Plant transplants after the soil temperature is 50 degrees or above, typically around the middle of May. Work amendments and balanced fertilizer into the soil prior to planting, avoiding high nitrogen products. Raised beds or gardens next to a south-facing wall are good choices. Start with just a few hours in a partially sunny area, bring them in at night, and increase their time outside each day.Ĭhoose a warm site in an area that receives a minimum of 6 hours of sun per day.

Prior to planting out, gradually condition (harden) the plants to the outside weather conditions over the course of a week or so. We’ve grown these in our Bellevue Demonstration Garden and found them to require less staking than traditional indeterminate tomato varieties. Dwarf indeterminate tomatoes are a recent introduction that provide a long season of tomato production on a shorter and stockier plant. Determinate varieties are bush-like with fruit that ripens over a 4 to 6-week period, while indeterminate varieties are vine-like and continue to grow and produce tomatoes until the end of the season. Select short, sturdy plants and avoid those that are tall and leggy. Even though some nurseries begin to stock tomatoes in early April, it is far too early to plant them in the ground at that time.

You can find these and many other varieties at local plant sales in late April and May each year. The following varieties have been popular in our annual tasting trials at our Bellevue Demonstration Garden: cherry types Sungold, Sweet Million, and Juliet good standard varieties include Oregon Spring and Stupice. To ripen well in our climate, choose tomatoes with “days to maturity” of 75 days or less for best results.

COVID-19 King County Community Resources.

Teaching Young People About Gardening and Nature.

#2 – Gardening Publications with cover photos.4-H Youth Development Programs – King County.

Pruning tomato plants download free