affectionate - time of year crops such astomatoes(Lycopersicon esculentum ) can be a piece finicky when it comes to temperature . While tomatoes are dead - survive perennials in tropical climates , they are grown as annual plant life throughout the U.S. The later natural spring C and other fall frosts often experienced in Missouri can leave many gardeners gaming on the best dates to start seeds and prepare out transplantation . While there are no guarantees when it derive to weather condition , following a few received guideline can take a bit of the guesswork out of tomato gardening .
Check Up on Climate Data
A long history of disk - holding has provided sodbuster and gardeners alike with datum on ordinary freeze dates and haste . TheMissouri Climate Center at the University of Missouri - Columbiadivides the state up base on latitudinal magnetic variation and elevation . On average , the last frost of springtime for northerly Missouri is April 20 and for fundamental locating is April 10 . Areas with higher elevations , such as the Ozark Plateau , tend to be cooler even though they are in the southward , so tax daytime , April 15 , is a serious guideline . With these regional variant by , most of Missouri has an average of 180 frost - detached days in which to grow Lycopersicon esculentum . choose the right variety show , as well as a little pre - provision , will reap the big reward .
Sow Seeds Indoors
Tomatoes are very raw to cold and will show price at any temperatures below 50 degree Fahrenheit . Since most varieties of tomatoes will produce fruit until the first frost , the sooner you may move plant life into the garden , the more tomato you ’ll harvest .
For gardeners who care to seed their own seed , depart inside mid - March in a gay window . Soil needs to be warm , at least 62 degrees F , and seeds will burgeon forth within two weeks . Seedlings will be transplantation - quick by the last calendar week in April , but still a mo tender . Rather than put them out right away , seek acclimating them over a menstruation of a few days by putting them outside for a few hours and bringing them back in .
Transplanting Seedlings in the Garden
If you ’d rather purchase seedling from a garden center than wait for seeds , do n’t be tricked by size . The idealistic height for a love apple seedling to organ transplant is around 8 inches , with a sturdy stem . Many places will sell much large plants — often at a high cost — but tomatoes of this size do not tend to transfer well and any extra growth will be lost as it adjusts to its unexampled environment .
seedling bought from a garden center may not have been acclimated to Missouri ’s mood if they are fresh off a hand truck from a nursery , so * * look at putting them out for a few hours each day for several solar day before planting them in the ground the first week of May . * *
Choose the Right Variety
As America ’s most popular garden craw , tomatoes come in a wide variety of sizes , colour and cultivars . Heirloom varieties , those that have been civilize for more than 50 long time , have an old - fashioned taste , but typically take longer to mature — often needing more than 80 days to blossom , yield and ripen .
Newer , intercrossed varieties have been developed over the years to be both more immune to diseases that make blight and wilt as well as faster to ripen . TheUniversity of Missouri Extensionrecommends mid - sized hybrid cultivar such as " Celebrity " and " Better Boy , " which can mature within 75 days , and the smaller " Early Girl " diversity , which ripens in less than 60 day . cherry red tomatoes and small varieties , such as " Supersweet 100s " take around 65 day .
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