While many have been consumed by this weeks Spring Racing carnival, I’ve been frolicking in my garden and planting tomatoes.
I was recently asked when is the best time to plants tomatoes. In Melbourne, it was traditionally always the week of the Melbourne Cup but many people including myself start planting tomatoes much earlier than Cup Day. I have customers with home garden hothouses planting tomatoes as early as August. I on the other hand plant my first crop of tomatoes into the garden in early October, followed by additional planting the week of Melbourne Cup and additional planting again the last week of November. You may ask why I plant Tomatoes so many times throughout the Spring season? Other than the fact that I’m Italian, have grown up with an appreciation for the flavour of fresh home grown tomatoes and tomatoes are core ingredient to so many delicious Italian dishes (pasta sauce otherwise know as Sugo to us Italians, Insalata Caprese and what’s a pizza without tomato??? A pizza bianca but that's beside the point). Planting additional tomato plants a few weeks apart during spring will result in the crops fruiting at different times rather than all at once. That way you can enjoy the taste of fresh home grown tomatoes from mid November and all the way through summer.
I’m going to share with you my Top 10 tips to growing lots of flavoursome tomatoes:
1. Choose a sunny position in the garden that gets direct sunlight to plant tomatoes. Add humus rich compost and a solid fertiliser to the soil a couple of days before planting. Take note of when reapplication of fertiliser will need to occur, this will be subject to the fertiliser used. If planting into pots choose a premium potting mix with the Australian Standards tick on the bag (look for the ticks with the red background).
2. Prevent overcrowding and promote air circulation around tomato plants by not planting them too close. Allow enough room for each plant to branch out.
3. Plant the tomato seedlings deeper than what they are planted in the punnet. Bury the stems of tomato seedlings up to the first set of leaves. This will allow the tomato plants to send out more roots and grow into stronger plants.
4. Taller growing varieties will require staking. Install stakes or tomato trainers when first planting the seedling to prevent damage to leaves and branches once established.
5. Water deeply and infrequently if planted in the ground and water regularly if planted in pots. I recommend thoroughly watering over the soil (not the leaves) twice a week, preferably in the early morning. In addition, watering should occur on hot day with temperatures of 30 degrees or over. Check tomatoes planted in pots regularly as they will need to be watered more frequently possibly every second day and water if showing signs of wilting.
6. A few weeks after planting tomatoes, apply a layer of Sugar Cane Mulch on top of the soil keeping the mulch 5cm away from the trunk / stems of the plants. This will help to retain moisture and keep the soil cooler through the hot summer weather.
7. Once tomato plants grow to 90cm in height, remove the leaves from the lower 30cm of the plants. These leaves are most susceptible to fungal infection due to receiving less light and aeration and removing them will greatly reduce the risk of infection.
8. Pinch out the suckers that shoot from the axils of each branch as these suckers will not fruit and will take nutrients away from the rest of the plant.
9. Protect tomato plants from pests and diseases by regularly using Tomato Dust or an Organic Derris Dust.
10. Apply a liquid feed high in potassium fortnightly to promote flowering and fruiting. This will also assist in the growth of bigger tastier tomatoes.
You will never know how good tomatoes taste until you experience the flavour of home grown tomatoes. Plant some today and if you follow my tips you might even have some grown in time for Christmas.