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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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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24 Oct 08, Perry (Australia - temperate climate)
I first grew cherry type tomatoes in Brisbane from seeds in late 2007 and again in April '08 when I bought eight 12 litre plastic buckets that I saw on special when I was looking for some pots. I put store-bought soil in 4 buckets, and some soil / debris from under a 10 year old pile of lawn clippings in the other four buckets. Both soil types achieved the same abundant results with little fertilizer and maybe too much water. They had about 9 hours of sunshine at best each day. I kept the soil around the plants covered with lawn clippings to retain heat in the soil. The 2007 crop, in smaller pots, had a good yield despite having only a couple of hours sunshine each day. One tomato plant and a young paw paw shared the same large pot. I am now trying to get four different types, cherry, roma, money maker, and marzano on the table for Christmas.
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20 Oct 08, bert (Australia - temperate climate)
I like to know were I can buy "agri fleece " my neighbor brought a piece back from the U.K helps against pests etc. I like the hint about short lengths of copper wire bye Bert
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20 Oct 08, Grahame (Australia - temperate climate)
Jaci, I think that is a good way of getting your tomatoes to set early fruit. But I don't think there is any need to treat all you tomatoes quite so harshly. When it gets hot in the summer they tend to get punishment enough. I reckon you should treat some of your tomatoes more kindly so that they can develop strong root systems to get them to bare well through the summer. That doesn't mean you have to treat them with kid gloves but it could help extend your season.
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Showing 781 - 790 of 815 comments
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I live on the North Shore, Auckland and have done container growing for several years now, This is the third year of growing tomatoes on a large scale - predominantly determinate varieties. I source my seeds from Kings Seeds who supply a determinate variety called Sub Arctic Plenty which I have experimented with variable results. All plants raised indoors, gently hardened off then potted out into 15L tubs. I use 50/50 new compost/previously used container soil from a non-tomato pot mixed well with added slow release fertiliser and half a cup of powdered eggshell.. The top is mulched with straw and 4 marigolds to attract the bees. They also need a 5ft stake. Generally the plants like the morning and late sun and need shade from the glaring hot midday temperatures. Each year I am growing them earlier to avoid the heat of summer. The pots on the decking facing North fully exposed struggled, the pots that were shaded midday grew much better. Next year I plan to plant out in July/August and see how they get on then. They have a mild taste, personally I prefer the richer flavours of the dark toms but they are good for dehydrating. I also found that they prefer dryer soil than some of my other varieties. I liquid feed them once a week using a litre of water. Don't let them stand in trays, they need full drainage. Any run off from the trays I use on something else (the pineapple sage is very grateful). Spay every part of the plant with a brew of bicarsoda to pre-empt and control powdery mildew weekly. Please let me know if you want any other info - happy to share. Let me know how you get on.

- Karen

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