When to plant tomatoes in Southern California - Greg Alder's Yard Posts: Southern California food gardening (2024)

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When to plant tomatoes in Southern California - Greg Alder's Yard Posts: Southern California food gardening? ›

Our warm season lasts so long in Southern California, that we have time for multiple tomato plantings. I've settled on two main rounds: an early and a late. I plant a group in March or April, which I'll start eating from in late May or early June.

In coastal Southern California, the last frost date is usually predicted to be March 1st. Transplants can be set into the ground beginning in about April, but tomatoes are warm weather plants, so planting when the weather is warmer is usually better. Read more about planting dates for tomatoes.

'Big heirloom tomatoes typically need to be planted in May or early June at the latest in most temperate gardening climates. Smaller varieties can be planted a little later as the fruits don't take as long to ripen,' explains Mary Jane Duford.

Farmer Roy plants new tomatoes roughly every month starting in January and ending in late June or early July. My own rule of thumb is to get my last tomatoes in by the Fourth of July. And I usually plant two rounds: one early and one late. This late planting of tomatoes will provide fruit in the fall.

There are two big shifts in Southern Californian gardening: At the end of September, beginning of October it's all about the winter crops. At the end of February, beginning of March, the focus all shifts to summer and the heat lovers. Seeds get started slightly before then with the right conditions.

Cucumbers like warm weather. They don't grow through the winter well in Southern California. Plant them as early as April (sow them in containers indoors as early as March), and plant them as late as July (sowing in June).

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.

Tomato plants will not set fruit until the night time temperature reaches 55 F./10 C., so planting tomato plants when the night time temperature is at 50 F./10 C. will give them enough time to mature a bit before fruiting.

Another temperature to keep in mind: tomato plants will not survive in temperatures below 35 degrees Fahrenheit, and will not thrive at temperatures below 50 degrees. Gardeners can use a frost date calendar to note their region's average dates of last frost in spring and first frost in fall.

Most tomato seedlings are ready to move from the seed starting trays and into a larger container when they are three to four inches tall and have three or more sets of leaves. They should be transplanted into a larger container at least four weeks before planting outdoors so the root system has a chance to develop.

Can I start tomatoes in June? ›

When is that? In Southern California, after mid-March is usually a good time to put in your first tomato transplants. And July 4th is about as late as you should plant tomatoes if you want to get a full crop before the weather cools in late fall. (Late May is the latest I'd sow tomato seeds.)

Depending on where you live, you might want to expose your tomatoes to morning sunlight, to afternoon sunlight, or to a combination of the two. Morning sunlight provides high-intensity light without excessive heat, therefore you should consider morning exposure if you live in a region with a hot climate.

Tomatoes run on warmth; plant in late spring and early summer except in zone 10, where they are a fall and winter crop.

Because the state is so large, it is actually further broken down into Northern and Southern planting zones. A northern half of a California planting zone can be anywhere from 5a to 10b. The southern region has zones 5a to 11a. Planting zones help determine when and what to plant throughout the year.

It's the first month of the year that is warm enough to make peppers happy. This UC Davis publication says that the ideal growing temperatures for peppers are between 75 and 85 degrees, with nights between 50 and 60 degrees. Such temperatures are first reached in most of Southern California in May.

Short day onions like Grano, Granex and Crystal Wax - White Bermuda grow best in San Diego County when seed is sown in October or transplants are set out in mid-November. Bulbing begins about March 20 and bulbs are ready to harvest in June or July.

Tomatoes need about eight weeks and bell peppers about 10 weeks to be ready to transplant from seeds into the garden during their optimal planting time, which is from May to the first part of June. The publication Propagating Plants from Seed will be of great resource if you are thinking about starting from seed.

You can plant peppers earlier than May, but they won't grow very fast, meaning that if bugs like earwigs start chewing on them then the plants will have a hard time outgrowing the damage. You can plant peppers later than May, but the later you plant the less fruit you'll get out of the plant for the year.

If you live in a frost free area, planting can be done in early fall or early spring whenever the soil can be worked. In areas that might have frost during December to February, you might try using row covers over plants to trap heat. As soon as plants bloom, tubers begin to form; stop cultivation.

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.