Growing Tomato

Lycopersicon esculentum : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
    S                  
      T T T            
      P P              

(Best months for growing Tomato in USA - Zone 5a regions)

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

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01 Jan 10, Matthew (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Planted tomatoes they have fruited but no colour coming. Also the plant seems to have a blackish/brownish tinge to the trunk, is this bad.
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30 Dec 09, Annalisa (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Anxiously awaiting answers about wilting. I had success last year with tommies, and this year, all five plants had to be ripped out with green tommies all over due to disease. Is it in the soil? I use seaweed fertiliser... Pretty tired of fighting this thing, but willing to fight on. I want some healthy tommies!
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28 Dec 09, Alison (Australia - temperate climate)
Just south of Wollongong NSW, my beef steak's are about 6ft tall and were very slow to show flowers. Now I think I have a wilt fungus as the bottom leaves are turning yellow and dying. What do "they" mean when they say you shouldn't grow tomatoes in soil that previously had tomatoes in it? Perhaps the boiling water idea in November. Apparently eggplants are also affected by the same wilt - Vermillician or something like that. Any help or ideas guys? Cheers
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11 Dec 09, lisa (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I have grown my tomatoes from seed from big tomatoes yet all five bushes are growing small cherry tomatoe size fruit lots and lots of them, what have i done wrong?
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11 Dec 09, Helena (Australia - temperate climate)
John - by any chance is it possible that you live somewhere close to Melbourne? Would like to see your savagelly clipped tomatoes. Grandmother (63) (interested ONLY in gardening)
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26 Nov 09, Freyja (Australia - temperate climate)
We are growing veggies for the first time and have started with tomatoes, pumpkins and zucchini. Of our eight cherry tomato seedlings - five are growing ok but slowly, two are hardly growing but look otherwise healthy and one has grown a little but looks a bit sick and slightly yellow. Two Black Krim seedlings seem ok, just slower than I had hoped. I'm feeding them seasol and am about introduce seasol powerfeed. They were planted into a well prepared bed with mushroom compost, cow manure, lucerne hay and premium garden soil. Does the sick one have a disease? Should I remove it? Also I think one of the pumpkin seedlings might have powdery mildew, do I need to remove it? Thanks, Freyja
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22 Nov 09, Marina (Australia - temperate climate)
My tomatoestook off and areproducing fruit but the wilt has set in worse than ever before. The leaves are yellowing and dying from the ground up. It happened last year too. I imagine the fungus is lying dormant in the soil and then attacks new seedlings. Help! Is there a drench or something I can apply to the soil in winter to kill off the spores? Is there a variety of tomato that does not fall victim? My egg plants aren't happy either. Would love a solution that does not involve leaving my garden fallow for years. Can you advise me? Marina
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19 Nov 09, Elle (Australia - temperate climate)
I am a first time tomatoe grower. My plants are fruiting well except that the green fruit and the few red ones we've got so far have a black/dark spot or patch on the side of the fruit furtherest from vine. Does anyone know what this is and how what I can do about it?
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16 Nov 09, Wayne (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi Jared, I am doing it at the moment. The tomatoes in my garden are looking better. I find if you over water the upside down tomatoe the folige gets wet which is a bit of a no no. Overwise the experiment continues.
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14 Nov 09, jared (Australia - temperate climate)
Q:Has anyone heard or tried growing there tomatoes hanging in an upside down container i have heard of this method but havent tried it,has anyone had any experience with this method - pro's & con's?
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Of course there are lots of factors (soil watering etc.), I\ll point out a few you may have issues with. I'm a little concerned about your night time temperatures harming the growth or steady growth of your tomatoes -- in addition Blossom drop will occur in if daytime temperatures are warm but night temps drop below 55 F. (13 C.) -- a condition that can easily occur in a greenhouse in winter. When you look at days to harvest for tomatoes -- they are assuming spring/summer growing -- which means the NUMBER of daylight hours is HIGHER. Your area may drop from 12 hours of daylight in summer to 9 in winter.... that's a big difference. Additionally the INTENSITY of the sun is not as great in winter as it is in summer. This means the plant is not collecting as much light. I would GUESTIMATE you need to at double the DAYS to harvest to account for your growing conditions. If you decide to go forward I would opt for varieties that tend to grow well in colder climates that NATURALLY have less intense sun and shorter days (or install lighting if you don't have it and perhaps some heat). REMEMBER your soil temp needs to stay at about 16c -- so if your pots are on the ground or if you are planting directly into the soil, the cold may creep into the soil from below. There are specific tomato varietals bred for cold hardiness which will tolerate conditions at or below 55 degrees F. (13 C.). The best choices for colder climates are short to mid-season tomatoes. These tomatoes set fruit not only in cooler temps, but also reach maturity in the shortest number of days; around 52-70 days. I would look to some indeterminate cherry or plum size tomatoes (so small tomatoes) with very low days to harvest. I have never grow this tomato -- but -- Originally developed for cool rainy nights, Quedlinburger Frühe Liebe (or as I like to say, QFL) is a German heirloom tomato variety that’s ready for harvest in just 40 days after transplanting (!!!) and keeps producing until killed by a freeze. This makes it quite an amazing all-season plant and a real keeper in the garden if you’re prone to cold snaps. QFL is sweet and flavorful with small, juicy red fruits ==> tomatofest (internet site in the USA) says : Old German potato-leaf variety means "Early love of Qued Linburg". Small spindly vines produce 1 1/2-inch, round, 4-lobed fruit in clusters of 4. These tomatoes have great flavor with good acidity. Developed for cool rainy nights. Prolific even during colder summers. **** you really need to review the conditions in your green house -- day and night time temps, hours of sunlight --and you need to choose your variety wisely -- and even then, this might be difficult -- a lot depends on your greenhouse.

- faith Celeste Archer

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