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Sunday is Sacramento's unofficial Tomato Planting Day

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Kathy Morrison PUBLISHED APR 24, 2019

Cherry tomatoes are a good choice for new gardeners, since they tend

to do well no matter what the weather does. This variety is Isis Candy.

(Photo: Kathy Morrison)

Plus: 3 frequently asked questions about growing tomatoes

Thanks to the late rainy season, this Sunday should be the perfect day to plant your tomato garden. For years now, "Farmer Fred" Hoffman has been touting April 28 as Sacramento's unofficial Tomato Planting Day. (The fact that it's also his birthday doesn't hurt.)

But during recent drought years, tomato growers might have found that an earlier planting day made more sense, though getting Fred to change his birthday might have been a problem.

The key to all this is not how warm the air is, but how warm the soil is. Tomatoes planted in cold soil will just sit there, sulking.

Here's my very short course in tomato planting: Choose a spot with full sun for at least 6 hours. Prep your soil by working in compost. Plant the tomatoes deeply, because new roots will grow all along the buried stem. Water deeply and consistently but don’t overwater -- every 4 or 5 days after the plants are established. Mulch around the plants but not right next to the stem. And keep those vines off the ground with a cage or trellis; they’ll be healthier for it.

FAQ # 1: What are the best tomatoes to grow in our area?
The better question, as Fred has noted, is "What tomatoes can't you grow in our area?"

Thanks to long, dry summers with mild nights, Sacramento, aka "Sackatomatoes," is prime climate for tomatoes, and of course peppers and eggplant, too. Think Mediterranean. We generally don't have to worry about early blight or late blight, which plague tomato growers in more humid climates.

There are 15,000 known varieties of tomatoes, both hybrids and heirlooms. So forget about trying them all. Limit yourself to 1,000, or maybe 20. Or something in between.

But in this area, do stay away from "short-season" varieties, unless you're planting in mid-summer for a fall harvest. Some black tomatoes have a hard time with our heat, but my best tomato last year was Carbon, a big purply-black variety. So you never can be sure -- and the weather can throw in surprises for varieties you thought were "sure things."

If you're a new tomato gardener, I'd recommend one or two cherry tomato plants, and the rest hybrids. Hybrids are the standards of our tomato gardens, productive and mostly disease-resistant. Early Girl, Brandy Boy and Lemon Boy all do well here -- as do any other variety with "Boy" or "Girl" in the name.

Also, look for AAS winners such as Big Beef and Juliet -- they've been tested all over the country, and those two are among my favorites. Other people swear by Celebrity, Ace or Champion -- it just depends on what you've tried and liked.

Read the tags, and know whether your tomato is an indeterminate (bears tomatoes all season) or determinate (mostly produces one crop), and what the expected crop timeline is. Heirlooms generally are late-season producers, so don't expect them to produce tomatoes for July 4.

FAQ # 2: Can I grow tomatoes in containers?

Yes. However, and this is important, many tomatoes do not do well in containers. Tomatoes when they're happy put down huge, long roots, and you'd need an 5-foot-tall container to do right by some of them. Look for bush varieties, such as Better Bush or Bush Early Girl, for optimum yield. Some cherry tomatoes will work -- but you just have to experiment to discover which ones. There are some great dwarf cherries, which get to be only 18 inches tall, but they're hard to find as plants and generally have to be started from seed.

Forget about growing heirloom tomatoes in containers, since heirlooms are finicky even when they're in the ground.

The other important point about tomatoes in containers is that they dry out quicker, and you'll have to do more frequent watering and fertilizing, since the nutrients will leach out of the container.

FAQ # 3: What should I grow with my tomatoes?

You want to encourage pollinators to visit your tomato blossoms, so plant things they like. Basil, dill and lavender are great choices among herbs. Sunflowers are gorgeous, and bring in the bees and birds. (Those birds help by gobbling pests such as crickets, grasshoppers and tomato hornworms.) Zinnias and cosmos are great for butterflies and bees. Some people love to put in marigolds, but the fragrance bothers me, so I skip them. Native plants such as salvias also entice pollinators.

Happy planting!

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An article about gardening.

Keywords:

tomatoes gardening Sacramento sunflowers vegetables summer vegetables climate Farmer Fred Hoffman spring planting pollinators

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Flowers in My Back Yard Series

Aug. 18: Pollinators adore scabiosa, aka pincushion flower

Aug. 11: Hardy hibiscus adds big tropical impact

Aug. 4: Dianthus a deceptively hardy flower

July 28: Naked Ladies put on summer show

July 21: Thank Luther Burbank for these long-lasting beauties (Shasta daisies)

July 14: How to keep hydrangeas happy

July 7: Grow these bright cosmos for bees and butterflies

June 30: Agapanthus adds blue fireworks to the garden

June 23: Easy-care gazanias fill those hot corners

June 16: Daylilies are perfect for water-wise gardens (and a lot more)

June 9: Grow coneflowers for pollinators -- and yourself

June 2: Sunflowers capture Sacramento's summer attitude

May 29: Are your roses going 'blind'?

May 26: Zinnias are the summer flowers every garden needs

May 19: Plant dahlias now for late-summer flower power

May 12: Know your coreopsis from your bidens

May 5: Mums the word on Mother's Day weekend

April 28: Majestic Matilija poppy is worth a look

April 21: Celebrate roses, America's favorite flower

April 14: Small flowers with outsized impact

April 7: Calendulas do double duty

April 3: Make Easter lilies last for years to come

March 31: In praise of a pollinator magnet (small-leaf salvias)

March 24: Azaleas brighten shady spots

March 17: The perfect flower for beginners? Try zonal geraniums

March 10: Keep camellias happy for years to come

March 3: Fruit tree blossoms are a fleeting joy

Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?

Feb. 24: Treasure spring daffodils now and for years to come

Feb. 17: How and why to grow wildflowers

Feb. 10: Let's talk Valentine's Day roses

Feb. 3: Why grow flowers?

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Garden checklist for week of Aug. 16

During this break in the heat, feed your garden. Make sure to water before and after applying fertilizer.

* In the garden, direct seed beets, carrots, leaf lettuce and turnips.

* Plant potatoes.

* Harvest tomatoes, beans, squash, pepper and eggplants to prompt plants to keep producing. Give your plants a deep watering twice a week, more if planted in containers. Also, give them a boost with phosphate-rich fertilizer to help fruiting.

* Watch out for caterpillars and hornworms in the vegetable garden. They can strip a plant bare in one day. Pick them off plants by hand in early morning or late afternoon.

* Feed citrus trees their last round of fertilizer for the year. This will give a boost to the fruit that’s still small.

* Mulch can be your garden’s best friend – it conserves moisture while blocking out weeds. But don't let mulch mound around stalks, stems or trunks. That can promote rot.

* Camellia leaves looking a little yellow? Give them some chelated iron. That goes for azaleas and gardenias, too.

* Pick up after your fruit trees. Clean up debris and dropped fruit; this cuts down on insects and prevents the spread of brown rot. Then feed fruit trees with slow-release fertilizer for better production for next year.

* To prolong bloom into fall, feed begonias, fuchsias and container plants. Always water before fertilizing.

* Fertilize fall-blooming perennials, too. Chrysanthemums can be fed until the buds start to open.

* Prepare for a fall full of flowers by paying a little extra attention to your garden. Cut off spent blooms from roses, annuals and perennials, then give them a boost of fertilizer. Make sure to water plants before feeding. Roses will rebloom about six to eight weeks after deadheading.

* Indoors, start seedlings for fall vegetable planting, including bunching onion, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radicchio and lettuce.

* Sow seeds of perennials in pots for fall planting including yarrow, coneflower and salvia.

Contact Us

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Taste Spring! E-cookbook

Find our spring recipes here!

Taste Fall! E-cookbook

Find our fall recipes here!

Taste Winter! E-cookbook

Find our winter recipes here!

Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series

Lessons learned during a year of edible gardening

WINTER

Is edible gardening possible indoors?

Hints for choosing tomato seeds

Starting in seed starting

Why winter is the perfect time to plant fruit trees

When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants

How to squeeze more food into less space

Potatoes from the garden

Plant a fruit tree now -- for later

Win the weed war by tackling them in winter

Tips for planting bare-root trees, shrubs and vegetables

Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space

Ways to win the fight against weeds

FALL

Add asparagus to your edible garden

Soggy soil and what to do about it

Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come

It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying

What to do with all those fallen leaves?

Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden

Plant a pea patch for you and your garden

As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers

Change is in the autumn air

We don't talk (enough) about beets

Fava beans do double duty

Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?

How to prolong the fall tomato harvest

SUMMER

Time to shut it down?

How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch

Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning

To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?

: Put worms to work for you

Grow food while saving water

Enhance your food with edible flowers

Why won't my tomatoes turn red?

A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty

Does this plant need water?

Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions

How to grow summer salad greens

Weird stuff that's perfectly normal

SPRING

Help pollinators help your garden

Battling early-season tomato pests

Make your own compost

Where are the bees when you need them?

How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days

Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can

Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success

What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?

Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)

Grow culinary herbs in containers

When to plant summer vegetables

Don't be fooled by these garden myths

Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth