
Growing Tomatoes
Growing tomatoes in Webster, NY (Zone 6a) requires attention to climate, soil, and timing! Tomatoes thrive in warm weather, with at least 6–8 hours of sun, well-drained soil, and consistent care. Here are our suggestions to maximize your harvest.
1. Timing and Starting
- Start Date: Mid-May is ideal for planting tomatoes in Webster. The last frost is typically early May (around May 5–10), and soil temperatures should be above 60°F (check with a soil thermometer). Nighttime temps should consistently be above 50°F, which they likely are by May 15.
- Transplants vs. Seeds: In May, use transplants (4–6-week-old seedlings) for a faster harvest. If you haven’t started your seeds, by May its too late in the season (they’re better started indoors in March). Buy healthy, stocky plants (6–10 inches tall) from a local nursery. Look for varieties suited to Zone 6a.
2. Choosing Varieties
- Best for Webster:
- Early Girl (50–60 days to harvest): Quick-maturing, good for cooler climates, medium-sized fruit.
- Jet Star (70 days): Disease-resistant, prolific, great flavor, medium-large fruit.
- Big Beef (73 days): Large, flavorful beefsteak, performs well in Zone 6a.
- Sungold (57 days): Sweet cherry tomatoes, high-yield, hummingbirds may visit blossoms.
- Determinate vs. Indeterminate:
- Determinate (e.g., Early Girl): Compact, set fruit all at once, good for small spaces.
- Indeterminate (e.g., Sungold, Big Beef): Grow/vine all season, produce until frost, need more support but yield more over time.
- For your small space, try 1–2 indeterminate plants (like Sungold for snacking) and 1 determinate (like Early Girl for a quick harvest).
3. Site and Soil Prep
- Location: Pick a sunny spot with 6–8 hours of direct sun.
- Soil:
- Type: Tomatoes need well-drained, loamy soil with pH 6.0–6.8 (test with a kit; adjust with lime to raise pH or sulfur to lower).
- Amendments: Mix in 2–3 inches of compost or aged manure to boost fertility. Webster’s clay-heavy soil benefits from adding perlite or sand for drainage.
- Spacing: Plant your tomato plants 2–3 ft apart (e.g., 2 ft for Sungold, 3 ft for Big Beef) to allow air circulation and reduce disease.
4. Planting
- Depth: Dig a deep hole or trench (8–10 inches). Strip lower leaves and plant so only the top 2–4 inches of the stem are above ground—roots will form along the buried stem, making the plant sturdier.
- Support: Install stakes, cages, or trellises at planting time (avoid damaging roots later). Indeterminate varieties like Sungold need a 5–6 ft stake or cage. Determinate ones like Early Girl can use a 4 ft cage.
- Companion Planting: Tomatoes pair well with marigolds (repel pests) or basil (improves flavor, deters insects). Plant these nearby but avoid overcrowding.
5. Care and Maintenance
- Watering: Water deeply (1–2 inches per week) at the base, not overhead, to prevent fungal diseases like blight. Keep soil consistently moist but not soggy. Mulch with 2 inches of straw or shredded bark to retain moisture and keep soil temperature stable.
- Fertilizing:
- At planting: Add a balanced fertilizer (e.g., 10-10-10) or compost tea.
- During growth: Side-dress with a high-phosphorus fertilizer (e.g., 5-10-10) when flowers form, then every 3–4 weeks. Avoid high-nitrogen fertilizers after flowering—they promote leaves over fruit.
- Pruning: For indeterminate varieties, pinch off suckers (small shoots between the main stem and branches) to focus energy on fruit. Leave determinate varieties unpruned.
- Pest/Disease:
- Common pests in Webster: Aphids, hornworms. Hand-pick hornworms; use insecticidal soap for aphids.
- Diseases: Early blight (brown spots on leaves) is common in humid summers. Use drip irrigation, ensure good air circulation, and apply a copper-based fungicide if needed.
- Deer: If deer are an issue (common in Webster), use netting or plant deer-repellent marigolds nearby.
6. Harvest and Timing
- When: Harvest starts ~60–80 days from planting (mid-July to early August for Early Girl, late August for Big Beef). Pick when fruits are fully colored and slightly soft to the touch.
- Frost Protection: First frost in Webster is ~October 5–15. Cover plants with row covers or bring potted tomatoes indoors if frost threatens before harvest is done.
- Yield: Expect 5–10 lbs per plant for determinate varieties, 10–15 lbs for indeterminate, depending on care and weather.
Local Tips for Growing Tomatoes in Webster
- Weather: July–August can hit 85°F with humidity. Mulch heavily and water in the morning to prevent leaf scorch.
- Nurseries: Most garden centers have tomato transplants now. Many also sell cages and organic fertilizers.
- Community: Cornell Cooperative Extension of Monroe County offers free tomato-growing workshops—check their website or call (585-461-1000).
Quick Timeline
- May 13–15: Buy transplants, prep soil, plant, install supports.
- June: Water, fertilize, prune suckers, monitor pests.
- July–August: Harvest begins (Early Girl first). Keep watering, fertilizing.
- September–October: Harvest until frost, protect plants if needed.
This approach will give you a solid tomato harvest by late summer while keeping your hummingbird garden thriving. If you want to focus on a specific variety, pest control, or container growing (if space gets tight), let me know!

Our Campari Experiment
We started campari seedlings indoors in March, from tomatoes purchased at Wegmans.
Growing campari tomatoes from supermarket tomatoes can be a fun experiment, but there are some challenges and considerations, especially in Webster, NY (Zone 6a). Campari tomatoes are sweet, juicy, cocktail-sized fruits (about 1–2 inches), typically grown as indeterminate varieties, which means they’ll vine and produce over a long season.
Pros
- Availability: You already have Campari tomatoes, so it’s a cost-free start. If the seeds are viable, you can grow a plant without buying transplants.
- Flavor Potential: If the supermarket Campari are from a non-hybrid or open-pollinated variety, you might replicate their sweet taste. Hybrids, however, may not breed true, leading to variable offspring.
- Learning Experience: It’s a great way to learn seed-saving and germination, especially in a small backyard garden.
Cons and Challenges
- Hybrid Risk: Most supermarket Campari tomatoes (e.g., those from brands like NatureSweet) are F1 hybrids, bred for uniformity and shelf life. Seeds from hybrids often produce plants with inconsistent fruit quality—smaller, less sweet, or different shapes than the parent. Check the packaging; if it says “hybrid” or lacks “heirloom” or “open-pollinated,” expect variability.
- Viability: Supermarket tomatoes are often stored long-term, reducing seed germination rates. Seeds may be old or treated, lowering success odds.
- Disease Risk: Store-bought tomatoes might carry pathogens (e.g., early blight or bacterial spot) from handling or storage, which can transfer to your garden soil, especially in Webster’s humid summers.
- Timing: At mid-May, you’re at the edge of planting season. Starting from seed now means a late harvest (80–100 days for Campari), potentially into September or October, risking frost damage (expected ~October 5–15 in Webster).
- Space: Campari’s indeterminate growth needs support (cages or stakes) and 2–3 ft spacing, which could crowd your 10×8 ft hummingbird bed if not planned carefully.
Is It a Good Idea?
- Not Ideal, but Possible: It’s not the best approach for a reliable harvest due to hybrid likelihood and timing, but it can work with effort. For a small garden like yours, starting with store-bought seeds or transplants would be more efficient. However, if you’re set on trying, here’s how to make it succeed.
How to Grow Campari from Supermarket Tomatoes
- Extract Seeds:
- Scoop out the gel and seeds from a ripe Campari tomato.
- Place in a small jar with water, let ferment for 2–3 days (until a mold layer forms—this removes germination inhibitors). Stir daily.
- Rinse seeds in a fine sieve, dry on a paper towel for 1–2 days (not in direct sun), then store in a cool, dry place until planting.
- Germination:
- Since it’s May 13, start seeds indoors now for a head start. Use seed trays with potting mix, plant 1/4 inch deep, keep at 75–85°F (use a heat mat if possible).
- Expect germination in 5–10 days. Transplant seedlings outside when they have 2–4 true leaves and nighttime temps stay above 50°F (likely late May in Webster).
- Planting:
- Choose a sunny spot in your bed.
- Harden off seedlings for 7–10 days (gradual outdoor exposure). Plant 2–3 ft apart, burying the stem deep (as with other tomatoes).
- Install a 5–6 ft cage or stake immediately.
- Care:
- Water deeply (1–2 inches weekly) at the base, mulch with straw, and fertilize with 5-10-10 when flowering starts.
- Prune suckers to focus growth. Watch for blight (common in Webster); use drip irrigation and space plants for air circulation.
- Harvest in late August–October (80–100 days from transplanting).
Alternatives
- Buy Transplants: Local nurseries sell Campari transplants now for $4–6 each. They’re bred for your zone, ensuring better yield and timing (harvest by August).
- Save for Next Year: Extract and dry seeds now, store them, and start indoors in March 2026 for a 2026 season. This avoids the late-start issue.
Recommendation
- Try It, but Hedge Your Bet: Go ahead with the supermarket seeds as an experiment—start 2–3 indoors today. Simultaneously, buy 1–2 Campari transplants this week for a guaranteed harvest by August. This balances the gamble with reliability.
- Monitor: If hybrid offspring disappoint (e.g., small or bland fruit), note it for next year and source heirloom Campari seeds.