Thanks! What does the HZ8 Sun-35 in your name mean?

HZ is your heat zone which is often very different from your garden zone and more informative. I don't know that BC is included in the Heat Zone Maps but would assume you are similar to far northwest Washington state which is HZ 2.

Sun-35 stands for the Sunset gardening zone which is a different and much more detailed and precise method for defining one's climate and micro-climate details relative to gardening. Sunset does cover BC in their zone breakdowns published in "Sunset Western Gardening" book.

Dave

Awesome info thanks! HZ2 sounds kind of cold I guess that's why my tomatoes usually take way longer that the DTM on packets. These are our temps now, would it be safe to say that they are a bit low in terms of ideal tomato growth conditions?

Yes, they are low. Especially the night temps.

Dave

That's why growing tomatoes successfully in the PNW is such a challenge!! We seldom get much summer heat and nighttime temps usually remain low. Great for sleeping without need for any AC but not wonderful for tomato growing :-))

The tomatoes that tend to do best in our cool summer climate are those with an early harvest period - Early Girl, Stupice, Matina, Oregon Spring, Legend and any of the small cherry or grape tomatoes.

Thanks gardengal! I am growing an early girl and mostly cherry or cocktail types. I had good success with Lemon Boy last year as well. Do you find that late blight is an issue most years and that's what generally ends the season here?

To be honest, I grow all my tomatoes in containers and........knock on wood..........I have never had any disease issues. I find container culture to be a big bonus in that regard. The end of the season here IME is when the night time temperatures drop even lower than normal. Once we hover around 50F at night - usually in mid to late September - then the plants stop flowering and start to shut down.