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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10 Sep 10, Neil (Australia - temperate climate)
Try a physical barrier, like exclusion bags, to keep the fruit fly off your tomatoes. I got some from Greeen Harvest last year, and they made a huge difference to the amount of fruit that survived.
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05 Aug 10, holly (Australia - tropical climate)
Hello i live in QLD myself and a good cheap alternative to fruit fly traps is cheap sweet white wine -the cheaper, the better. Just grab an empty plastic bottle cut some small holes (5c coin size) near the top, string it up close to the plant (on the tomato stakes is preferable) and throw out when it's full. The flies love the smell of the wine and end up drowing in it. I've tried it with red wine but white seems to get better results. hope this helps:)
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15 May 10, bill (Australia - tropical climate)
My tomato plants are just starting to bare fruit, but now the leaves are turning black on the ends and dying off. What should do.
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23 May 10, (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
It could be a fungal problem. I would take a couple of leaves into your local nursery/garden shop to show them.
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26 Apr 10, Robert (Australia - tropical climate)
I have one long garden bed (6m x 1.5m) this year just set aside to grow tomatos. I have planted a variety of types, common to all nurseries. This year half of my plants have taken (part shaded end of the bed) and started to grow while the other half (full sun) last about 1 week before all the leaves wilt and the plant dies (Surprisingly quickly). I have just tested and adjusted the PH as I found that it was a little low, but not drastically, in the sunny end of the bed. I don’t know why my plants keep dying but I can’t keep replacing them. Does anyone have any ideas what could be causing my plants to die? The only think that is growing in the same bed, surprisingly well, are the basil and marigold plants. I grew tomato’s quite successfully last year but in a different position in the garden.
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06 Jun 10, Ken (Australia - tropical climate)
I have had this problem, and was told it was nematodes. I am now going to grow them in pots, in the dry and see how they go in the wet. I am 220 km down the track from Darwin. Good luck
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23 May 10, (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
@Robert, could the heat at the sunny end of the bed be 'cooking' the young plants? Have you tried shading some of them to see if it makes a difference to survival? Another possibility is some sort of fungus/virus/pest if you've grown tomatoes in the same bed previously. Maybe try a cover crop of some sort to disrupt the pests?
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26 Apr 10, gary (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Leila, as far as I know tomatoes are annuals and should be pulled up in April/May after they finish producing. I've never heard of them growing again from the same plant, but you may get a stack self-seeding if fruit has fallen off.
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24 Apr 10, Leila (Australia - temperate climate)
I have had a few different varieties of tomatoes planted since august 09 and they have all done very well howver I am trying to find out do tomatoe plants only last one season or once they have died around winter time will they come back? My plants are all still green and alive at the moment and producing fruit still as well. Any help would be greatly appreciated :)
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01 Apr 10, Barb (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Hi Anna, If you squash caterpillars on the plant it discourages others from laying eggs there. Put a pot with flowers next to your tomatoes to encourage predators of the caterpillars. Also, I suggest you dig down to see if the soil is too moist towards the bottom of the pot - sometimes tomatoes wilt if their roots are too wet. If so, empty out the water in the 'self watering' and give them a little less water. Do feed the soil with seasol/fish emulsion, or worm wee if you have a worm farm - the nutrients should help make the plant more healthy. And don't worry - it's not you, it's just that tomatoes are notoriously susceptable to diseases and pests.
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Showing 671 - 680 of 815 comments
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I think you might have blossom end rot, and root rot mixed up. Blossom end rot occurs on the base of the tomato, and is caused by a lack of calcium (usually -- it could be other things that cause the calcium to be unavailable - PH, lack of water etc.). Blossom end rot causes the tomato to look deformed. Calcium added to the soil at the time of planting is usually adequate to ensure this does not happen. The calcium really needs to be added EARLY in the growing stages. You could also use egg shells -- I would grind/smash up the shells pretty good then work them into the soil of the planting hole; better yet, enrich with egg shells over the winter and early spring in anticipation of future planting. Root rot usually occurs when water sits around the roots of a plant for long periods of time -- bad drainage, excess watering, soil that holds too much water (which is really drainage). If you have proper aeration this usually doesn't happen since the air flow will whisk away excess moisture (provided it isn't a swamp at the roots). Try to create updrafts in your pots -- you want water drainage holes that do double duty -- let the water run off and allow air in. I find that holes at the SIDE BOTTOM of the pot, rather than directly under the pot, work well. It may seem like a hole at the side of the pot will let the soil out -- but pretty much after the first watering this stops happening -- and once the roots take hold it certainly does not happen. No need for drainage material (stones etc.) -- just use soil/compost top to bottom -- expect soil to come out at first when filling the pot -- after that you should be fine. I make my holes rather large -- on a BIG pot these holes are about 3inches (circular). Roots of plants really like air (maybe not direct exposure) but they certainly like the occasional breeze through the soil. Face the hole on the shady side of the pot for a cooling updraft in hot weather.

- Celeste Archer

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