How to Grow Tomatoes: An Easy Guide for Beginners

Get the unique smell and taste of plump sun-ripened tomatoes at home with our easy-growing guide

T Stanley 19 July 2014

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Popular, tasty and versatile, tomatoes are an easy-to-grow addition to any garden and offer a yummy freshness which store bought ones simply can’t match. Bursting with nutrients including lycopene and vitamin C, they can be enjoyed when cooked or eaten raw in salads, and are great for sauces and chutney. In warm, frost-free climates, tomatoes can be grown year round, while in temperate and cooler areas, seedlings can be sown from the end of winter or during spring. Once planted, they will take two to four months to fruit.

Steve Masley Consulting and Design

STEP-BY-STEP GROWING GUIDE FOR TOMATO SEEDLINGS

STEP 1: Choose your type
There are tall varieties that need to be supported by stakes and bush ones that don’t. There are also dwarf and pendulous types which can be planted in hanging baskets.

STEP 2: Select your location
Tomatoes need well-drained, fertile, slightly acidic soil. Choose a sundrenched spot that offers some protection from the wind. Prepare the soil by digging in compost and a tomato-specific fertiliser. If you have a shady garden, you might like to lay black plastic over the garden bed for two weeks before planting to retain the heat in the soil.

Ideally, tomatoes should be grown in a garden bed as they may dry out in pots if you forget to water them. However, if you only have a balcony, choose pots that are at least twice the size of a standard household bucket. Start with a good-quality potting mix and try a compact variety of tomato as larger varieties would require quite deep tubs and strong stakes.

Woolly Blue

STEP 3: Plant your seedlings
Choose strong, short, squat seedlings whose roots have filled the container if possible. Pinch off the lower leaves. Seedlings can be planted once they have produced three or four leaves and as long as there’s no threat of frost.

Space tall seedlings about one metre apart and bush varieties about 50cm apart. Plant them about 30cm deep and then water them in. A 2-5cm layer of mulch, such as lucerne hay, sugarcane or composted bark will help the soil retain moisture and will also minimise weeds, however be sure to leave a gap around the tomato stems or they could rot.

STEP 4: Insert your stakes
Use new stakes that are about 2m long. Square stakes are easiest to grip but rounded ones can be used, too. Hammer them into the ground about 5-10cm from each stem. Tie the shoots to the stake as they grow for stability, using raffia, old stockings or twine.

Jocelyn H. Chilvers

TO ENCOURAGE GROWTH…

Pinch out small shoots between the stem and branches to maximise the crop. Top growth can be pinched back to control the height.
Cover a board with aluminium foil, then prop it up and angle next to the plants it so that it reflects sunlight onto the ripening fruit.
When the tomato plants bloom, dissolve two tablespoons of Epsom salts in five litres of water and pour it around the plants.

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PLANT CARE

Fertilising. Once the plants start to flower, apply specialised fertiliser each week or fortnight in accordance with the packet instructions.

Watering. Tomatoes require frequent watering, but avoid wetting the leaves if possible. At first, water them every day or so, then weekly when the plants are small. In hot, dry weather, or if you have a large crop, increase this frequency to twice per week or more, if needed.

Pests. Expect unwelcome guests to be lured to your tomato patch. Inspect the patch each day, if possible. If caterpillars, fruit fly, aphids or white fly appear, they can be controlled with organic methods such as natural pesticides and companion planting.

Margie Grace - Grace Design Associates

Harvesting. Pick tomatoes when they are a vibrant red. Leaving them to overripen will result in a loss of sweetness. In cold climates bring them indoors and put them in paper bags if they are slow to ripen, in order to prevent frost damage. Display your produce with pride and enjoy them fresh or cooked!