Select your climate zone Australia - cool/mountain Australia - sub-tropical Australia - temperate Australia - tropical New Zealand - cool/mountain New Zealand - sub-tropical New Zealand - temperate United Kingdom - cool/temperate United Kingdom - warm/temperate What is my climate zone?

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

(Best months for planting Tomato in Australia - cool/mountain regions)

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

• Harvest in 8-17 weeks.
• 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 16°C and 35°C.
• Space plants: 40-60cm

TOMATOES

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There is nothing like the taste of a freshly picked tomato, warm from the sunshine. In the smallest of gardens or even an apartment with a window-box, it is worth growing at least one tomato plant for the pleasure it will give you. They will grow in pots, troughs or even hanging baskets.

Tomatoes are frost tender and should be grown in shelter or under cover in cool climates.

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Tomatoes need feeding. In a garden bed, compost and mulching will produce a crop from one or two plants. In containers, use some suitable long term fertiliser pellets or feed regularly when you water. Feeding also improves the flavour of the fruit.

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When you plant out, put the seedlings in a deep holes, up to the top set of leaves. The covered stems will put out extra roots and you will have a stronger, healthier plant.

There are many different varieties of tomatoes but they all have one of two growth habits.

Determinate:

Compact bush growth, stops at a specific height and useful for containers. If left without supporting stakes, they will form a dense carpet which excludes weeds and keeps the soil cool and damp.

Indeterminate:

Will continue growing a main stem, or vine until stopped by frost. The majority of heirloom tomatoes are indeterminate.

Both types need stakes to give them some support otherwise they will sprawl across the garden.

Varieties include Acid-free, Bush, Tall, Cherry, Yellow and many others.

Culinary hints - cooking and eating Tomato

Use in sauces, with fried meals, in sandwiches. Can be frozen whole or in pieces.

Your comments and tips

11 Jul 10 Michele (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

Hi, We planted small roma tomatoes about 4 weeks ago. The plants are thriving and heaps of flowers, but the flowers do not seem to be turning into tomatoes? Could it be over fertilisation? Really interested to hear your ideas. Thanks

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08 Jul 10 Margaret (Australia - tropical climate)

Hi, everyone. We've got a beautiful crop of tomatoes this year, with varieties including Rouge De Marmand, Tropic and a black variety I can't remember the name of. My problem is fruit fly (specifically, QLD fruit fly). Is there any way of eradicating this horribe pest? I've done some searching online which suggested fly traps may be beneficial but not much else. Help!

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15 May 10 bill (Australia - tropical climate)

My tomato plants are just starting to bare fruit, but now the leaves are turning black on the ends and dying off. What should do.

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23 May 10 (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

It could be a fungal problem. I would take a couple of leaves into your local nursery/garden shop to show them.

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26 Apr 10 Robert (Australia - tropical climate)

I have one long garden bed (6m x 1.5m) this year just set aside to grow tomatos. I have planted a variety of types, common to all nurseries. This year half of my plants have taken (part shaded end of the bed) and started to grow while the other half (full sun) last about 1 week before all the leaves wilt and the plant dies (Surprisingly quickly). I have just tested and adjusted the PH as I found that it was a little low, but not drastically, in the sunny end of the bed. I don’t know why my plants keep dying but I can’t keep replacing them. Does anyone have any ideas what could be causing my plants to die? The only think that is growing in the same bed, surprisingly well, are the basil and marigold plants. I grew tomato’s quite successfully last year but in a different position in the garden.

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06 Jun 10 Ken (Australia - tropical climate)

I have had this problem, and was told it was nematodes. I am now going to grow them in pots, in the dry and see how they go in the wet. I am 220 km down the track from Darwin. Good luck

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23 May 10 (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

@Robert, could the heat at the sunny end of the bed be 'cooking' the young plants? Have you tried shading some of them to see if it makes a difference to survival? Another possibility is some sort of fungus/virus/pest if you've grown tomatoes in the same bed previously. Maybe try a cover crop of some sort to disrupt the pests?

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26 Apr 10 gary (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

Leila, as far as I know tomatoes are annuals and should be pulled up in April/May after they finish producing. I've never heard of them growing again from the same plant, but you may get a stack self-seeding if fruit has fallen off.

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24 Apr 10 Leila (Australia - temperate climate)

I have had a few different varieties of tomatoes planted since august 09 and they have all done very well howver I am trying to find out do tomatoe plants only last one season or once they have died around winter time will they come back? My plants are all still green and alive at the moment and producing fruit still as well. Any help would be greatly appreciated :)

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01 Apr 10 Barb (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

Hi Anna, If you squash caterpillars on the plant it discourages others from laying eggs there. Put a pot with flowers next to your tomatoes to encourage predators of the caterpillars. Also, I suggest you dig down to see if the soil is too moist towards the bottom of the pot - sometimes tomatoes wilt if their roots are too wet. If so, empty out the water in the 'self watering' and give them a little less water. Do feed the soil with seasol/fish emulsion, or worm wee if you have a worm farm - the nutrients should help make the plant more healthy. And don't worry - it's not you, it's just that tomatoes are notoriously susceptable to diseases and pests.

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