Celebration Tomato

Start seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last spring frost. Sow seeds ¼ inch deep in warm soil, around 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit, keeping the soil consistently moist. Seedlings will emerge in 5 to 10 days and should be grown under bright light to prevent legginess.

Harden off seedlings over 7 to 10 days by gradually exposing them to outdoor conditions. Transplant into the garden after your last frost date when soil has warmed to at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit, ideally closer to 70 degrees. Space plants 24 inches apart with rows 36 inches apart.

Pick fruits when they reach full red color and yield slightly to gentle pressure, they should not be mushy, but should give just a bit when squeezed. Celebration fruits mature consistently, so you can often harvest the majority of ripe tomatoes in a single window rather than staggered pickings. Left on the vine just a day or two past peak ripeness, they'll be sweeter and fuller in flavor, though determinate varieties set their crop all at once, so harvest timing is less critical than with indeterminate types.

Celebration is determinate, meaning it grows to a defined size and produces its fruit in a concentrated flush rather than continuously throughout the season. Light pruning of lower leaves (once the plant is established and producing) improves air circulation and can help prevent soil-borne diseases from splashing up onto foliage. However, determinate varieties don't require the aggressive pruning that indeterminate types do; focus on removing only leaves that show disease or dense growth that blocks airflow rather than aggressively removing suckers.