Alright, if you're in Texas it's already time to start getting your fall harvest tomato plants in the ground. If you have old spring-planted tomatoes that are done producing or did not produce well this spring due to weather (especially determinates) go ahead and pull them up and put them in the compost. You have until about the middle of July to get your new tomatoes in the grounds so if any of your early plants are still producing you can let them go until then.
'Celebrity' Hybrid Determinate Tomato
Some indeterminates, like the old fashioned cherry tomatoes or some of the less temperature sensitive hybrids like 'Sapho' can keep producing small amounts of fruit through the summer. However by the time September comes around plants will be pretty beat up and you often won't get a good harvest. For most varieties, I recommend to go ahead and replace will new fall-harvest transplants.
Make sure to keep your new tomato transplants well watered and do so consistently. Going into our brutal summer heat, it's important to keep these new plants healthy and thriving so that they will begin setting fruit in September, on schedule. Fertilize at planting time, and then wait until you have baby fruit setting on your plants to start feeding again, which you'll do every two weeks.
Wow, I'm so sorry I missed all these questions!
Christie L. - I fertilize with NHG Organic Herb & Veggie food at planting time. Then I do not fertilize again until plants start developing baby fruit. Then you can fertilize every 2 weeks using Hasta Gro or Liquid Seeweed, or additional side dressings of the granular.
ProjectGirl - I was talking about transplants, not seeds. If you want to start your fall tomatoes from seed, you do that in May.
Susan - All the same variety recommendations for spring would also apply to fall. 'Celebrity' is a great reliable determinate hybrid, 'Green Zebra', 'Roma', 'Sapho', 'Supersweet 100', 'Early Girl'...many more...
Posted by: Leslie Finical Halleck | July 13, 2011 at 04:23 PM
Thanks for the tomato heads-up. I love how your posts always spell things out for us garden newbies. Can I ask a newbie question? What do you prefer to fertilize tomatoes with?
Posted by: Christie L. | June 20, 2011 at 04:18 PM
Do you mean it's time to plant new plants, or new seeds? I haven't harvested one tomato yet, although I have several green ones on the vine...
Posted by: ProjectGirl | June 20, 2011 at 11:42 AM
What tomato varieties do you recommend for fall harvest in Texas?
Posted by: Susan C. | June 18, 2011 at 02:38 PM