San Marzano Tomato

San Marzano is a classic Italian paste tomato. As I intend to make a lot of salsa and sauces, I chose this tomato as it is an indeterminant variety, as compared to a tomato like Roma. This one should be fun to cross with some of the other tomatoes I've planted this year.



Annual or Perennial?: Annual
Germination time: 7-14 days
Days until maturity: 80 days
Light requirements: Full sun (6+ hours)
Plant size: Large
Spacing: 12 - 18 inches
Temperature: Warm
Difficulty: Medium
Traits: Indeterminate
Companion plants: Carrots, lettuce, basil, marigolds. Do not plant near beans, the extra nitrogen causes too much leave growth.
Special needs: Use a tomato cage or a stake to support plants when planting or once the plant grows large enough. Alternative, grow using stringed trellis.

When to plant: It is best to start tomatoes indoors about 2 months before the average last frost date. In warmer climates, it is possible to start the seed outdoors after nights have warmed above 50 degrees.

How to grow: Plant in a suitable sized container (1-5 gallons) or in the soil spaced 18" away from other plants. Keep well watered, using nitrogen fertilizer early on, and phosphorous fertilizer as flowers begin to form. Plants can grow over 4 feet tall. Train plants up cages by pruning away suckers and leaving a single stem.

How to harvest: Tomatoes will grow into egg like shapes and ripen from top down. Pick tomatoes when ripe. The fruit will be red when it is ready.

Photos:

Seeds

Seedlings

Starts in the nursery

Transplanted start

5 Weeks old

7-8 weeks
(coming soon)

Harvested Tomatoes

(coming soon)

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