Growing Tomato

Lycopersicon esculentum : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

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

(Best months for growing Tomato in Australia - tropical 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 16°C and 35°C. (Show °F/in)
  • Space plants: 40 - 60 cm 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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27 Nov 08, ron marlborough (Australia - temperate climate)
I have grosse lisse tomatoes growing in a pot in Perth, WA. Something is eating them from the outside leaving dry black holes in the fruit. Any ideas?
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24 Nov 08, Perry (Australia - temperate climate)
The 10 inches ( 300mm ) of stormy rain last week didn't seem to harm my little crop. The cherry variety are 300mm high and looking healthy,
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21 Nov 08, Rosie (Australia - temperate climate)
Hello, I have planted cherry tomato and gross lisse, they are nearly a metre high and they are planted very close together. When I water them a little bug like a tiny moth flies off and there are heaps of them. Any ideas on what they are and if I should be concerned? I have only used organic seeds and no chemicals and live south of Perth.
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22 Dec 13, pat (Australia - temperate climate)
this sound like whitefly, I have been spraying mine weekly but find it hard to get id of them and they suck the life out of the leaves, has anybody got a better way of dealing with them instead of spraying?
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21 Nov 08, Nikki (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I am having problems with all of my tomatoes - the fruit is going rotten just as they start to turn yellow then they fall on the ground. I have plenty of green tomatoes but they won't ripen - rot inside instead. Would love some advice!
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17 Nov 08, Perry (Australia - temperate climate)
The violent storms across Brisbane 16/11 didn't damage my little crop. The 80mm of rain was welcome. The cherrys are up to 150mm high. The marzano and roma survived the first repotting. The latest planted money maker variety is 50mm high and looking healthy.
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14 Nov 08, Perry (Australia - temperate climate)
List of tomato diseases. ( Wikipedia ). Tomato cultivars vary widely in their resistance to disease. Modern hybrids focus on improving disease resistance over the heirloom plants. Various forms of mildew and blight are also common tomato afflictions, which is why tomato cultivars are often marked with a combination of letters which refer to specific disease resistance. The most common letters are: V - verticillium wilt, F - fusarium wilt strain I, FF - fusarium wilt strain I & II, N - nematodes, T - tobacco mosaic virus, and A - alternaria. Another particularly dreaded disease is curly top, carried by the beet leafhopper, which interrupts the lifecycle, ruining a nightshade plant as a crop. As the name implies, it has the symptom of making the top leaves of the plant wrinkle up and grow abnormally. Some common tomato pests are cutworms, tomato hornworms and tobacco hornworms, aphids, cabbage loopers, whiteflies, tomato fruitworms, flea beetles, red spider mite, slugs,[6] and Colorado potato beetles.
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23 Jan 12, warsha (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
does anyone know about tomato fruit worm? any organic pesticide for them?
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11 Nov 08, Kevin Coombes (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
The leaves on the tomatoe plants that I have put into pots are going yellow/brown, do you know why?
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24 Oct 08, Jaci (Australia - temperate climate)
Grahame, thanks for the additional advice on how to treat the tomatoes. As you advised, I can't quite bear to treat them all so roughly and am attempting to grow 5 different varieties this season to allow me some early, mid and late season tomatoes. I am looking forward to my speckled romas and my green zebras along with a few others. I also have some unknown tomato varieties popping up from compost about the place.
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I am also from the Central Highlands, though this will be my first year trying tomatoes here. A lady with many years of gardening experience recently told me that tomatoes shouldn't be planted out here until Melbourne Cup day (5th November). It's simply too cold before then, especially overnight, and late frosts are still possible in October. For best results you should raise seedlings beside a sunny window or in a greenhouse in late September - early October, to plant out in early November. Or simply buy seedlings from a nursery - this is a much easier option but the number of varieties they sell is limited. I have researched on cold-tolerant varieties for this season and here are three that I am trying this year: Siberian, Stupice, and Swift. You may want to try to look for these varieties as they will probably be better adapted for this climate. Generally, any variety from Northern Europe is probably better to plant than typical Australian varieties, which are bred for hotter climates. Finally, make sure you are feeding them correctly. A high Nitrogen fertiliser is necessary early on, but once it puts on flowers you want to only feed it with one high in Phosphorus and Potassium. There are very few of these fertilisers that seem to be available at the big box stores (many have way too much N) but something like liquid potash or a 'flowers / bloom' labelled fertiliser should work. Make sure to include some organic fertiliser or organic compost when planting out your seeds / seedlings as well, so that your soil is not deficient in trace elements. I hope at least some of this advice helps and that you end up with a bumper crop this year. Tomatoes are probably harder to grow here than elsewhere but I have also been told there are less pest problems than up towards the tropics. Best of luck!

- Prometheus

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