Tomato Lycopersicon esculentum

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Tomato plants should be grown in warm areas and receive plenty of sunlight, so choose a sunny spot in your garden. Relocate your tomato plants in different parts of your garden yearly to avoid diseases. The optimum temperatures for growing tomatoes from seeds are between 80 - 85 F. Plant your seeds indoors 10 to 12 weeks before setting them outside. Use Miracle Gro Seed Starting Material for best germination results. We have tested other Seed Starting mixes and experienced poor germination rates. Do not add any soil, fertilizers, and other chemicals to the seed starting material. Do not use jiffy peat pots, plugs, or potting soil, or use covers, as the soil may become too dry or too wet, which can lead to disease and fungus and poor germination results. Do not bottom water the seeds as this causes the seed starting material to become too wet and you will experience poor germination too. We have experienced disease and low germination when using these types of products and covering the pots and trays with covers. When seedlings are 4" tall, transplant them in larger pots. Plants should be at least 10" tall before transplanting outdoors. Plants should be planted outdoors in shady areas for several days before transplanting outdoors. Shelter the transplants to prevent sunburn, wilting, and rain damage. Spring planting should occur when the soil is warm, at least 3 weeks after the last frost, and when temperatures remain above 70 degrees F. You can plant early if you use water towers. To prevent branches from breaking from the weight of tomatoes, use 5 to 6 ft tall cages. To tie plants to stakes, use soft strips of cloth. Check indeterminate plants regularly and pinch off suckers and side branches where leaves join the stems. Plants can grow from 1 to 6 ft tall.