Can I Plant Tomatoes In Late June?
Q: We are having some work done around our house and will not be able to plant our tomatoes until late June. Is that too late to plant? Or should we wait till next year?
A: June is not too late. When you buy a tomato plant, on the label there will be a “days to maturity (or harvest)” listed. This is approximately how long the plant will need before it can start producing tomatoes. In general, most tomato varieties need 100 days to fully mature. There are at least 120 days following late June in which a tomato can grow before the typical first frost in early November. If you want to experiment, there are many tomato varieties that only need 50-60 days to mature. Another alternative is to plant tomatoes in five-gallon buckets now and move them to your garden when the work is finished.