Growing Tomatoes In Virginia: Everything You Need To Know

You want to know how to grow tomatoes in Virginia at home in the best possible manner and what things you need to take care of to make your gardening project a real success?

Great! Stick with me since I will show you how to water your plants, what pests you may have to keep away and much more.

After reading this article, you will be a real expert when it comes to growing tomatoes in Virginia and may also be able to give some useful advice to your neighbors.

In addition, you will also find helpful resources at the end of this article that explain how to grow tomatoes from seed to harvest step-by-step so you can learn even more about growing tomatoes at home in general.

Without further ado, let’s get right into it!

Do tomatoes grow well in Virginia?

Since Virginia provides pretty decent climatic conditions and many hours of sun, tomato plants grow really well in this region, at least if you care well for your plants and are also willing to put some work into your gardening project.

How long does it take to grow tomatoes in Virginia?

Most people are able to grow tomatoes from seed to harvest within 15 to 18 weeks.

However, if you want to grow tomatoes in Virginia even quicker, you may want to rely on seedlings instead of seeds since you may be able to grow seedlings to harvest within 2 months and can therefore greatly reduce growing times compared to the standard scenario of growing tomatoes from seed.

How big do tomato plants grow in Virginia?

Due to decent climatic conditions, your tomato plants in Virginia can get quite big and you should therefore provide at least 8 feet of space in the vertical and 2 feet in the horizontal so your plants will not be space-constrained and will get enough space and sunlight to grow in a decent manner.

Can you expect great yields when growing tomatoes in Virginia?

Even people who are relatively new to gardening can still get pretty decent yields when growing tomatoes in Virginia as long as they care well for their plants and also follow the advice in this grower’s guide.

When to grow tomatoes in Virginia?

You should start growing tomatoes from seed in Virginia outdoors once you no longer expect spring frost and this is usually between April and May in most regions.

Can you grow tomatoes in Virginia in winter?

Since winters are rather cold and lighting conditions are not perfect for growing veggies at home, you would have to protect your plants from the cold and would also have to use lots of artificial lighting and it may just not be worth the effort in terms of work and money and you may therefore rather want to focus on the main growing season instead of growing tomatoes in winter.

Can you grow tomatoes in Virginia multiple times per year?

Instead of sowing tomato seeds multiple times per year, you may be better off focusing on just one single yield since later batches may just not get ready before the cool period of the year arrives and you may just waste your time for rather poor results.

What tomato varieties grow best in Virginia?

When it comes to growing tomatoes in Virginia, you should choose a tomato variety that gets along with cool climatic conditions in spring and rather hot summers. I listed the most popular ones for you below:

• Legend Tomatoes
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Roma Tomatoes
• Nugget Tomatoes
• Early Girl Tomatoes
• Spring Tomatoes
• Celebrity Tomatoes
• Pixie Tomatoes
• Beefmaster Tomatoes

Is it better to grow tomatoes in Virginia from seeds or seedlings?

While both options are perfectly fine and climatic conditions allow you to grow tomatoes from seed since growing season is rather long, you may still want to rather grow tomatoes from seedlings in case you are in a rush and just don’t want to experience the full growing cycle but rather want to see results fairly quickly.

Should you start growing tomatoes in Virginia indoors?

If you want to harvest your tomato plants rather early in the year, it also makes sense to pre-grow your seedlings indoors early in March and transplant your plants outdoors later in the year when it gets warmer outside.

How to water tomato plants in Virginia?

While your tomato plants will not need lots of water at the beginning of the growing cycle when your plants are still rather young and it is cool outdoors, things change pretty quickly once your tomato plants get bigger and it gets hotter outdoors and there may be hot summer days when you may have to water your tomato plants even multiple times per day.

Do you have to protect tomatoes against the sun in Virginia?

Since radiation and heat are not a major problem during rather cool spring months, you don’t have to actively protect your plants against the sun and once they get bigger, they will become more resistant to those things in a natural manner anyway.

Will wild animals feed on tomatoes in Virginia?

Rabbits, mice and many other wild animals may try getting their share of your tomato plants and I therefore recommend using a fence or taking other protective measures so you will not wake up one day and your plants may be gone.

Tomato pests & plant diseases in Virginia

Cutworms, thrips and aphids are just some of the pests you may have to deter from your tomato plants in Virginia.

Fortunately, there are simple but still efficient ways how to deter tomato pests and plant diseases.

When to harvest tomatoes in Virginia?

By sowing the seeds between April and May, most people are able to harvest their tomato plants between August and September.

If you want to see results earlier in the year, you may either want to rely on seedlings from the store or start growing tomato plants indoors and transplant them outdoors later on.

Additional Information for Growing Tomatoes at Home

I hope you got lots of useful information from this article.

If you want to learn even more about growing tomatoes from seed to harvest, you should also have a look at my article related to growing tomatoes at home in general.

If you have further specific questions about growing tomatoes at home, you may also want to have a look at my FAQ section for growing tomatoes where you will find answers to most questions people often have when it comes to growing tomatoes in their garden or on their balcony.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomato

Own research.

About the Author

My name is Andreas and I’m really passionate about our environment and also about growing plants. In fact, I have grown several different plants over many years. I love to see my own plants grow and also always try new things to improve my overall conditions at home.

In my blog posts, I want to share my experiences with you so that you can become successful in growing various different plants and improving your home as well, even though you might still be a beginner right now.