Growing Tomato

Lycopersicon esculentum : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

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

(Best months for growing Tomato in Australia - temperate regions)

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

August: Frost tender. Start undercover

  • 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

Post a comment or question Display Newest first | Oldest first, Show comments for Australia | for all countries
14 Sep 18, Mike (Australia - temperate climate)
They need to start to change colour before picking. Best to leave on as long as possible if you can.
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30 Jul 18, John Mason (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)
Hi I'm building a small 90° double skinned tunnel house on the Nthn side of shed. I have Defiant VF2/PHR seed and wondering the earliest I can raise seed for planting.
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31 Jul 18, Mike L (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Don't really know what a double skinned tunnel house is - a hot house?? I have no idea what Defiant VF2/PHR tomatoes are. I suggest you go to NZ cool/mountain climate zone - tomatoes and read the whole article. It is there if you read it - it is pretty simple - it says plant seeds (S) in Oct Nov - and (T) transplant seedlings in Dec Jan.
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23 Jun 18, Mike Ktori (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
We have recently moved from the Derwent Valley in Tasmania to Sandstone Point in Queensland. We formally had to plant our tomatoes under glass and never succeeded in having fruit in time for Christmas.Now we have room for a few raised beds whereas we had acreage in the valley; I'm wondering if, in this warmer climate, I can have tomatoes year round.
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28 Jun 18, Mike L (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
You can grow all year round. Summer can become a but hot and very wet (as in inches of rain in hours) -use mulch around the plants. Best to grow a crop from late Feb for a winter picking crop and plant in mid August for crop into summer. Or even plant a succession crop each time also - 4-6 weeks between each planting. Only need 2-4 plants each time. .
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17 Jun 18, Jane (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I have sown various and different tomato seeds (climbing and other) trays in the greenhouse and now they are seedlings. 1. How big must they be before I plant them out(sown 25/5/18) and 2. How can I stop bugs/insects from attacking/destroying the tomatoes? 3.I want to put up a frame and netting/shade cloth all around but my concern is that if I do so then how to the tomatoes get pollinated if the bees can't get to them (and other plants)? :( Thanks.
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18 Jun 18, Mike Logan (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Use derris dust or some other home made organic spray - look on the internet. Plant as soon as they have a few true leaves. They grow better in the ground than in a pot. Tomatoes are self pollinating - by the wind - or give them a gentle shake. Google about this if you like. Try Greenpatch Organic for vegetable netting 3.5 and 6m wide $4 and $7.50 by the meter. We are going into cool/cold weather so next time plant earlier (Feb- March) or leave it until spring time.
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02 Sep 18, Jane (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Mike Logan - I forgot to say - thanks for yr advice last June.
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12 May 18, Penny (Australia - tropical climate)
My tomato seedlings keep shrivelling up and dying, they grow really well and then one day they justshrivel up. When I look just below the soil they seem to have a brown part on the stem, almost like it has rotted? Someone suggested it was some type of worm?
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14 May 18, (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Could be wilt. Try the internet.
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Showing 111 - 120 of 595 comments
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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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