Planting Tomatoes in June is Still Possible with These 5 Late-Season Techniques for a Late Harvest
Planting Tomatoes in June: Tips for a Late-Season Crop
A bit late to the game? Get your tomatoes growing! Read on to see how to maximize your chances for a succesful and speedy harvest.
Dreaming of juicy, ripe tomatoes for late summer or early fall feasting? No worries if it's already June! With a few simple tips, you can still plant tomatoes and enjoy a late-season harvest.
Your location, weather, and tomato variety all play a role in how late you can plant. While gardeners in colder regions may be pushing their luck by June, those in warmer zones often have more flexibility. Fear not, even if you're late to the game, you've still got options for growing a successful crop.
Here's what you need to know to ensure your June-planted tomatoes thrive.
1. Check Frost Dates
Tomatoes are warm-weather veggies that can't tolerate frost. Therefore, the colder your growing zone, the shorter your growing season.
Frost dates are crucial in determining the frost-free period. These include the average last frost date in spring and the first frost in fall. You want to grow tomatoes outside between those two dates.
When planting June tomatoes, you will likely have passed the last frost date, but you will need to check your region's average first frost date in autumn. Gardener's Almanac and PlantMaps offer zip and postal code checkers for gardeners in the US, Canada, and the UK.
Count backwards from this date to see how much growing time you have left. The number of days is crucial in choosing the right tomato variety.
If you live in a cold zone and can't make the timings work, try indoor gardening instead, with Coco & Seed's Tomato Hydroponic Mason Jar Garden Kit, available in the Shop.
2. Use Transplants
The best way to speed up the maturity of your June-planted tomatoes is to go with transplants. Unless you're in a warm climate, it will likely be too late in the season to start seeds. Look for transplants at local garden centers. Many will still have some at this time of year, and they might even be discounted.
If you still have time to start seeds, planting them indoors will offer tender seedlings better protection. Using seed trays with humidity domes, like the seedling kits available in the Shop, will speed up germination.
It takes six to eight weeks before tomato plants grow big enough to be transplanted into their final positions. Nighttime temperatures should be consistently 50°F (10°C) or warmer.
3. Choose Early Varieties
Variety is another essential consideration because different types of tomatoes have different maturity times. Maturity times for tomatoes generally range from 60 to 100 days.
If you want to start tomatoes from seeds, look up the maturity time for your variety and ensure there is enough time between frost dates. Starting from transplants gives you a jump on maturity time, so you can start plants later in the season.
Varieties with shorter maturity times are often referred to as early tomatoes. You can also use these varieties for a later harvest if you're starting plants in June. Good choices include:
4. Optimize Growing Conditions
Once you get them in the ground, giving tomato plants the best possible care will help them develop mature, healthy fruits sooner. Start with sunlight and warmth. Tomatoes thrive in full sun and warm temperatures, so plant them in a full-sun location where they'll get at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight each day.
Fertilize tomatoes at planting and again periodically as plants grow, using a balanced product or a fertilizer designed specifically for tomatoes.
Pruning tomato plants allows them to put more energy into developing ripe fruit. Focus on removing the suckers and leaves close to the ground. This will also improve airflow to prevent disease. Tomato suckers are the side shoots growing below the stems with flowers and fruits. Only keep one sucker just below the flowering stem. Remove all the lower ones.
Finally, make sure your tomato plants are supported. Use tomato cages or stakes to keep stems upright and prevent breakage or tomatoes from growing on the ground.
5. Protect Plants as Temperatures Drop
Tomatoes don't tolerate cold. If you have green tomatoes as the weather turns, they won't ripen unless you intervene. You can extend your growing season into the fall by protecting tomatoes from frost.
Cover tomato plants overnight as temperatures drop. Use old sheets and blankets, row covers, plastic plant covers, or buckets to cover individual plants if the forecast calls for a cold night. Another option is to grow tomatoes in cold frames or a greenhouse.
If you're growing tomatoes in containers, then get the best of both worlds with a rolling planter that can be moved indoors when the weather turns. A Vego Garden's EZ Self-Watering Tomato Planter features a water capacity of 2.4 gallons, a built-in trellis for support, and makes an excellent choice for extending the growing season.
It may be June already, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy tomatoes this year. Get started now with transplants, early varieties, and good tomato care for a late summer or fall harvest.
Want to know more about growing your own tomatoes? Sign up for the newsletter and receive a free copy of "How to Grow Delicious Tomatoes".
Want to amp up your late-season harvest game? Discover more about growing top tomato varities in our article, "The 8 Best Tomato Varieties to Grow in June". Don't forget our platform's comprehensive, ad-free gardening advice at your fingertips, every day.
Despite the year's progress, there is still room for a thriving home-and-garden project: growing tomatoes for a late-season harvest. With the right planning and precautions, even if you're a June gardener, you can create a delightful home-and-garden lifestyle by focusing on early varieties and optimizing growing conditions.
For successful June tomato plants, consider early varieties that have been adapted for faster maturity times, such as cherry tomatoes, 'Early Girl', 'Juliet', 'Northern Lights', 'Siletz', and be sure to visit the 'Shop' for popular choices like Supersweet 100 and 'Sungold'.
