When To Plant Tomatoes – Includes Tips To Plant By The Moon
When to plant tomatoes is a common question when starting a garden. It can be a question that has a couple of different answers.
Weather varies so much across the United States so it always depends on where you live. Of course, one of the most common indicators is frost dates but did you know you can also plant based on the phases of the moon?
Planting at the right time can make all the difference between having an ok garden harvest and having an abundance of vegetables to harvest.
Luckily, our friends over at the Old Farmer’s Almanac have the answers you need. They have been tracking and forecasting planting times for over 200 years so they are definitely the pros. We use and recommend their guide to determine when to plant be either frost or by the moon.
What is Planting By The Moon?
The short story? It’s a guide on when to plant your above and below-ground vegetables based on phases of the moon.
No, it doesn’t mean you have to be out planting your garden in the middle of the night. It’s simply a guide on when to plant your garden based on the full moon, waning moon, or waxing moon.
Plant vegetables that produce ABOVE ground during the light, or waxing, of the moon.
From the day the moon is new until the day it is full you’ll plant your vegetables like tomatoes, green beans, peppers, cucumbers, and squash. Anything that you harvest ABOVE ground should be planted during this time.
Plant vegetables that product BELOW ground during the dark, or waning, moon.
From the day after the full moon until the day before it’s new again, you’ll plant potatoes, carrots, onions, or any vegetable that you have to dig up during this time.
Why Plant Tomatoes By The Moon?
Although this is picking up more recognition farmer’s have been planting by moon phases for hundreds of years. Unless you’re in the farming community it’s probably not something that you hear about because frost dates are the typical indicator for planting gardens.
However, there is some good scientific backing on why planting by the moon is beneficial to gardens and how the cycles of the moon can affect plant growth.
We all know that the moon causes tides to rise and fall, but it also changes moisture in the soil. The belief is that seeds absorb more water during a full or new moon when moisture is pulled towards the soil surface. This causes the seeds to enlarge and results in better germination and better-rooted plants.
When To Plant Tomatoes Based on ZipCode?
Click on over to the Old Farmer’s Almanac and type your zip code in their search engine. Click “Get Planting Calendar!” and a list of vegetables and dates will be pop up.
Based on a northern Michigan location these are the recommended dates.
Seeds are started indoors between April 3-7 and moved outdoors on June 5 or between June 21-26. My recommendation would be to get those plants in the ground on June 5 in this region.
It’s as easy at that. When to plant your tomatoes can be based on frost or on the moon. It really comes down to personal preference, but the biggest take away is to just plant some tomatoes.
There is nothing better than picking a ripe, sun-warmed tomato off the vine, slicing it up, adding a couple of dashes of salt and eating.
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