ONLY AVAILABLE as Local Pickup or Local Delivery in Northern and Central New Jersey, Metro New York City, Westchester, Rockland, Southern Orange Counties.
Bonnie Plants Rutgers Tomato is heirloom & proven to be highly productive. The large, red fruits have a thick flesh with superior flavor. Strong determinate vines yield a large initial crop followed by several flushes of fruit. This is one of those classic tomatoes that has been used as a parent in the breeding of many other hybrids. Seldom has problems with cracking. Resistant to verticillium wilt (V), fusarium wilt (F), and alternaria stem canker (A).
Light Full sun
Fruit size 7 oz
Matures 73 days
Plant spacing 24 to 36 inches apart
Plant size 4 to 5 feet tall
Plant type Determinate
How to Plant and Care for Tomatoes
Tomatoes run on warmth; plant in late spring and early summer except in zone 10, where they are a fall and winter crop.
Devote a prime, sunny spot to growing tomatoes. Tomatoes need at least 6 to 8 hours of sun to bring out their best flavors.
You will need to stake, trellis, or cage most tomato plants to keep them off the ground. Decide on a support plan before you set out your plants, then add that support directly after planting.
Give each plant enough room to grow. Space robust, long-vined, indeterminate varieties about 3 feet apart. Stockier determinate plants can be grown 2 feet apart. Improve the planting area by mixing in a few inches of high quality garden soil, like aged compost-enriched Miracle-Gro® Performance Organics® All Purpose In-Ground Soil, with the top layer of existing soil. If growing in containers, you’ll need at least a 24-inch pot for an indeterminate variety, or an 18-inch pot for a determinate variety. Be sure to fill containers with premium potting mix, such as Miracle-Gro® Performance Organics® Container Mix, for best growth.
Tomatoes take up nutrients best when the soil pH ranges from 6.2 to 6.8, and they need a constant supply of major and minor plant nutrients. To provide needed nutrients, mix a continuous-release fertilizer with calcium, like Miracle-Gro® Performance Organics® Edibles Plant Nutrition Granules, into the soil as you prepare the planting holes. Continue feeding during the growing season as the label directs. This will help protect fruit from blossom end rot, a problem that can occur when the plant isn’t getting enough calcium.
At the same time, mix in 3 to 4 inches of compost, which will provide minor nutrients and help hold moisture and fertilizer in the soil until it is needed by the plants.
To grow a really strong tomato plant, we recommend burying two-thirds of the stem when planting. This crucial step will allow the plant to sprout roots along the buried stem, so your plant will be stronger and better able to find water in a drought. Please note that this deep-planting method only works with tomatoes (and tomatillos), not other veggies.
Immediately after planting, water seedlings to help settle them in.
You can combine fast-maturing varieties with special season-stretching techniques to grow an early crop, but wait until the last frost has passed to plant main-season tomatoes.
Cover the ground with 2 to 4 inches of mulch to minimize weeds and help keep the soil evenly moist. Straw and shredded leaves make great mulches for tomatoes.
Water regularly, aiming for at least an inch of moisture per week (through rain or watering), more in the summertime. Feel the soil; if the top inch is dry, it’s time to water.
