Your comments and tips

11 Jun 17, LenM (Australia - temperate climate)

Planning to grow some heirloom cherry tomatoes when the time is right. Has anyone here in Vic -Aus had any success with the Florida Weave as a support method .? Cheers

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19 Jun 17, Mike (Australia - temperate climate)

They are grown similar to that commercially in Qld. They put a post in the ground each end of the row. Then 2" square posts each 5 m or so. As the plants grow they run wires along both sides of the plants. They then crimp the two wires together at the post. Rows are about 3-4' apart. I have done something similar this year - 2 posts 8' apart with a post in the middle. Run twine each 12" and pull together and tie at the middle post. Saves tying 10 times to a stake for each plant.

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15 Jun 17, Giovanni (Australia - temperate climate)

I haven't done exactly that but have seen it done. The advantages of it a easy vine management, easy picking, and more airflow which will reduce fungal problems.

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08 Jun 17, (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

I haven't grown tomatoes much - usually fairly cheap where I live. I have grown cherry tomatoes the last few years at the end of the growing season (Mar- Oct) and just let them spread all over the garden. Have had pretty good crops. This year I have staked them. I have planted Roma and Cherry next to each other. Done this twice. A row with 3 Cherry and 1 Roma. I know the Cherry tomatoes are Cherry because I just use them when they germinate from one that had fallen on the ground. The Roma I purchased seeds - can't be totally sure they are Roma. On a couple of the Cherry plants they start out big spread out leaves and then turn to very tight bunched leaves. You would think they are turning into Roma. IS there some deficiency in the soil to do this. And the Roma are just producing a lot of growth and little fruit. The fruit on 1 Roma is like a Cherry - very small. The weather here has turned cold for here, Night temps have fallen from low 20's to low teens in the space of 4-5 weeks. Last night was about 8. Anybody have any clues to what is happening to my tomatoes. Help!!!

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11 Jun 17, Darren (Australia - temperate climate)

Try some potash on your tomatoes. This will encourage them to fruit. And cut down any other fertilizer you might be using. As Sean has said, there could be too much nitrogen.

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19 Jun 17, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

I have usually dug in some mulch and let it rot, put a bit of lime on and some fert N- 15.3 - P-4 - K 11.7. I know this is high N and will be using one with about 12 N 3.5 P and 14 K in the future (recommended by fert company that supplies to a lot of commercial growers of veggies around here). From the above I generally have very strong looking plants - I will say I realise I should cut back on the N and will be in the future. I have just started to make some compost the last few months. On a replanting now, I'm putting on about 3 x 20 liter buckets of compost/mulch per sq meter and adding lime and some fert. Will see how that goes - still probably too much N. I'm also adding some trace elements and Epsom salts to my soil. It should be good soil lol

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09 Jun 17, Sean (Australia - temperate climate)

Cherry tomatoes do tend to have smaller, more deeply cut leaves and Roma has larger flatter leaves. This is not a rule though as they are both derived from the same wild species. If you have a lot of large, leafy growth it could indicate an excess of nitrogen which will stimulate leaf growth at the expense of fruit. trust this helps.

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11 Jun 17, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

Thanks. My plants are a bit the opposite. Cherry big and leafy and roma tight and small leaves. I planted some cherry tomatoes in late Jan in a section of the garden (against a fence that runs E-W) that has sun in Jan-Feb and starts to be shaded in March April etc. The soil was quite good and the plants grew well. When they were 5' high I trimmed the top - this just made them sucker big time. I kept trimming the top off. This is what is happening now with my first plants - just a lot of spindly growth - the romas. My second lot of tomatoes 3 cherry and a roma in a row - a couple (cherry) are growing quite strong (that are a bit shaded by some nearby corn). A bit funny this year - in some ways the more I try to do things better is causing problems. Have done a lot of reading and will try a few things different next year.

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29 May 17, Ayo koya (South Africa - Humid sub-tropical climate)

I'm a farmer in Nigeria and planting tomatoes, can you pls tell me what are the best seeds to plant in southern Nigeria?

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27 May 17, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

People say to plant tomatoes in a deep hole. Another options is to hill the plant up with soil as it grows. I do this with beans corn and tomatoes.

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