How to Grow Tomatoes

While different areas of the country require different growing approaches, tomatoes are versatile and adaptable to different climates, soil types, and settings. Tomatoes thrive in sunny gardens or, if you live in a colder climate, can be grown indoors (provided they get enough sunlight). 

So, whether you're growing tomatoes in garden beds, pots or hanging baskets, we've got you covered with our expert recommendations on the best way to grow tomatoes at home.

 

Types of tomatoes

Australian gardeners have a heap of tomato varieties to choose from. While many tomatoes you see at the supermarket are red, there is in fact a wide range of colours, sizes and shapes to choose from, from zingy green to meaty orange, from tiny cherry toms to large heirloom varieties.

If you like smaller salad tomatoes, try growing cherry or grape tomatoes. If you want to make passata, look for larger growing tomatoes like ‘Beefsteak’ or ‘Mortgage Lifter’ while for sauces and chutneys, try ‘Roma’.

The type of tomatoes you grow may also depend on how much space you have. For example, if space is limited, try planting cherry tomatoes as they are perfect to grow in pots. If you have plenty of room in your backyard, grow big juicy tomatoes such as ‘Big Boy’, Beefsteak’, ‘Black Krum’ or ‘Brandywine’.

Some popular types of tomatoes include:

• Golden Jubilee tomatoes: This orange-golden tomato has a meaty texture and mild flavour. A heavy cropping plant, Jubilee requires staking.
• Cherry tomatoes: A juicy tomato that is great for beginners. Cultivars include Yellow Pear, Tommy Toe and kid-friendly Sweet Bite.
• Clarence Truss tomatoes: Producing small to medium sweet and juicy tomatoes, Clarence Truss plants grow up to three metres tall and require staking for support.
• Grosse Lisse: If you’re looking for a big, red tasty tomato you can’t go past Grosse Lisse, which produces a heavy crop of mid-late season fruit.
• Health Kick: Health Kick tomatoes have masses of plum-shaped fruit packed full of antioxidants.
• Heirloom varieties: For flavour and variety in your salads, look no further than heirloom varieties of tomato, like the old French variety ‘Jaune Flamme’ with lovely orange coloured fruit that’s full of beta-carotene or the tasty but impossible to say ‘Wapsipinicon Peach’, with sweet creamy yellow tomatoes that are covered with a peach-like fuzz. ‘Green Zebra’ is something really special, grown for its tangy green and yellow striped fruit, which brings the real wow factor to the dinner table.

When to plant tomatoes

Tomatoes are the hero of the summer veggie patch and spring is tomato planting time! Get your tomatoes into the garden after the risk of frost has passed and you’ll be harvesting vine-ripened toms all summer long.

In cooler areas, the tomato season can be extended by growing tomatoes in greenhouses until the weather is warm enough to start planting seedlings outdoors.

How to plant tomatoes

Tomatoes are undoubtedly one of the most satisfying home-grown veggies (or fruits) and provide ample reward for effort. In fact, they have the highest yield for the amount of space they occupy, mainly because they grow up!

Tomatoes are very versatile. They can be planted directly in the open ground in a rich, fertile, well-drained soil or grown in pots filled with Scotts Osmocote Tomato, Vegetable & Herb Potting Mix.

What you’ll need to grow tomatoes

To grow tomatoes at home, you’ll need:

• 9-10cm pots for sowing seeds
• 25-30cm diameter pots (if growing tomatoes in pots until harvest)
• Scotts Osmocote Pour+Feed for Tomatoes & Herbs
• Scotts Osmocote Controlled Release Fertiliser: Tomato, Vegetable & Herb
• Scotts Osmocote Tomato, Vegetable & Herb Potting Mix
• Scotts Osmocote Compost Premium Soil Improver
• Scotts Osmocote Seed & Cutting Potting Mix
• A shovel
• Trowel
• Tomato hoop or stake
• Tomato seedlings or grafted plants
• Stakes and tie

Growing tomatoes in the garden

Growing tomatoes from seedlings or grafted plants is the easiest way to get started. Look for strong tomato seedlings with healthy foliage or F1 (first generation) hybrids. F1 grafted tomatoes have superior disease resistance. This information will be clearly printed on the label.

Follow these steps when planting tomato plants in the garden:

1. Prepare the soil: To prepare for planting, break up the soil by digging it over and improve its texture and fertility by mixing Scotts Osmocote Compost Premium Soil Improver and Scotts Osmocote Controlled Release Fertiliser: Tomato, Vegetable & Herb into the soil.
2. Pick the right spot: Choose a spot that receives at least six hours of sunlight per day, preferably protected from the wind.
3. Water the seedlings: Water the tomato seedlings prior to planting.
4. Dig a hole and space your plants appropriately: Make a hole in the prepared garden bed large enough for the tomato seedling and its complete root ball. Tomatoes should be spaced at 50-60cm intervals, to give them room to grow. Do not overcrowd.
5. Place your tomato plants: Carefully tap the tomato seedling out of the pot or gently lift it from the seed tray, trying to keep as much of the seed-raising mix around the seedling's roots as possible. Carefully place the plant in the hole, making sure it is planted at the same depth as it was previously.
6. Backfill: Backfill around the tomato seedling, pressing the soil down firmly to hold it in place.
7. Support the plant: Insert a stake or tomato hoop, ready for tomato training.
8. Water: Water your tomato plants well.
9. Apply snail and slug pellets: Protect the young tender tomato seedlings from snails and slugs.

Growing tomatoes from seed

There are dozens of tomato varieties available in seed packs from regular and mail order retailers. Some are modern types while others are ‘heirloom’ or old-fashioned varieties that have been around for generations. There’s an almost endless array to choose from but ultimately what you choose comes down to personal taste and perhaps recommendations from family or friends.

Once you’ve chosen the right variety, follow these steps to grow tomatoes from seed:

1. Sow tomato seeds in individual containers in early spring: Tomato seed is best sown into individual peat pots (Jiffy Pots), seed trays or egg cartons filled with Scotts Osmocote Seed & Cutting Potting Mix in early spring, when the soil in the veggie garden is still too cold to promote good germination.
2. Place containers in a warm indoor spot: The seed containers should be placed in a warm, sheltered spot indoors but not in direct sun through a window.
3. Keep the seeds moist but not wet: Spray the seed containers with a spray bottle daily to keep the soil moist, but avoid overwatering.
4. Thin the tomato seedlings out: When the seedlings are about 5-8cm high and have their first set of true tomato leaves (not seed leaves), thin them out to give them room to develop, transplanting the ‘thinnings’ into another seed tray.
5. Harden the tomato seedlings off: As the weather warms and the seedlings grow, gradually harden them off by placing the trays outside during the day but bringing them in at night for protection.
6. Transplant the tomato seedlings into the garden: By mid to late spring, they should be tough enough to be outside all the time and ready to transplant into the garden. Don’t be tempted to plant them out too soon though. One or two very cold nights could really set them back. Wait until daytime temperatures are in the mid-20s and the possibility of night-time frost has passed.

Tomato plant care tips

Once your tomato plant is established, there are a few things you can do to encourage a plentiful harvest.

Supporting and staking tomato plants

As plants grow, tie the main stems to stakes for support and remove the small side shoots that appear in the angles between the side stems and the main stem. Once five trusses (side stems bearing leaves and fruit) have developed, pinch off the growing tip at the top of the main stem. This will focus the plant's energy on producing more fruit.

For smaller tomato bushes, there's no need to remove side shoots or pinch out growing tips. However, you may need to support heavily laden branches with stakes.

Watering tomatoes

Tomato plants require regular watering and feeding to produce healthy fruits. When watering tomato plants, the soil should be kept moist enough for moisture to reach the roots. Refrain from overwatering as too much water can deprive the roots of oxygen.

Feeding tomatoes

Proper feeding is critical for growing healthy and bountiful tomato plants.

Feeding young tomato plants requires care as it is quite easy to overfeed and damage their sensitive roots. Young tomato plants should be fed as soon as they are transplanted using half the recommended application rate or dilution ratio indicated on the package. If a tomato fertiliser was added to the soil before planting, further feeding may not be needed until plants begin to fruit.

Once the plant begins to fruit, fertilise every 4 to 6 weeks with a balanced fertiliser that contains nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Fertilise one last time when you harvest your first fruit.

When to harvest tomatoes

Tomatoes should be harvested when the fruit is ripe and fully coloured.

Tips to help identify ripe tomatoes

• Check the tomato seed packet or plant tag as this will provide information on the colour and hue of a ripe tomato.
• Ripe tomatoes have a distinctly fresh aroma that can easily be identified.
• Gently squeeze the tomato - ripe tomatoes will feel slightly soft.

Can you ripen tomatoes off the plant?

As temperatures drop in autumn, tomatoes will eventually stop ripening on the plants. However, you can still ripen them indoors. Cut off all remaining tomatoes and place them indoors in a paper bag together with a banana or an apple. These fruits give off a gas called ethylene which encourages the tomatoes to ripen. The process takes about two weeks. Check the bag periodically and remove tomatoes as they ripen. Those that don’t ripen can always be used to make green tomato pickles!

Bonus! 9 expert tips for planting tomatoes

1. Select the right type of tomato for your space and preferences

Depending on your preference and space, select the right tomato variety. For salads, opt for cherry or grape tomatoes. For sauces, ‘Roma’ is ideal, and for big juicy tomatoes, try ‘Big Boy’ or ‘Beefsteak’.

2. Have the right equipment for growing tomatoes

For planting, you'll need pots for sowing seeds, larger pots for growth until harvest, and stakes and ties for supporting heavy plants.

3. Support your tomato plant with stakes or a tomato cage

Many tomato varieties need to be staked to avoid the plant toppling over. If your tomato plants need support, tie it to a stake or tomato cage. As your tomato plant grows, tie the main stems to stakes and remove small side shoots.

4. Ensure your tomato plant gets enough sunlight or use a greenhouse

In cooler areas, consider using greenhouses to extend the tomato season. Otherwise, tomatoes thrive in spots with at least six hours of sunlight daily and protection from strong winds.

5. Prepare the soil for growing tomatoes

The quality of your potting soil is critical for growing healthy tomatoes. Tomatoes grow best in rich, fertile, well-drained soil. Use Scotts Osmocote Compost Premium Soil Improver and Scotts Osmocote Controlled Release Fertiliser: Tomato, Vegetable & Herb to prepare your soil for growing tomatoes.

6. Water regularly

Regular watering without over-saturating is key. Consider installing an automatic irrigation system. If this is not an option, water in the morning and try to avoid wetting the foliage.

7. Add mulch

Add straw mulch on top of your soil to retain moisture and prevent weeds.

8. Feed regularly but avoid over-fertilisation

You’ll need liquid fertiliser and controlled-release fertiliser. Feed young plants gently, avoiding over-fertilisation. Apply a liquid fertiliser to tomato seedlings to improve their frost tolerance while young.

9. Know when your tomatoes are ripe and ready to harvest

Pick tomatoes when they are ripe and fully coloured. Ripe tomatoes have a distinct aroma and are slightly soft to the touch. In cooler autumn temperatures, you can ripen them indoors alongside a banana or apple to expedite the process.

Companion planting for tomatoes

Companion planting is a great way to improve the health, yield, and pest resistance of your tomato plants. Here are some of our top recommendations for companion plants for tomatoes:

• Basil: Repels aphids and whiteflies and enhances the flavour of tomatoes
• Marigolds: Repels aphids and whiteflies and attracts bees for pollination
• Carrots: Can be grown under tomato plants and helps to loosen the soil around the tomato plant’s roots
• Parsley: Attracts insects, like ladybugs, that prey on common tomato pests

Common tomato pests and diseases

Tomato plants can be susceptible to pests and diseases, so it’s essential to ensure that these problems are prevented from the start.

Tomato blight

One of the common problems is blight which can be in two forms. Early blight occurs due to a fungus that flourishes in wet conditions. It is visible as concentric spots on plant leaves and can weaken the tomato plant. Late blight shows up as grey, greasy spots on leaves, stems and fruit. They can pose a potential threat to your garden.