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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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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19 Sep 19, Wendy Perry (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)
Please what is a good all rounder tomato to grow in a Glass house in Alexandra, Central Otago? Thank you.
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02 Nov 19, Michelle (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)
I live in Omarama & do very well with Sweet 100 & Money Maker in my tunnel house, just be aware of late frosts & cover. Use plenty of tomato fertilizer & a good all round compost & potting mix.
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25 Sep 19, Anon (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
Go to a nz seed selling website and compare different tomato types. Then pick one or two and try them. Or go to Bunnings or a nursery and ask.
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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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31 Jul 19, Yvette Botha (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
Which variety tomato will grow best in the Free State
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10 Dec 19, Chris Labuschagne (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
I like to plant Money maker in Pretoria. Ox heart is a traditional variety but it has very low resistance to insects and pests. Be on the lookout for mildew and others as well as bottom end rot. Plan a preventative program. I am using drip irrigation instead of over head.
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Showing 191 - 200 of 811 comments
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Further to my posts below. I have found this which I believe is the problem with my bunchy curly leaves on cherry tomatoes. It is called -Tomato yellow leaf curl virus. TYLCV. Department of Agriculture and Fisheries Qld In March 2006, tomato leaf curl disease was found in cherry tomato crops in the south and west periphery of Brisbane. The disease has been found in many crops, with infection levels ranging from 5 to 100 per cent of plants. Losses in severely affected crops have been very high and the disease is a major threat to tomato production. In April 2006, infected plants were also found around Bundaberg. By June 2007, the virus was present in the Lockyer Valley, Fassifern Valley, Esk, Caboolture and Redlands areas. Since 2009 it has become a serious production constraint around Bundaberg. In February 2011, it was found in backyard tomato plants in Mareeba on the Atherton Tablelands. Tomato leaf curl disease is caused by viruses in the Geminivirus family of plant viruses, and is spread by whiteflies. The virus causing this disease is tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV). This virus is distinct from tomato leaf curl Australia virus (TLCV), which occurs in the Northern Territory and at several locations on Cape York Peninsula. Silverleaf whitefly (Bemisia tabaci Biotype B) was first recorded in Australia in 1994, it is now a widespread pest in Queensland and Western Australia and could become a major pest in most irrigated agricultural areas of Australia. Silverleaf whitefly (SLW) is also known as poinsettia or sweetpotato whitefly and in USA literature it is now referred to as Bemisia argentifolii. SLW has a wide host range (over 500 species) of crops and weeds, and is difficult to control as it has developed resistance to conventional insecticides. Biotype Q was discovered recently in Queensland. There is also an Australian native species. These three biotypes are indistinquishable in the field.

- Mike

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