Growing tomatoes in Montana has been a pastime for many locals. Tomatoes have a lot of health benefits, being a common ingredient in the kitchen at home, and in restaurants. As a superfood, tomatoes are packed with nutrients, offering health benefits for the body. These include offering for the best of skincare, improving your cardiovascular health, and aiding in weight loss.

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These tomatoes are also known to be the fourth most popular vegetable in the market today, after potatoes, onions, and lettuce. Montana is a state that has a lot of arable land for growing tomatoes. Home to landmarks such as the Glacier National Park, Lake McDonald, Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site, Deer Lodge, and more, Montana offers promising locations perfect for growing tomatoes.

Let’s find out how it is best to grow these tomatoes in this Treasure State.

Your Definitive Guide To Growing Tomatoes In Montana

Growing tomatoes in Montana should be fun and easy just like when cultivating other plants we have on our website. Have you browsed through our blog page? If not, have a look to see resources on cultivating various plants you can use for the kitchen and for your well-being.

Not every state in the U.S. has similar temperatures and climate, making these lands different even if you have the same crop.

Here in Montana, planting tomatoes usually begin during May, and the weather must permit. With the earliest varieties, direct seeding should be carried through, but there must be the earlier varieties, and it is necessary that the plants are “hardened-off” before they are transplanted. One of the best ways to do this is to expose these crops to external conditions step-by-step, and they can start with about two hours of shade, increasing the time’s length each day and exposing them to the sun. These plants, remember, won’t be able to sunburn, and can gradually strengthen up before they are planted.

Then, you must also be able to consider the garden spaces for these tomatoes. Take note that these are very productive in full sun. Tomatoes can grow best at temperatures of 95 degrees, on warmer days and nights. The pH of the soil must be from 5.5 to 7.5.

The planting bed must not be very wet, but should be moist. You can water early in the day, allowing the leaves to dry out early and reduce the risks from plant disease. This includes the blossom-end rot that is caused by insufficient water when developing these fruits, coupled with insufficient calcium. When it comes to organic gardening, you can have these tomatoes in your healthy diets.

Take note of the tomato pests which may include cutworms, gophers, Colorado potato beetles, stink bugs, aphids, and more. By May, you must be able to use a garlic spray and must continue throughout the fall to manage these leafhoppers.

These tomatoes must also be gathered when they are full in size, and when these fruits have separated from the vine quite easily. You may check for every three days to keep the plants in production, and by July, your first tomatoes will be ready.

What Vegetables Grow Well In Montana?

Companion planting is one of the best ways to be able to grow your fruits and vegetables well, and in Montana, there are vegetables that could grow well with these tomatoes. Let’s take a look at each of them in line with the recipes that you could possibly make from these products.

Spinach recipes

Easy Sautéed Spinach
The Best Sauteed Spinach
Garlic Sauteed Spinach
Easy Creamed Spinach
Spaghetti with Garlic & Spinach

Carrots recipes

Perfect Roasted Carrots
Sauteed Carrots
Honey Garlic Butter Roasted Carrots
Glazed Carrots
Easy Sauteed Carrots

Pea recipes

Parmesan Peas
Green Pea Mash
Italian Peas
Green Peas with Butter
Sugar Snap Peas with Lemon

Lettuce recipes

Stir-Fried Garlic Lettuce
Simple Lettuce Salad
Lettuce Salad With Tomato And Cucumber
Stir-Fried Lettuce
Lettuce and Beef Stir Fry in Osyter Sauce

Beets recipes

Roasted Beets with Balsamic Glaze
Roasted Beets
Balsamic Roasted Beets Recipe
Roasted Beets with Citrus
Pickled Beets

Green beans recipes

Buttery Garlic Green Beans
Quick and Easy Green Beans
Garlic Green Beans with Parmesan
French String Beans with Shallots

Heavenly Sauteed String Beans with Garlic

What Months Are Suitable To Grow Tomatoes In Montana?

What a great way to have your own tomato plantation, isn’t it? Now, we will move forward with the months when it is suitable to grow tomatoes in Montana. Keep on reading.

These should be the month of September, March, and May.

When it comes to tomatoes, gardening during the fall season can be challenging more so than in spring, since the gardener is looking toward getting mature crops and having these harvested before the beginning of the winter frosts around September.

However, sowing seeds indoors is best during the month of March, while transplanting seedlings in the garden is done best during the month of May.

Do Tomatoes Come Back Annually?

This is a very interesting question to answer when you are growing tomatoes in Montana. Tomatoes are common home garden vegetables that are easy to grow and are categorized as annuals by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Growing these tomatoes as perennials enable them to produce tomatoes all-year, and can get to the size of small trees.

How Tall Should These Tomatoes Grow?

Specialists are saying that they can get to the desired height of five feet, and these are enough, but there are tomatoes that you can have at 20 feet tall. Take note that these plants will not be putting out new growth at their topmost portion, as the tomato focuses on this new growth right on the lower portion.

We hope you have learned a lot from our post today. Looking to plant your tomatoes in the perfect greenhouse? Head over to www.krostrade.com to see our product collection of these greenhouses, plus so much more.