How Much Room Does a Tomato Plant Need?

Although red is the most common, tomatoes come in many colors.

Tomatoes are the most common type of vegetable grown in home gardens in the United States. Tomatoes are a warm season vegetable susceptible to spring and fall freezes. There are hundreds of varieties of tomatoes with varying space requirements.

Spacing

Sufficient space for dwarf sized tomato plants is approximately 12 inches apart in a row. Tomato plants attached to a stake or garden trellis need 15 to 24 inches between plants. Indeterminate tomato plants need at least 4 feet between plants and 5 to 6 feet of space between rows, since these tomatoes plants continuously spread vertically and horizontally.

Depth

Plant tomato seeds ½ inch deep indoors and transplant outdoors after the last frost. Tomato starter plants 6 to 10 inches tall are a good size for planting outdoors. Put the starter plants deep into the soil, stopping at the first set of leaves that touch the ground.

Tomato Cages

Tomato cages enable gardeners to keep tomato plants upright. A tomato cage must be as tall as the maximum growing height of a tomato plant. Determine tomato plants grow to be 3 to 4 feet tall, and indeterminate tomato plants grow at least 6 feet in height.

References

• University of Illinois Extension: Watch Your Garden Grow
• Veggie Harvest: Tomato Growing and Harvest Information