How to Grow Better Boy
Solanum lycopersicum 'Better Boy'
Better Boy tomatoes are a popular hybrid choice for home gardens due to their excellent flavor and disease resistance. Gardeners value this variety for its reliable yield of large, meaty fruits that resist common wilts.
📷 Wikimedia CommonsStarting Better Boy: indoors or direct sow?
🌾 Sow directly in the garden — Better Boy is not usually started indoors.
Do not start indoors weeks before the last frost; instead, direct sow seeds outdoors only after the soil has warmed and all danger of spring frost has passed.
Soil, care & harvest
Prepare your soil with organic matter and adjust the pH to fall between 6.0 and 7.0 for optimal growth. As a warm-season crop, start seeds indoors only after the last frost date or direct sow them once the soil is consistently warm. Plant seeds at a depth of about 1/4 inch; they typically germinate within 7 to 14 days.
Space plants 24 to 30 inches apart to ensure good air circulation. Install stakes or cages early for support as the vines grow. Provide consistent moisture, watering deeply and regularly to prevent cracking. Apply a layer of mulch around the base to retain water and feed the soil with balanced fertilizer during the growing season.
Watch for tomato hornworms, cutworms, and aphids, treating infestations promptly with organic controls. While susceptible to late blight, early blight, and bacterial spot, this variety offers excellent resistance to wilts; practice crop rotation to minimize disease risk. Harvest ripe fruit approximately 70 to 75 days after transplanting when the color is uniform.
When to Plant Better Boy
Planting windows vary by USDA hardiness zone. Look up yours by ZIP code.
| Zone | Start Indoors | Direct Sow | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 1 | May | — | September – August |
| Zone 2 | April – May | — | September |
| Zone 3 | April | — | August – October |
| Zone 4 | March – April | — | August – October |
| Zone 5 | March | — | August – October |
| Zone 6 | March | — | July – September |
| Zone 7 | February – March | — | July – September |
| Zone 8 | February | — | June – August |
| Zone 9 | January | — | May – July |
| Zone 10 | January | — | May – July |
| Zone 11 | January | — | April – June |
| Zone 12 | January | — | April – June |
| Zone 13 | January | — | April – June |
Companion Plants for Better Boy
✓ Good companions
Repels aphids and whiteflies, may improve flavor
Attracts pollinators and may repel tomato hornworms
Loosens soil for tomato roots and doesn't compete for nutrients
Repels aphids and may improve tomato growth and flavor
Provides ground cover and benefits from tomato's partial shade
Deters nematodes and whiteflies with natural compounds
Acts as trap crop for aphids and cucumber beetles
Attracts beneficial insects like hoverflies and parasitic wasps
✗ Keep away from
Produces juglone which is toxic to tomatoes and causes wilting
Compete for nutrients and may stunt tomato growth
Inhibits growth of tomatoes through allelopathic compounds
Nutrition Facts
Per 100g serving (USDA FoodData Central)
