For a fall crop? I remember being told last year that a July planting is ideal. But, I didn't get the seed started in time for fall tomatoes. And just as my summer ones were bouncing back, we had that mid October freeze.

I'm sure someone more experienced will be around to help you out.

thanks haxelinok; I have also heard July

OSU Factsheet says July 1-15 for tomatoes, so that would mean starting them in May right?

https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/fall-gardening.html

I have heard after July 4. I planted mine around July 20 last year and had fruit from most of them before that awful October freeze. That would make the start date the first two weeks of May, I think.

—Marleigh

I think much depends on your location in Oklahoma. I prefer to put fall tomato plants in the ground sometime during the last two weeks of June, staying just a week or two ahead of OSU's recommended fall tomato planting dates.

If we get milder summer weather, we'll get some good fruit set in the summer months and an earlier fall harvest. I'm pretty far south, almost in Texas, and have found I get a heavier fall crop from June-planted tomato plants than those planted in July. If I wait until July, I often lose a lot of the fall tomatoes to early cold weather, especially in the years when the first freeze is early like the one that mentioned Marleigh that hit pretty much statewide last October, a good 4-6 weeks earlier than usual. We all were scrambling to harvest what we could before that cold arrived.

Fall tomato fruit set is iffy as it is heavily dependent on the weather, but I'd rather have plants that are a little further along and blooming just in case it might be the sort of summer when the fall tomatoes get to fruit early. Since I raise fall tomato seedlings outdoors, it only takes them 3 or 4 weeks to reach a nice transplant size as they grow faster than indoor seedlings raised under lights, so I start fall tomato plants in mid-May in order to transplant them in mid-June.

Dawn

Thanks so much Dawn; We live in Norman, so we are well north of you. Not an expert, but it does seem like OSU is overly cautious in their recommendations. I had not thought about starting seeds outside. What a great idea. Any pit falls I need to be aware of? For instance can the seedlings be damaged by too much heat/sun?

Yay! Another Norman person!

Howard, I start summer tomatoes later now. Not until the first week of March because I don't need to deal with 2 ft tall "seedlings" until it's safe to plant them. Ever again in my life. haha. What I've noticed about starting them this late, is that they can mostly go right outside to harden off as soon as they sprout. They get the wind, the sun, even cooler temps (not anything under 40) and it seems that they are healthier. I would imagine starting them outdoors for a fall crop would be similar.

But, it's so hot and you wouldn't want to let them dry out. I would protect them a bit from the sun during the hottest times. I might try this too. I have so many tomatoes this year...but why not?

Thanks again Hazel, you are making a good point. there has to be a place for new plants to go and this means tearing other plants out. Would not want to do this too soon :-)