Growing Tomatoes: A Complete Profile
By Growing Home Greens Team · July 16, 2026
Tomatoes are the crop most people plant first, and for good reason: a single well-tended plant can produce for months, and the taste difference between a homegrown and store-bought tomato is the single biggest “why do I garden” argument there is.
Staking, types, and getting the transplant deep
Determinate tomatoes grow to a fixed size and ripen most of their fruit in a short window, then they’re done, good for canning, not for a steady trickle all summer. Indeterminate tomatoes keep growing and setting fruit until frost kills them, which is what most people want, but they need real support: a tall cage or trellis, not the flimsy wire cone from the garden center. Tomatoes need staking or caging almost universally, even a determinate variety benefits from support once loaded with fruit, and the cage or stake goes in at transplant time, not weeks later; driving stakes in around a plant that’s already spread out risks the roots. They’re heavy feeders, so a spot amended with compost, rather than bare topsoil, makes a noticeable difference.
Beyond determinate vs. indeterminate, the type matters for what you’re using them for: beefsteak and slicing types for sandwiches, paste and roma types for sauce (less water, cooks down faster), cherry and grape types the easiest and fastest to grow, a good first pick for a beginner. Heirlooms usually win on flavor; hybrids are usually bred for disease resistance, which matters if blight has wrecked plants before.
Plant the transplant deeper than it sat in its pot. Pinch off the lower leaves and bury most of the stem. Tomatoes root anywhere the stem touches soil, so a deep-planted seedling ends up with a bigger root system than one planted at its original soil line.
Blossom end rot is a watering problem
Blossom end rot (a dark, sunken patch on the fruit’s bottom) is almost always inconsistent watering, not a disease. Keep the soil evenly moist rather than alternating between bone-dry and soaked. Cracking is the same root cause after a heavy rain following a dry spell.
Pairing it well
Check our companion planting guide for tomatoes before you place one. Basil and marigolds are classic, reputed pairings, while corn and cabbage are worth keeping some distance from. Use the planting calendar for exact dates in your zone, or lay it out visually in the Garden Designer.
Companion planting guide for Tomato · Find your planting dates
Typically viable in USDA zones 3-11. Not sure your zone? Look it up by ZIP code.
Method: Start indoors: Start indoors from seed, then transplant outside. Tomato needs a head start most zones can't give it by direct-sowing alone.
See exact start-indoors, direct-sow, and harvest dates for your zone →
How many Tomato plants fit per square foot?
Spacing: 1 per square foot (square-foot-gardening spacing). Mature height: 3-6 ft.
Soil & water: pH 6-6.5. well-drained. Amend with lime if soil pH falls below 6.
Varieties worth considering
- Jolene (F1): Bred with strong resistance to Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus and reported to keep setting fruit in heat that stalls other varieties, a standout pick for hot climates like the Deep South. (source)
- Firebird (F1): Described by the breeder as adaptable and productive with excellent fruit set in heat, while also suited to Northern growing, a widely-adapted heat-tolerant option. (source)
- Iron Lady: Carries the Ph2 + Ph3 resistance genes for strong resistance to late blight plus early blight and Septoria leaf spot, worth considering in disease-prone, humid climates. (source)
- Sweet 100 (Super Sweet 100): Mississippi State University Extension's Southern Gardening series lists Super Sweet 100 among the earliest tomatoes, ripening in as few as 50 days from transplant, a prolific cherry type useful where you want fruit before summer heat stalls set. (source)
- 'Cherokee Purple' (best for: heirloom flavor): Bonnie Plants lists 10-12 ounce fruit with dusky pink skin and deep red interior, 80-90 days, and vigorous indeterminate vines needing strong staking. An heirloom pick over the hybrids above if flavor matters more to you than disease resistance. (source)
- 'San Marzano' (best for: sauce and canning): An Italian paste type, 70-90 days, oblong 3-4 inch fruit with thick flesh and few seeds, bred to cook down into sauce rather than eaten fresh like the beefsteak varieties above. The one to grow specifically if canning or sauce-making is the goal. (source)
- 'Celebrity' (F1) (best for: broad disease resistance): Cornell's disease-resistant variety guide lists Celebrity with resistance to Fusarium wilt, Verticillium wilt, tobacco and tomato mosaic virus, root-knot nematode, gray leaf spot and Alternaria stem canker, a broader resistance package than any single variety above. A dependable all-purpose slicer where disease pressure is the main concern. (source)
Cited from the source shown next to each variety. We haven't grown these ourselves yet, so treat this as a research-backed starting point, not a personal endorsement.
Where to buy tomato seeds
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See it growing
Search YouTube for "growing tomato" videos → (a live search, not a hand-picked video; results vary and aren't vetted by us)
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Growing Tomato: Everything beyond the calendar date: spacing, staking, and why tomatoes are the crop most beginners start with.
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