How to grow top tomatoes

Dreaming of growing juicy, rich, flavour-packed tomatoes? There’s nothing quite like picking produce from your own vegie patch or potted balcony garden. For a healthy, delicious and trouble-free tomato harvest, here are three expert tips you’ll want to put into action.

Consider timing

Timing is critical. Tomatoes like warm conditions with daytime temperatures in the range of 21–29°C. Spring is the best time to plant in temperate areas, but in cold districts, hold off until the soil has warmed and the risk of frost has passed. In the subtropics, you can grow a good crop in spring if you pay close attention to pest control, but the most trouble-free time is autumn and winter. In the tropics, plant in autumn for a dry season crop. To make the most of your local season, sow plants 1–2 months before the optimal growing period. Start seed in punnets, then grow the seedlings on in pots. That way they’ll be well established before they go in the ground, and they’ll fruit earlier and for longer.

Training tomatoes

Most tomato vines grow 2–4m long and need support. A single tomato stake won’t cut it; go for at least two, or better still, set up a trellis system. Vines produce lots of side shoots, creating a crowded mess of growth, so it’s best to restrict the number of leaders to two or three. Spend some time each week pinching or pruning out excess side shoots and tying the main leaders loosely to the trellis. Remove any diseased material at the same time to keep the vines clean.

Water wisely

Keep the soil evenly moist as temperatures rise; if not, the fruit may suffer from splitting or blossom-end rot (a brown sunken lesion at the base). You can bury a 25cm-long piece of agricultural or PVC pipe vertically on either side of each plant, leaving about 3–5cm above the ground. Then just fill the pipes every time you water to help get moisture directly to the root zone.

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