Heard the head botanist at the local arboretum say you should wait until the ground hits 60 degrees before planting tomatoes

I was volunteering at the Morton Arboretum last Saturday and the head guy was talking to some students. He said everyone gets impatient and plants tomatoes way too early when the soil is still cold. He checked the temp with a probe near the rose garden and it was only 48 degrees. He said if you plant before 60, the roots just sit there and rot. I always went by the last frost date but now I'm thinking I should get a soil thermometer for $10 at Menards. Has anyone else had better luck waiting on soil temp instead of the calendar?

2 comments

2 Comments

sethc124d agoMost Upvoted

Watching the ground temp like a hawk sounds like overthinking a pretty simple tradition. My grandpa planted tomatoes on Mother's Day every single year and got bumper crops even when it was still chilly. A thermometer at Menards is a cheap way to feel scientific, but all that waiting just means your neighbors are already eating salsa while your roots are still sulking in the dirt.

the_anthony6h ago

Heard this exact situation from my buddy Marcus last summer, @sethc12. He waited and waited for that perfect 60 degree mark, then a late cold snap came through and he had to run outside at midnight covering everything with old bedsheets. Meanwhile his neighbor's early planted tomatoes just shrugged it off like it was nothing.