How to Grow Rutgers
Solanum lycopersicum 'Rutgers'
Rutgers is a popular heirloom tomato celebrated for its reliable yield and robust flavor. Gardeners prize this variety for its excellent disease resistance and classic red fruit that ripens consistently in the season.
📷 Wikipedia: TomatoStarting Rutgers: indoors or direct sow?
🏠 Start indoors 6 weeks before your last spring frost, then move the seedlings outside.
Start seeds indoors six weeks before the last frost date, then transplant seedlings outdoors only after all danger of frost has passed and soil temperatures are warm.
Soil, care & harvest
Prepare your soil to a pH between 6.0 and 6.8, ensuring it is loose and well-drained. As a warm-season crop, you must wait until after the last spring frost when the soil has warmed up before planting outdoors. Start seeds indoors about six weeks prior to the expected frost date if you wish to head-start them, or direct sow immediately once temperatures are safe.
Space plants 24 to 36 inches apart in a bed receiving full sun for at least six hours daily. Install cages or trellises early to support the heavy fruit and keep foliage off the ground. Maintain consistent moisture by watering deeply at the base, and apply mulch around the roots to retain water while feeding regularly during the growing season.
Watch for tomato hornworms, aphids, whiteflies, and cutworms; inspect leaves frequently and remove pests manually or use organic controls. Prevent early blight, late blight, fusarium wilt, and bacterial spot by rotating crops and avoiding overhead watering. Harvest ripe fruit 75 to 85 days after planting, checking daily for the deep red color indicating peak sweetness.
When to Plant Rutgers
Planting windows vary by USDA hardiness zone. Look up yours by ZIP code.
| Zone | Start Indoors | Direct Sow | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 1 | May | — | October – August |
| Zone 2 | April – May | — | September |
| Zone 3 | April | — | September – October |
| Zone 4 | March – April | — | August – October |
| Zone 5 | March | — | August – October |
| Zone 6 | March | — | August – October |
| Zone 7 | February – March | — | July – September |
| Zone 8 | February | — | July – September |
| Zone 9 | January | — | June – August |
| Zone 10 | January | — | May – July |
| Zone 11 | January | — | April – June |
| Zone 12 | January | — | April – June |
| Zone 13 | January | — | April – June |
Companion Plants for Rutgers
✓ Good companions
Repels aphids and whiteflies, may improve flavor
Attracts pollinators and may repel hornworms
Loosens soil for tomato roots, doesn't compete for space
Repels aphids and may improve tomato flavor
Deters nematodes and aphids with natural compounds
Acts as trap crop for aphids and cucumber beetles
Repels pests and may enhance tomato growth
Attracts beneficial insects like hoverflies that eat aphids
✗ Keep away from
Produces juglone toxin that causes tomato wilt and death
Heavy feeders that compete for nutrients, may stunt tomato growth
Both attract corn earworm, creating concentrated pest problems
Inhibits growth of most garden plants through allelopathy
Nutrition Facts
Per 100g serving (USDA FoodData Central)
