should have at least a few sets of well-formed leaves. Water them before you start.
Pick the right weather. Choose a mild, overcast day with no wind to start the hardening-off process.
Pick the right location. Choose a sheltered spot to place the seedlings, which should include protection from the wind and dappled sunlight or partial shade. Place your seedlings on an elevated surface where they don’t run the risk of getting knocked over by kids or pets, and can’t fall victim to slugs or critters.
Expose your seedlings to two hours of light. Return them indoors at the end.
Repeat and augment. Add two more hours of sun exposure the next day, and experiment with an hour of direct sunshine in the morning. You should gradually increase the number of hours your seedlings spend outdoors, leaving them overnight when there’s no risk of frost.

Once the hardening-off process is completed, you may proceed to planting your tomato plants.

Step 5: Plant Your Tomatoes

If you’re planting your tomatoes outdoors, make sure to do it during an overcast day or in the evening—transferring seedlings to their final location is stressful, so you don’t want to add long hours of direct sunlight to the mix.

Where to Plant Tomatoes

When it comes to location, choose a spot with ample daylight that also offers partial shade to avoid prolonged exposure to direct sunlight. If there’s no place like that in your garden, you can always install shade sails.

How to Plant Tomatoes

Depending on the variety, consider spacing plants anywhere between 18 and 36 inches apart.

Remove the leaves from the bottom half of the plant and dig holes deep enough so that the lower leaves are above the soil. Roots will grow from the stem, providing a better grip for the plant to stay in place. If you have any leggy seedlings, plant the main stalk horizontally so that only the foliage stays above ground.

Combine dirt with compost and some slow-release fertilizer to help your seedling grow strong. Use some extra compost or dirt in the holes to protect the roots—you don’t want them to come into direct contact with the fertilizer, as this can damage them.

Don’t wait until your tomatoes are grown to install their support system—do it right away.

Step 6: Water and Fertilize Your Tomatoes

Tomatoes like constant moisture, so don’t allow the soil to dry completely. Consistency is key when watering tomatoes, as variations in moisture can result in problems such as blossom end rot.

How Often to Water Tomato Plants

Give tomatoes planted in the ground a deep watering once or twice a week in the morning. This will give the roots enough time to drink before temperatures rise and the moisture evaporates. Keep the water close to the soil and avoid getting leaves wet to prevent them from rotting.

Pro watering tip #1. Dig six-inch deep holes in the ground between plants and place containers with draining holes. Pour the water into them to allow more direct access to the roots.

Pro watering tip #2. On hot days, place rocks on top of the soil after watering. This will keep moisture in the ground and prevent it from evaporating.

Tomatoes growing in pots require more frequent watering, as they tend to dry out more quickly than those grown in the ground. Water thoroughly once a day, and twice on hotter days. If you’re growing tomatoes indoors, place something like a big plate or tray under their pots to catch the water as it drains out.

How to Fertilize Tomato Plants

When it comes to feeding your plants, some water-soluble fertilizer every two weeks will do the trick. The extra nutrients will be particularly helpful once the fruit is swelling.

Avoid nitrogen-rich fertilizer and choose one with high levels of phosphorus and potassium—the former is used to grow grass and foliage in general, while the latter will help your plant grow fruit, not leaves.

Step 7: How to Take Care of Your Tomato Plant

As we mentioned earlier, if you opted for an indeterminate tomato variety, it means you knowingly signed on for some constant work. This type of plant usually grows too fast for its own good, and you’ll need to keep it in check so that it does so properly and efficiently.

How to Prune Tomato Plants

First of all, get rid of the suckers. Tomato plants should have one main stalk and two to three main stems—the rest is just pulling energy and nutrients away from fruit production.

Wait until your plant is dry. Plants, in general, are more fragile when wet, and working on them when foliage is wet increases the risk of damaging them and spreading disease.
Identify suckers and pinch them off. Remove stems between the branches and the main stalk.
Optional: Use gardening shears on thick suckers. Practice good gardening hygiene by spraying your shears with hydrogen peroxide at the beginning of your session and whenever you switch from one plant to another.

Removing suckers will help keep your tomato plant’s size in check and improve airflow and sunlight exposure. It’ll also make harvesting easier and prevent the spread of bacterial or fungal infections.

While you’re at it, remove any leaves or fruit growing at the bottom of the stalk. Due to their proximity to the ground, bottom leaves are at a higher risk of rot, and fruit that manages to grow there will eventually drop to the ground, where it will either rot due to direct contact with moisture or become insect grub. Removing them will redirect precious energy to growing fruit, as well as protecting the plant from pests.

How to Prevent Pests in Tomato Plants

When pruning your plants, be sure to monitor for the presence of bugs and pests.

Check the undersides of leaves, remove any insects that may be lurking, and use your fingers to break any eggs. Catching an infestation early increases your chances of completely eliminating it.

Assess the situation accordingly and apply natural or chemical pesticides as needed. Always check labels and take all necessary precautions to ensure safety.

Step 8: Harvest Your Tomatoes

Figuring out when your tomatoes are just right to harvest is probably the hardest part about growing your own fruit. And the truth is that there is not one way to go about it, as signs of ripeness will vary greatly depending on the variety you’re growing.

How to Know When to Harvest Your Tomatoes

The tried-and-true method you can apply to most types of tomatoes is checking for consistency—in general, you want your fruit to be firm but give slightly when you squeeze it. What exactly does “firm” mean and how much should you expect your tomato to give will depend on personal preference.

Keep in mind that tomatoes that have already started to take color will most likely continue to do so off the vine, so if your gauge is a little off on the unripe side of things, you can always wait a few days for your tomatoes to be perfect.

You can also gauge ripeness by color, but this can become quite complicated, especially with varieties that have a wide range of possible shades, like heirloom tomatoes. Your best bet is to check your seeds’ packet or do some research online to see what you should look out for.

Then again, a little trial and error will go a long way when it comes to knowing your own crop.

How to Ripen Tomatoes

If you don’t have the time, you can always use science to your advantage.

The Royal Horticultural Society suggests putting your unripe tomatoes in a drawer or a paper bag along with a banana—the ethylene gas secreted by the yellow fruit will help your tomatoes ripen faster. Just make sure to check on them at least once or twice a day or you might find you have the world’s most disgusting smoothie brewing in your kitchen.

Step 9: Eat, Share, or Preserve Your Tomatoes

Towards the end of the season, as temperatures rise and your tomato plants are bigger and stronger, it’s possible that you’ll be producing a lot more fruit than you’ll know what to do with.

When that happens, it’s a good idea to have a plan so that no food goes to waste.

Share the joy. Recruit family, friends, and neighbors to receive Mother Nature’s bounty. Have them prepare containers they can bring to your place and harvest the fruit themselves, or prep boxes or buckets yourself. Keep in mind that tomatoes can be fragile and spoil easily under the weight of more fruit, so don’t gather the fruit and let it sit for days before someone comes to pick it up.
Preserve the fruit. Natural tomato sauce and jam are easy to make and hold exceptionally well throughout the cold months—whether canned or frozen. Just make sure to follow a good tutorial on how to preserve the fruit, as you don’t want to find mold growing on it in the middle of winter.

Step 10: Say Goodbye to Your Tomato Plant

After the summer, when temperatures start to drop, you’ll notice you won’t harvest as many tomatoes, and with the arrival of the first frost, the plants will inevitably die. Wait until this happens to remove the remains of your tomato garden.

If you plan to plant tomatoes again next year, consider crop rotation, as it will help keep the soil healthy and productive. If you dealt with pests, research the correct way to treat your soil for the next season, and consider that you may need to discard it if diseases like blight affected your garden this year.