Mr Stripey Tomato

Start seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last spring frost date. Sow seeds 1/4 inch deep in warm soil (70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit) and keep consistently moist. Provide bright light once seedlings emerge, or use grow lights placed close to the developing plants.

Harden off seedlings over 7 to 10 days by gradually exposing them to outdoor conditions. Transplant outdoors after your last frost date when soil has warmed to at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit, spacing plants 18 inches apart in rows 36 inches apart. Bury the stem deeper than it was growing in pots; tomatoes will root along the buried stem for a stronger plant.

Harvest Mr Stripey tomatoes when the striped pattern is fully visible and the fruit yields slightly to gentle pressure. Most fruit will reach full color and size around 80 days from transplant. Tomatoes can be picked at the mature green stage (when stripes are visible but the base color hasn't fully shifted to red) and ripened indoors, or left on the vine for fully developed flavor. Gently twist and lift ripe fruit from the vine, or use pruners to avoid damaging the plant.

As an indeterminate variety, Mr Stripey will grow indefinitely throughout the season. Prune suckers (shoots that form between the main stem and leaf branches) to direct energy into fruiting and to improve air circulation, which helps prevent disease. Maintain a main stem or two main stems trained vertically on a trellis, removing lower leaves as the plant grows taller to further enhance airflow and reduce fungal disease risk.