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(Best months for planting Tomato in New Zealand - cool/mountain regions)

• Harvest in 60-120 days
• 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.
• Space plants: 40-60cm

TOMATOES

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There is nothing like the taste of a freshly picked tomato, warm from the sunshine. In the smallest of gardens or even an apartment with a window-box, it is worth growing at least one tomato plant for the pleasure it will give you. They will grow in pots, troughs or even hanging baskets.

Tomatoes are frost tender and should be grown in shelter or under cover in cool climates.

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Tomatoes need feeding. In a garden bed, compost and mulching will produce a crop from one or two plants. In containers, use some suitable long term fertiliser pellets or feed regularly when you water. Feeding also improves the flavour of the fruit.

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There are many different varieties of tomatoes but they all have one of two growth habits.

Determinate:

Compact bush growth, stops at a specific height and useful for containers.

Indeterminate:

Will continue growing a main stem, or vine until stopped by frost. The majority of heirloom tomatoes are indeterminate.

Both types need stakes to give them some support otherwise they will sprawl across the garden.

Varieties include Acid-free, Bush, Tall, Cherry, Yellow and many others.

Your comments and tips

03 Dec 10 (New Zealand - temperate climate)

I have been getting a powdery mildew on my tomatoe plants , I have found a good home remedy and it seems to work . So mix 1 tablespoon of baking soda,1/2 teaspoonof liquid soap,in 1 gallon of water. do not store unused mixture. while this mixture has been known to be effective, it can burn the leaves of some plants . It is recommended that you water your infected plants well a couple of days before applying this mixture,and don't apply in full sun. Try on small area first, to test the response before spraying the entire plant.

07 Jan 11 Blight remedy (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)

We think our tomatoes are developing blight- is there an organic remedy for this? We are sub tropical in west Auckland .

07 Jan 11 Liz (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)

To treat blight. Remove the worst affected leaves and put them somewhere that they won't reinfect your plants next year. The plants can be sprayed with copper - there is a variety recommended for organic gardeners. Ask your local plant shop.

09 Jan 11 Tina (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)

First time gardner have many plants all with a heap of fruit but wondering how long we wait till the fruit ripens?

24 Feb 11 Sara (New Zealand - temperate climate)

I have planted from heritage seed and grown some delicious yellow cocktail and teardrop tomatoes. But the plants have only just started producing ripe fruit and they appear to be dying, the leaves are turning brown and shrivel back to the branch, could this be blight? I have googled but can't find an accurate match. It has been very dry for about 2 weeks, but I do water.

05 Mar 11 (New Zealand - temperate climate)

Sara, it might just be stress from the changeable weather/temperatures we have been having. Remove the brown leaves and keep your watering even, avoiding the leaves if possible. The heritage seed tomatoes seem to be able to cope with quite a bit of stress.If your fruit are not rotting on the vines, I would leave them.

01 Oct 11 David (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)

Hi, I have been growing a cape Gooseberry plant in a pot,I bring it in to shelter over winter,How long do these plant live for or should I plant new ones yearly,? the fruit was a bit small this year.Thank you.

21 Oct 11 Pete (New Zealand - temperate climate)

Hi, I have been lucky to get a small crop of broad beans, but some of them taste like soap of have a perfume smell, any idea what may have cause this?

23 Nov 11 graeme (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)

hi, i have a problem with some tomato's. one place they are planted the leaves are going yellow. i have tomato's planted in a few places around here but these ones planted near a concrete wall are the only ones affected by this yellowing. hope someone can help. thank you in advance.

01 Jan 12 Rex Beer (New Zealand - temperate climate)

I've been growing (struggling) to grow tomatoes - in Rotorua. Trying Roma this year. They have grown very healthily, flowers formed from about mid November, but fruit did not appear, until late December. Does fruit set, depend on high enough temperature ? Do different varieties set fruit at different times/temperatures?