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Tomato

Tomato

Solanum lycopersicum

Balcony Garden Sun Medium

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Profile

Plant group
Warm-season fruiting vegetable
Growth & habit
A herbaceous plant that may become woody at the base; cordon types grow tall on supports, while bush and trailing types stay more compact or cascade.
Foliage
Green, hairy, irregularly divided leaves with the characteristic tomato scent when touched.
Family
Nightshade family (Solanaceae)
Origin
A cultivated crop originating in western South America
Height
About 0.3–2 m or taller depending on variety; cordon types need support
Bloom
Usually May–September; yellow flowers in trusses
Toxicity
Ripe fruits are edible; do not eat leaves or stems. They contain glycoalkaloids, mainly tomatine.

Care calendar

Leaf emergence

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

Spring-sown plants continue to produce leaves and shoots. Cordon tomatoes keep extending in suitable conditions; bush varieties limit their growth according to their type.

Flowering / flower development

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

Yellow flowers appear in trusses. Timing depends on variety, sowing date and growing conditions; protected crops may start earlier than outdoor plants.

Leaf fall

There is no regular autumn leaf fall like that of a deciduous tree. Tomatoes are usually grown as annual crops here; cold and frost bring outdoor growth to an end.

Pruning & growth habit

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

Tie in cordon tomatoes regularly and remove young side shoots according to the training system. Do not routinely remove side shoots from bush or trailing varieties.

Guidance for Germany and Central Europe. Position, weather, species and cultivar shift these windows; indoor and container plants also depend on their winter conditions.

Your seasonal care plan

  • Keep watering even

    Mar · Apr · May · Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep · Oct

    Check root-ball moisture regularly and water the root zone thoroughly when needed. Excess water must drain. Check large plants in sunny containers more often and keep foliage as dry as possible while watering.

  • Plan feeding with existing nutrients

    Mar · Apr · May · Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep

    The linked tomato fertiliser specifies March to September and feeding until fruit ripeness during growth. Its dilution is product-specific; young plants initially receive half strength according to the label. Allow for nutrients already in the compost and previous feeds.

    View product dosage and application →

  • Raise, pot on and plant out

    Mar · Apr · May · Jun

    Pot up seedlings with true leaves individually, grow on in good light and harden off before planting out. Outdoors, this is often from mid-May, later in colder places. Ungrafted plants can be planted deeper; keep a graft union above the soil.

    View product dosage and application →

  • Harvest ripe fruit and finish the season

    Jul · Aug · Sep · Oct

    Let fruit develop its cultivar's ripe colour and pick regularly. For green-ripe types, also check markings and softness. Before frost, take healthy, sufficiently developed fruit indoors to ripen and discard diseased fruit. Plants are normally not overwintered here.

Highlighted months are guidance, not fixed dates. Observe the plant, root ball and weather; water, feed and repot according to actual need.

Seasonal care intensity

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Seasonal guidance for Germany. Needs depend on location, weather and species. Check moisture in winter too; these markers are not a feeding schedule.

Peak care Active Reduced care

Care tips

  • Mid to late March is usually enough for windowsill sowing; plentiful light keeps seedlings compact.
  • Identify cordon or bush type before removing side shoots.
  • Ripeness depends on the cultivar: yellow, orange or green-ripe fruit can be ready to harvest. Unripe fruit and green-ripe varieties are not equivalent simply because of their colour.

Fruit & harvest

Fruit and seed formation

Tomatoes are botanical berries. Shape, size and ripe colour vary by cultivar; not every ripe tomato is red. Consistent watering supports healthy fruit development.

Harvest and use

Pick carefully at the cultivar's normal ripe stage. Check crops regularly; warmth and greenhouse cultivation affect timing. Green vegetative parts are not edible harvest material.

Plant knowledge at a glance

Position, benefits & character

Position & soil

Choose a sunny, warm position sheltered from strong winds. Airy rain protection helps outdoors; ventilate greenhouses regularly. Free-draining soil that also holds moisture and adequate root space support an even supply of water and nutrients. Plant outdoors only after hardening off and once local frost risk has passed.

Distinctive features

Growth type and fruit shape are different traits: a cherry tomato may be a tall cordon or a compact bush. The cultivar therefore determines support, space and pruning. Avoid prolonged wet foliage and large fluctuations in root-ball moisture.

Benefits

Ripe fruit can be eaten fresh, sliced for salads or made into sauce. Different maturity times and fruit forms can extend picking over many weeks. One suitable container variety can turn a sunny balcony into a small edible garden.

Partners & symbioses

Tomato flowers are usually self-fertile. Movement from wind and bumblebee vibration helps release pollen; a second variety is normally unnecessary for fruit set. Choose companion plants for compatible light and space requirements, not as guaranteed protection from disease.

Pruning & growth habit

Cordon tomatoes are trained with one or a deliberately chosen number of main stems. Bush types form many short, productive shoots. Pruning therefore follows cultivar type, not fruit size or colour alone.

  1. 1. Identify the growth type first

    Check the seed packet or plant label: cordon types continue extending, while bush types are more limited. Small fruit alone does not make a variety a bush tomato.

  2. 2. Remove selected cordon side shoots

    For a single-stem plant, remove small shoots from the junction between leaf and main stem. Identify and retain flower trusses and the main shoot. Vigorous plants can be trained with more stems as a deliberate system.

  3. 3. Let bush tomatoes branch

    Retain most fruit-bearing side shoots on bush, dwarf and trailing types. Support heavy crops. Remove damaged leaves or those lying on the soil selectively.

  4. 4. Guide growth towards the season's end

    In late summer, a cordon can be stopped above the last truss likely to ripen. Retain healthy leaves to supply the plant; do not strip the entire canopy.

Nursery forms

This overview explains nursery supply forms. It does not indicate current availability in the GREEN24 shop.

Bare-root

Not typical for this profile

Not the normal purchase form; choose young plants with their delicate root balls protected.

Root-balled

Common form

Young plants in small growing plugs or soil blocks for growing on, rather than large nursery root-ball stock.

Container-grown

Common form

A potted transplant or a larger, sometimes flowering container plant. Check variety, growth type and any grafting.

Young plant

Common form

A compact, sturdy seed-grown or grafted young plant; avoid long, weak growth.

Shrub

Not typical for this profile

A bush tomato is a determinate growth type, not a woody nursery shrub.

Feathered tree

Not typical for this profile

Multi-stem training is possible, but this is not a feathered nursery tree.

Half-standard

Not typical for this profile

Not a usual tomato nursery form; a support and stem do not make a half-standard.

Standard

Not typical for this profile

A tall trained cordon tomato is not a standard tree.

Topiary

Not typical for this profile

Not a topiary plant. Training serves light access, support and fruit development.

Propagation & grafting

Propagation

Spring sowing is usual. For a normal outdoor crop in central Europe, mid to late March is often sufficient in a bright, warm place. Healthy side shoots can be rooted as cuttings. Open-pollinated cultivars remain broadly true to type with suitable pollination; offspring from F1 hybrids can vary considerably.

Grafting

Grafted tomatoes combine the desired fruit variety with a selected rootstock. Benefits apply to that named combination and do not imply resistance to every disease. Keep the graft union above the compost and remove shoots arising from the rootstock.

Species & cultivars

Stabtomaten · cordon types

Indeterminate: keep extending and need support plus deliberate stem training. Many salad, cherry and beefsteak varieties belong here.

Busch- und Ampeltomaten · bush and trailing types

Determinate or compactly branching; side shoots contribute to the crop. 'Tumbling Tom Red' is an example for trailing container culture.

Gardener's Delight

A red cherry tomato trained as a cordon. Small fruit does not mean a small plant.

Sungold F1

An orange-ripening cherry tomato for cordon culture. As an F1 hybrid, saved seed does not reliably produce identical offspring.

Green Zebra

A green-striped ripening variety: judge maturity by its characteristic colour change and slight softness, rather than waiting for red fruit.

San Marzano

Elongated, fleshy fruit for sauces and processing. Check the exact cultivar name and growth instructions on the seed packet.

Pests & diseases

These signs support an initial assessment. Different causes may look alike; choose a treatment only after identifying the problem.

Late blight

Check rapidly spreading brown leaf and stem lesions and damaged fruit, especially after wet weather. Rain protection, drier foliage and airflow reduce disease pressure but do not replace diagnosis.

Blossom-end rot

A dark sunken patch at the blossom end is often a physiological disorder. Too little calcium reaches the fruit, for example when water supply fluctuates. Do not automatically add more fertiliser or lime.

Split fruit

Large swings from dry conditions to rapid water uptake can split the skin. Even moisture and timely harvesting help; susceptibility varies by cultivar.

Whitefly and aphids

Inspect young shoots and leaf undersides for sap-feeding insects and honeydew. Check greenhouse crops early and consider beneficial insects already present.

Flowers drop without setting fruit

Heat, unsuitable humidity and poor pollination can limit fruit set. Ventilate the greenhouse, check water demand and allow flowers to move; extra feed alone will not solve the problem.

Hardiness · USDA

Seasonal crop

Seasonal crop: frost dates, soil warmth and maturity matter.

USDA zones describe long-term average winter extremes. Containers, young plants, wet soil, wind and late frost need separate consideration.

Understand USDA zones and maps →

A closer look

Tomato flower in detail
Flower

Tomato flower in detail

A tomato flower (Solanum lycopersicum) with petals still held close together and hairy sepals.

Jake7401 · Public domain (PD-user) · Image source

Botanical features vary with age, species and cultivar.

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