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Tomato

Solanum lycopersicum

Also listed as Lycopersicon esculentum, Lycopersicon lycopersicum

Also known as Garden Tomato

☀️ full sun💧💧 moderate water❄ Hardy: Zone 3a – Zone 11b

Climate Match for your location

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A warm-season vegetable that produces red, edible fruits on bushy or vining stems. Requires consistent moisture and warmth for best yields.

Why grow it

Tomato offers reliable productivity and culinary versatility across a wider range of conditions than many specialty nightshades. Determinate (bush) varieties suit container and space-limited growing, while indeterminate types provide extended harvests in longer seasons. Unlike many heirloom alternatives, modern cultivars balance disease resistance with flavor, making tomato a practical foundation crop for diversified growing systems.

Watch out for

Staking or trellising needs depend on cultivar type and should be planned at planting rather than retrofitted. Inconsistent watering can trigger physiological disorders like blossom-end rot and fruit cracking, requiring attention to soil moisture patterns rather than just total water volume. Dense foliage in humid conditions benefits from selective pruning to improve air circulation and reduce disease pressure.

Overview

Form
Upright
Growth Rate
fast
Size
1.5–6′ tall × 1.5–4′ wide
Dormancy
deciduous
Family
Solanaceae
EdiblePollinators & beneficial insects

Native Range

South America

Seasonality

Bloom Season

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D

Harvest Season

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D

Edible Parts

fruitleaf

Season of Interest

SummerFall

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Companion Planting

Plants well with

20
CCommon Thyme

Common Thyme

Thymus vulgaris

Thyme's thymol content repels spider mites, whiteflies, and other small arthropod pests of tomatoes.

Source
CCommon Comfrey

Common Comfrey

Symphytum officinale

Comfrey's deep roots accumulate potassium and other minerals that improve tomato nutrient availability and disease resistance when used as mulch or companion.

Source
MMexican Marigold

Mexican Marigold

Tagetes erecta

Tagetes erecta roots exude alpha-terthienyl and thiophene derivatives that suppress root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.), a verified, replicated companion planting benefit for solanaceous crops including tomato.

Source

Avoid near

4
EEastern Black Walnut

Eastern Black Walnut

Juglans nigra

Juglans nigra exudes juglone (5-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone), an allelopathic compound that causes wilt and death in solanaceous plants including tomato within a 50-80 ft radius.

Source
PPersian Walnut

Persian Walnut

Juglans regia

Persian walnut also produces juglone compounds that inhibit growth in susceptible plants though typically in lower concentrations than black walnut.

Source
WWormwood

Wormwood

Artemisia absinthium

Wormwood produces strong allelopathic compounds including absinthin that can inhibit neighboring plant growth. Its proximity typically reduces tomato vigor.