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
22 Oct 19, anon (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Read the notes in Zucchini - the answer is there.
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16 Oct 19, barry rowcliffe (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
can you give some information on coral tree tomato, I bought a plant today but their is no information on .thanks barry.
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06 Oct 19, Rob (Australia - tropical climate)
Please suggest best tomatoes to grow in Cairns..Thanks
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07 Oct 19, Anon (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
It really comes down to what kind of tomatoes you want to eat. Do you want big toms, medium or small, long or fat. A bushy variety or a tall growing one. Look up a seed selling website like Boondie Seeds and learn about the different kinds. Ask at your nursery or Bunnings. I like a medium size so that when making a sandwich I use the whole tomato. I grow Manapal and I also grow cherry tomatoes. Seedling just pop up in the garden from year to year from ones that fall on the ground. Gardening is about trying things and working out what works for you. Do some research on how to grow them.
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22 Sep 19, Ray Ponting (Australia - arid climate)
I’m in Kalgoorlie WA and sun is the problem I have a garden bed north south with a corrugated iron fence on the west side. Should I use shade cloth
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23 Sep 19, Anon (Australia - arid climate)
Probably 30 or 50% shade cloth.
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25 Sep 19, (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I did post here move the garden away from the west fence. It will cut down the hours of sunlight required to grow most things.
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14 Sep 19, Allan Clarke (Australia - temperate climate)
If you freeze tomatoes, then thaw them out, they go all soggy, I believe.
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21 Apr 19, Geoffrey Wilson (Australia - tropical climate)
I have tried to grow tomatoes at Palm Beach Gold Coast for many years. They will grow nicely up to when they start to form fruit and then the bush starts dying off from the bottom up until there are no leaves left I have asked so many people about this but no one can give me an answer Maybe you can give me some suggestions of what is wrong
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02 Jun 19, Ruby (Australia - arid climate)
I have grown tomatoes for many years on the coast and now in Hervey Bay. Forget growing in summer. It's too humid. The soil temp at night is too hot and too humid. I start on April once night temps ate under 29 deg. Back off on watering too much and less nitrogen. Plant deep, cut off lower leaves and talk to them!!! Hope this helps.
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Showing 71 - 80 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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This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. Gardenate is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.
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