Once picked, tomatoes are sensitive to chilling injury and should not be stored at temperatures below 50☏.ĭeveloped by James Manning, Undergraduate Research Assistant, and Daniel Brainard, Vegetable Extension Specialist MSU Department of Horticulture Gary Heilig, MSU Extension educator.

For tomatoes picked green, ideal ripening temperatures are between 60☏ and 70☏. Unless a killing frost threatens, leave fruits on the vine until they’ve developed their full color and flavor. Insects: Cutworms, tomato hornworms, mites, thrips, Colorado potato beetle, whitefliesĭiseases: Septoria leaf spot, early and late blight, anthracnose, Fusarium and Verticillium wilts, bacterial spot, bacterial speck, tobacco mosaic virus Harvesting and storage If you’re trellising or staking your tomatoes, don’t forget to tie them up. The basic idea is to remove “suckers” emerging between the main stem and leaves of plants until one to a few of them are left. It is often recommended that indeterminate tomato varieties be pruned to avoid excessive vegetative growth. If plants are very tall and leggy, lower leaves can be removed and plants buried deeper to encourage more vigorous plants. When transplanting, bury surface of transplant plugs about 2 inches. Ideal spacing will vary with variety for large indeterminate plants provide more space. Preparation and plantingĪvoid excessive N fertilization since this will encourage leaf and stem growth at the expense of fruit growth. Cherry tomatoes are wonderful fresh or in salads. Finally, disease resistance can be an important consideration when selecting a variety. Certain tomatoes are best for slicing fresh while others are better for making pastes and sauces. Determinate varieties on the other hand will grow only so tall and will have a more concentrated fruit ripening. These require less staking and pruning. Varieties that continue to grow taller and produce fruit over the entire season are called indeterminate. Tomato varieties are categorized in many ways including their growth habit, culinary use and shape. Days to harvest: 60 to 80 from transplants.

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