How to Grow and Care for Beefsteak Tomatoes

All beefsteak tomato varieties are prone to various diseases and pests. Watch closely for any issues and take care of them as soon as possible. Some common pests are tomato hornworms, aphids, rodents such as squirrels, and flea beetles. Humid weather may cause fungal diseases like early blight and late blight.

Growing Beefsteak Tomato Plants In The Garden

Beefsteak tomatoes, aptly named large, thickly fleshed fruits, are one of the favorite tomato varieties for the home garden. Growing beefsteak tomatoes requires a heavy cage or stakes to support the often 1-pound (0.5 kg.) fruits. Beefsteak tomato varieties are late maturing and should be started indoors to extend the growing period. The beefsteak tomato plant produces classic slicing tomatoes that your family will love.

Beefsteak Tomato Varieties

Beefsteak tomatoes have meaty flesh and numerous seeds. There are many varieties available with different sized fruit, harvest times, and growing ranges.

• Some of the varieties are more suited to humid climates such as Mortgage Lifter and Grosse Lisse.
• The huge nearly 2 pound (1 kg.) Tidwell German and Pink Ponderosa are both old-time favorites.
• For super-productive plants, chose Marizol Red, Olena Ukranian, and Royal Hillbilly.
• There are many heirloom varieties of beefsteak. Tappy’s Finest, Richardson, Soldaki, and Stump of the World are just a few of the saved seeds of once common tomatoes.
• If you are growing beefsteak tomatoes to amaze friends and family, choose Mr. Underwood’s Pink German Giant or Neves Azorean Red. These plants frequently produce 3 pound (1.5 kg.) fruits of excellent flavor and juiciness.

Planting Beefsteak Tomatoes

Most of the beefsteak tomato varieties require a growing season of at least 85 days to harvest. This is not possible in most of the United States, which means starts or your own transplants are the best way to begin. If you are a stickler for consistency, you’ll want to start your own seed. March is an ideal time for planting beefsteak tomatoes indoors. Sow seed in flats, and nurture them until they are at least 8 inches (20.5 cm.) tall and exterior soil temperatures are at least 60 F. (16 C.). The beefsteak tomato plant needs to be hardened off before planting outdoors, usually around May.

Choose a sunny, well-drained garden bed in which to plant your tomato starts. A raised bed warms early in the season and is a good method for how to grow beefsteak tomatoes in cooler climates. Work in compost or other organic amendments to the soil before you plant and incorporate a starter fertilizer to get the little plants off to a good start.

Allow spacing of at least 5 feet (1.5 m.) for good air circulation and install sturdy cages or other support structures. Beefsteak tomato varieties will need tying in, as they are trained up a support. Beefsteak tomatoes are primarily indeterminate, which means you may remove the auxiliary shoots to promote better branching.

Beefsteak Tomato Plant Care

Keep weeds removed from the bed and mulch between the rows to minimize weeds and conserve moisture. A black plastic mulch also warms the soil and radiates heat.

Fertilize every three weeks with 1 pound (0.5 kg.) per 100 square feet (9 sq. m.). The optimum ratio for tomatoes is 8-32-16 or 6-24-24.

The beefsteak tomato plant will need 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5 cm.) of water per week.

All beefsteak tomato varieties are prone to disease and pests. Keep a close watch and nip problems in the bud as soon as you see them.

How to Grow and Care for Beefsteak Tomatoes

Sienna Mae Heath is a gardening expert with over five years of experience in gardening and landscape design. She grows her own food and flowers in her native Zone 6B. Sienna Mae runs The Quarantined Gardener blog and encourages the Lehigh Valley to develop victory gardens for sustainable, garden-based living. Her work has been featured in The Weeder’s Digest, Gardening Know How, GrowIt, and more.

Mary Marlowe Leverette is one of the industry’s most highly-regarded housekeeping and fabric care experts, sharing her knowledge on efficient housekeeping, laundry, and textile conservation. She is also a Master Gardener with over 40+ years of experience and 20+ years of writing experience. Mary is also a member of The Spruce Gardening and Plant Care Review Board.

Beefsteak tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) are meaty, juicy fruits perfect for summer sandwiches or as sliced snacks with a sprinkle of sea salt. Large, thickly fleshed beefsteaks are the biggest type of tomatoes, weighing 1 pound or more. Growing quickly to at least 6 feet tall, the late-maturing tomato plant will produce a bountiful harvest in about 85 days. It needs a sturdy cage, trellis, or stake to support its fruit. Learn to grow and care for this abundant plant and welcome a plentiful harvest to your vegetable garden.

Light

Give beefsteak tomatoes full, direct sunlight 8 hours or more per day. Make sure no shadows are cast by nearby buildings or trees. For best results, grow them on a slight slope with southern or southeastern exposure. A well-drained raised garden bed is especially good in cooler climates because it will warm early in the season.

Soil

As for all tomato plants, provide beefsteaks with well-drained fertile soil that is high in organic matter. Fertile clay and loam produce high yields, while lighter soils drain and warm quickly and will produce earlier harvests. Maintain a pH between 6.0 and 6.8. Keep the bed weeded, and mulch between rows of tomatoes to prevent weed overgrowth and to conserve moisture. Black plastic mulch will warm the soil and radiate heat.

Water

After planting, water immediately to moisten and settle the soil. Throughout the growing season, keep tomatoes consistently watered, especially as they begin to fruit. Moisture will prevent fruits from cracking and encourage deep rooting. If it rains less than one inch in a week, be sure to water them well. They will need one to two inches of water weekly. Never let the foliage begin to wilt.

Fertilizer

Before planting, work in compost or other organic amendments. Fertilize plants every three weeks with 1 pound per 100 square feet. Ideal NPK ratios are 8-32-16 or 6-24-24. For smaller gardens, use about one to two level tablespoons of fertilizer per plant every three weeks.

Temperature and Humidity

Plant tomatoes when temperatures are above 55 degrees Fahrenheit or ideally above 60 degrees. Since they are warm-weather crops, even a light frost can damage plants. In the event of a potential frost or temperature dip, cover the plants with a frost blanket.

Growing from Seed

Many beefsteak tomato varieties take at least 85 days to harvest. Since this is not possible in much of the United States, it’s best to start your own seedlings. Start seedlings indoors six to eight weeks before the first frost of spring when they will be ready to transplant. To extend the fruit-producting season, especially in the southern states, start a second planting of seeds about two or three weeks later. Sow seeds in flats and care for them until they are at least 8 inches tall. Then harden off the seedlings and transplant them after the last spring frost. Your local Cooperative Extension Service can advise you on planting times in your growing zone.

Types of Beefsteak Tomato

• ‘Brandywine Pink’: sweet and abundant, this heirloom weighs in at nearly 14 ounces
• ‘Hungarian Heart’: offers growers a beefsteak that is good for cooking, canning, and just enjoying fresh from its sunny vine
• ‘Copia’: features yellow and orange hues, and is perfect for salads
• ‘Striped German’: has a marbled appearance and a fruit flavor
• ‘Great White’: shows off white flesh and has a creamy taste

Common Pests and Diseases

All beefsteak tomato varieties are prone to various diseases and pests. Watch closely for any issues and take care of them as soon as possible. Some common pests are tomato hornworms, aphids, rodents such as squirrels, and flea beetles. Humid weather may cause fungal diseases like early blight and late blight.

To remove any aphids, apply a warm stream of water. You can also handpick and destroy beetles, eggs, and larvae. To protect plants from early flea beetle damage, use row covers. To prevent fungal diseases and blossom end rot, water early in the day at the base of the plant, not overhead, and maintain consistent moisture while avoiding waterlogging the soil. Weeding around beefsteak will also encourage good air circulation. Moving forward, the best way to prevent many of these issues is to practice proper crop rotation.