Tomato Beefsteak - Ontario Seed Company

Solanum lycopersicum

Despite all the hybrid beefsteak varieties that are available, this remains our most popular main season tomato - mostly because of its consistent performance and heavy yields! Large solid fruits weighing up to 260 g (9 oz.) are a rich red colour. Sow seeds indoors at least six weeks before spring frost. Bears first ripe fruit about 60 days after transplanting. It's important to irrigate frequently so the plants never wilt. Days to harvest are highly variable depending on growing conditions. Indeterminate growth pattern (individual fruits ripen successively over many days).

How to Grow

Sow seeds indoors about 6-8 weeks before last spring frost date - use a peat moss based growing mix for germination and growing seedlings. The temperature of the seeding mix should be 21-24 C (70-75 F) for prompt germination. When the seedlings are 4 cm (1.75") high, transplant each into individual peat pots - reducing temperature to 15-18 C (59-65 F) until planting in the garden late May. After hardening off, transplant into well-drained organic soil 60 cm (24") apart for determinate varieties and 90 cm (36") apart for indeterminate varieties. Tomatoes need warmth, direct sunlight & a steady supply of water. Keep plants well-watered Apply the water to the soil rather than showering down over the plants. Rotate the crop position in the garden every year. Wait three years to use the same patch in the garden. Dig out and discard diseased plants. Do not compost. It is also very important to keep plants evenly watered as fluctuations in available soil moisture can lead to a host of problems such as fruit cracking or splitting, irregular fruiting and increasing the chance of blossom end rot developing. Apply a mulch of straw around plants to protect them from soil borne diseases and to help conserve soil moisture.