Beefsteak Tomato Plant | Solanum lycopersicum – Almanac Planting Co (2024)

FAQs

What month do you plant beefsteak tomatoes? ›

Beefsteak Tomatoes will likely tolerate temperatures above 40°F, but it's suggested to attempt to keep them in temperatures above 55°F. Plant 36" apart. Suggest planting late-March through May depending on temperatures in your area. Keep in temperatures above 55°F.

Start: Start tomatoes indoors 6-8 weeks before last frost. Use a quality seed starting mix and grow under grow lights or in a very sunny, warm window.

Choose a sunny location (6+ hours of sun) and dig a hole about two times as wide as your pot. Remove your plant from the pot by loosening the soil and tipping it out into your hand. Plant tomatoes deep in the soil – up to the top two leaf nodes.

"Consistency is key here because you don't want to allow the soil to completely dry out or become overly soggy." Expect to give the plants between 1 and 1-1/2 gallons of water each week, in total, distributed over two to three watering sessions.

Be sure to provide access to full sun, as tomatoes are a heat-loving plant. Your beefsteak tomatoes probably won't mature to the same size as those planted in the ground. The plant will still get large, and will need adequate support. Put your containers near a fence or plan on having a structure for them to grow on.

Tomatoes grow best in a neutral to slightly acid soil; they absorb nutrients best when the pH is 6.5 to 7.0, and keeping the soil in the lower part of that range will help prevent the condition known as “yellow shoulder.” To prepare your garden for tomatoes, dig compost or manure deeply into your beds.

4. Choose a cloudy day, or the cool of evening. To alleviate seedlings from shock, transplant on a cloudy day, or if it's not in the forecast, plan toward the end of the day, when air and soil temperatures cool and the sun is won't scorch the young plants.

Too much bright direct sunlight on plants can raise temperatures too high for ripening and lead to cracking and sunscald. It can also create problems caused by high humidity or dry soil. Do tomatoes prefer morning or afternoon sun? Tomatoes need both morning and afternoon sun and at least six hours of sun a day.

It can be confusing, for sure, but this post should clear things up for you. Beefsteak tomato plants are “indeterminate,” which means they require staking and pruning to grow properly.

Don't put your beefsteak tomato plant in a teeny pot. You want a pot that's gonna be at least 16 inches wide, because the root system has to get big enough to support all of the top growth above.

How much room do beefsteak tomatoes need? ›

Rows of tomatoes should be at least 5 feet apart, or wider if space allows. In the row, space the plants 18 to 36 inches apart, using the wider measurement if you use cages. We grow our tomatoes up wire fences so we can fan them out and because almost all the varieties we grow are tall, indeterminate types.

Coffee grounds contain around 2% nitrogen as well as varying amounts of phosphorus and potassium which are all very important for the growth of tomato plants. By mixing some coffee grounds into the soil below your tomato plants you're introducing these nutrients that the plants need to thrive.

Fact! Epsom salts are a great way of adding magnesium directly to your tomatoes and to the soil. Invest in a soil test kit so that you can ensure your tomatoes are getting the right amount of nutrients throughout the growing season.

In general, determinate tomatoes tend to do better in pots, so look for those. It's also possible to grow indeterminate tomatoes in containers, of course, as long as you provide enough support and soil volume.

Later sowings are also possible – up until late May with varieties like 'Veranda Red' – to yield a good crop in October. Larger fruited varieties are best sown in mid to late April to ensure a good crop of ripe fruit by mid-September.

Tomatoes are a summer-season vegetable and are usually grown as summer annuals. Tomato seeds must be started indoors between March to June. Here's how to grow tomatoes in your pot garden.

And most beefsteak tomato varieties, including the ones I've mentioned above, should grow big enough that one slice will cover your burger or make up the bulk of your toasted tomato sandwich. I expect each plant will produce 10 to 20 tomatoes.