Position
Tomatoes thrive in sunny, sheltered spots where temperatures stay between 18–22°C. Avoid areas prone to frost or extreme cold, as temperatures below 10°C can slow growth. Pots, bags, or garden beds are all suitable options—just ensure good sunlight exposure.
Prepare Soil
Garden: Enrich your garden soil with Oderings Fruit & Veggie Mix or Shrub & Tub Mix for a nutrient-rich base.
Pots: Use PB28 or PB40-sized pots or planter bags filled with Oderings Shrub & Tub Mix.
Feed
Garden: Begin fertilising when plants reach about 1 metre tall or start to flower. Use Oderings Total Replenish or Tui Performance Naturals Tomato & Vegetable Fertiliser.
Pots: The bagged mix provides enough nutrients for initial growth; begin feeding later as described above.
Watering & Mulching
- Water the base of the plant to avoid diseases, ideally early in the morning.
- Apply mulch or a weed mat to retain moisture and prevent weeds.
- Reduce watering slightly before harvesting to enhance fruit sweetness.
Protection
- Psyllid: Prevent with Mavrik, BioNeem, or Crop Cover.
- Whitefly & Aphids: Control with targeted sprays.
- Diseases: Use copper-based products to combat common tomato diseases. Always water early and avoid night watering.
Harvest
Tomatoes are ready to harvest when they reach their full colour and are firm but not hard. Reduce watering a few days before picking for sweeter fruit.
Garden Expert Tip:
Remove lateral shoots regularly to focus the plant's energy on fruit production to maximise yields. Once the plant reaches 1.8 metres tall, pinch out the growing tips.
Tomato Varieties
- Angela: Large, vigorous plants producing round 100g fruit. Excellent disease resistance.
- Big Beef: Produces big, meaty (250-350g) tasty fruit.
- Big Boss: Compact, bushy plant with large (450-500g) fruit, perfect for sandwiches and barbecues.
- Beef Steak: Multi-disease resistant with large, tasty fruits (250-350g).
- Cherry Bomb: A sweet, cherry tomato with long-lasting production.
- Walter: Superior beefsteak variety with low-acid fruit (130g).
- Dark Delight: Sweet, rich, dark-coloured tomatoes, heavy cropper.
- Early Girl: Tall-growing variety, early heavy crops (110-130g).
- Grapevine: Grape-shaped, early-maturing, sweet and acidic cocktail tomatoes.
- Grosse Lisse: Large, robust red fruits with tall, vigorous growth.
- Money Maker: Produces round 100g fruit with excellent disease resistance.
- Potentate: Early blossoming variety, ideal for outdoor planting (130g).
- Red Robin: Dwarf variety, produces lots of cocktail-sized fruit, perfect for containers.
- Roma: Plum-shaped, acid-free tomatoes (100g), perfect for cooking.
- Russian Red: Semi-dwarf variety, medium-sized fruit, no staking required.
- Sweet 100: High-yielding cherry tomato, producing up to 100 fruits per cluster.
- Sweet Delights: Firm, dark red cocktail tomatoes, high truss production.
- Sweet Treats: High-yielding, sweet bite-sized tomatoes, perfect for salads.
- Tasty Treats: Produces round 100g fruit, very regular production.
- Taupo: Tolerates lower temperatures, producing high yields of slightly rounded fruit (95g).
- Totem: Dwarf plant, perfect for containers, with medium-sized fruit.
- Tumbling Tom: Perfect for baskets or containers, cascading with sweet, juicy cocktail-sized fruits.
