From mid-March you can officially prefer tomatoes. You sow them and grow them into young plants, for example on the windowsill. After pricking out and repotting, there is still some time in which you can wait impatiently for planting out. But then the question also arises: When can you plant tomatoes in 2024?
Some traditionally follow the ice saints, others use the lunar calendar or both. What do both variants mean and how do they vary depending on whether the plants are grown outdoors or in a greenhouse?
Sowing according to the lunar calendar – what the moon does
We know that the moon influences the seas with their ebbs and flows. The same is said to be the case with plant juices. Anyone who follows the lunar calendar when gardening wants to use the power of the moon. So when can you plant or sow tomatoes according to the 2024 lunar calendar?
The main rules when sowing according to the moon:
- If the moon is waning, plants that grow downwards benefitfor example root vegetables.
- As the moon waxes, the plant juices circulate in the upward-growing vegetables. This also includes our tomatoes.
But the place of cultivation is also important. Of course, the dates differ depending on whether you prefer the plants on the windowsill or in the greenhouse or directly outdoors.
What does this mean for bringing tomatoes forward in 2024?
So, when do you prefer tomatoes, according to the lunar calendar?
- Grow your plants on thewindow sillbefore, choose March 25th or 27th.
- Is yoursHeated greenhouse, this year the same days as for the windowsill are very suitable, i.e. March 25th and 27th.
- For theunheated greenhouseyou should be patient a little longer. Here you wait until April and then it is best to choose the dates from April 12th to 15th.
- In addition to the early tomatoes, would you also like some directly at a later date?sow outdoors, you can do this in May at the earliest and, more precisely, best on the days: May 15th to 19th, May 23rd and 24th, June 14th and 16th
- Unfavorable days for sowing outdoorsThis year the days are from May 11th to 15th.
You can choose how you prefer tomato plantsread here.
When to plant tomatoes in 2024 – frost periods should definitely be over
Regardless of the year, the most important thing is that the frost period is over. Since the tomato plants are not native plants, they cannot tolerate frost. If you go outside too early, your efforts in pre-breeding will have been in vain.
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But it shouldn’t be too late either. In addition to plenty of heat, the plants also need a lot of light, which they get best outside. If they are released outdoors too late, they will grow more slowly and this can have a negative impact on the entire fruit formation and harvest. They move backwards or even stop altogether.
What does the rule say about the Ice Saints?
The Ice Saints are considered the safest time to finally bring frost-sensitive plants outside. While there could always be late frost before, from now on this risk is zero. The Ice Saints 2024 fall on theMay 11th to 15th.
When can tomatoes go outdoors?
After an acclimatization phase in which you help the tomato plants get used to the conditions outside, they are officially allowed into the vegetable patch or onto the balcony/terrace. This acclimatization phase begins before the Ice Saints and is always carried out on frost-free, mild days. How exactly can youread here.
When can tomatoes go into the greenhouse?
If you have a greenhouse available, you can even postpone planting by several weeks. This means that you can plant your tomatoes in the greenhouse between mid-March and mid-April. This has the advantage that they are provided with a lot of sunlight very early and the fruits become particularly juicy and aromatic.
