Better Boy Plus Tomato

Start seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last spring frost. Sow seeds 1/4 inch deep in warm soil (70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit) and keep the seedbed consistently moist. Provide bright light once seedlings emerge, and maintain temperatures around 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

Transplant seedlings outdoors after your last frost date when soil has warmed to at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit, and harden off seedlings over 7 to 10 days by gradually exposing them to outdoor conditions. Space plants 24 inches apart with 36 inches between rows in full sun. Install support structures at planting time.

Pick fruits when they reach full red color and yield slightly to gentle pressure, typically 70 days after transplanting. For peak flavor and texture, harvest tomatoes at full ripeness when they are deep red throughout, not pale or partially colored. You can also harvest breaker-stage tomatoes (when the first blush of color appears) if frost threatens at season's end; they will continue to ripen indoors at room temperature.

As an indeterminate variety, Better Boy Plus benefits from regular sucker removal to manage the vine and concentrate energy into fruit production. Remove suckers (shoots that sprout between the main stem and leaf branches) once they reach 2 to 3 inches long by pinching or snipping them off cleanly. Leave the main leader and primary side stems intact, and avoid heavy pruning that exposes fruit to direct sunlight.