Growing Tomato

Lycopersicon esculentum : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
									S	S
T											T

(Best months for growing Tomato in New Zealand - cool/mountain regions)

S = Plant undercover in seed trays
T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings

Grow in seed trays, and plant out in 4-6 weeks. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 61°F and 95°F. (Show °C/cm)
Space plants: 16 - 24 inches apart
Harvest in 8-17 weeks.
Compatible with (can grow beside): Asparagus, Chervil,Carrot, Celery, Chives, Parsley, Marigold, Basil
Avoid growing close to: Rosemary, Potatoes, Fennel, Cucumber

Your comments and tips

07 Oct 19, Anon (Australia - sub-tropical climate): It really comes down to what kind of tomatoes you want to eat. Do you want big toms, medium or small, long or fat. A bushy variety or a tall growing one. Look up a seed selling website like Boondie Seeds and learn about the different kinds. Ask at your nursery or Bunnings. I like a medium size so that when making a sandwich I use the whole tomato. I grow Manapal and I also grow cherry tomatoes. Seedling just pop up in the garden from year to year from ones that fall on the ground. Gardening is about trying things and working out what works for you. Do some research on how to grow them.
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22 Sep 19, Ray Ponting (Australia - arid climate): I’m in Kalgoorlie WA and sun is the problem I have a garden bed north south with a corrugated iron fence on the west side. Should I use shade cloth
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23 Sep 19, Anon (Australia - arid climate): Probably 30 or 50% shade cloth.
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25 Sep 19, (Australia - sub-tropical climate): I did post here move the garden away from the west fence. It will cut down the hours of sunlight required to grow most things.
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19 Sep 19, Wendy Perry (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate): Please what is a good all rounder tomato to grow in a Glass house in Alexandra, Central Otago? Thank you.
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02 Nov 19, Michelle (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate): I live in Omarama & do very well with Sweet 100 & Money Maker in my tunnel house, just be aware of late frosts & cover. Use plenty of tomato fertilizer & a good all round compost & potting mix.
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25 Sep 19, Anon (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate): Go to a nz seed selling website and compare different tomato types. Then pick one or two and try them. Or go to Bunnings or a nursery and ask.
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14 Sep 19, Allan Clarke (Australia - temperate climate): If you freeze tomatoes, then thaw them out, they go all soggy, I believe.
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31 Jul 19, Yvette Botha (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate): Which variety tomato will grow best in the Free State
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10 Dec 19, Chris Labuschagne (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate): I like to plant Money maker in Pretoria. Ox heart is a traditional variety but it has very low resistance to insects and pests. Be on the lookout for mildew and others as well as bottom end rot. Plan a preventative program. I am using drip irrigation instead of over head.
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More information is needed: for example amount of water... soil conditions. The MOST GENERIC, and probably most correct answer is LACK OF NUTRIENTS. Most people plant their plants (tomato) adding lots of compost and/or manure at the time of planting. The plant grows using the nutrients (some are washed away... maybe trees manage to confiscate some nutrients); but as the soil nutrition drops, the plant, still wanting to grow, starts to take nutrition from its lower leaves so it can grow leaves higher up. That is, it is deciding how to best used it's own self to maximize it chances of success; since it can't source the needed nutrition from the soil What you need to do is: ADD manure or compost or anything else you may have to put nutrition back into the soil. I rinse my coffee pot in the garden, I also try to drain things (like the water from soaking dried beans) into the garden. Manure/compost/nutrition (in any form) needs to be added at planting, middle of the season, and close to the end of the season to give that LAST burst of energy to bring the fruit/vegetables into full form. Don't feel like you need to spend a lot of money; get creative; in Canada we can stop by our local coffee shops and pick up the days used grinds for use in our gardens (free); you can add micro nutrients to your garden by filling a pail with water and adding a layer of rocks (rocks are minerals) stir and use this to water your plants. Left over tea bags, left over coffee grinds, stuff that you might rinse down the sink (food juices), blood from meat when you wash it before cooking it ..... anything like that all puts nutrition back in the soil.

- Celeste Archer

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Growing Tomato

Lycopersicon esculentum : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

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Keep your garden growing - see what to plant right now

Growing Tomato

Lycopersicon esculentum : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

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