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The Tui Veggie & Garden Club

Tomatoes are number 1!

Did you know that Tomatoes are New Zealand’s favourite fruit? Each year well over a million plants are grown by home gardeners all over the country. Technically tomatoes are a fruit but as we eat them as a vegetable that’s often what we refer to them as.

 

That’s really here ‘nor there as the main reason Tomatoes are grown at home is for their flavour. No store bought tomato ever tastes any where near as good as something fully ripened and grown with love in the sun at home.

 

Once known as ‘Love apples’ because they were thought to have aphrodisiac properties, maybe this is why they became so popular! Tomatoes have a high content of vitamin C and are a good source of fibre.

 

Tomatoes best friends are sun and loads of it, protection from the wind, water and tomato fertiliser aids in strong plant and root growth. Tomatoes are frost tender and will wither and die quickly if frosted, hence wait until all threat of frost has passed before planting outside. For a master class in growing tomatoes at home visit www.tuitime.co.nz and watch the tomato web video, its informative, easy to follow and will help you get it right.

 

Tomatoes – Tips to success

 

  • Prepare – Choose a warm position in full sun away from strong winds in either the garden or for a pot. Cultivate soil, blend in Tui Tomato Food and compost prior to planting.

 

  • For pots simply choose a container at least 2-3 times the size of a kitchen bucket (20-30litres) or use a Haxnicks tomato planter and fill with Tui Tomato Mix, this mix has all the goodies in it already to produce a bumper crop. You can even poke a few holes in the bottom of the potting mix bag for drainage and plant straight into the mix if time, space and the inclination takes you.

 

  • Plant – seeds take about a month to germinate and to be ready for transplanting. If you miss sowing seeds before the end of October, forget about it and seek out seedlings from the garden store. Seedlings are widely available everywhere en masse through planting time in October and November. Buying single plants allows you to grow a range of varieties and types. Depending on the variety plants produce between 3 and 6 kilos of fruit on average. Gourmet Campari by Zealandia is a striking red colour and is one of the juiciest and flavoursome new varieties this season.

 

  • If planting in rows, plant 60cm – 80cm apart to allow plenty of air movement.

 

  • Protect and nurture. Most varieties other than the dwarf ones require staking, its safest to put the stake in the ground prior to planting to make sure you don’t snap off the root ball when inserting the stage. Tie the stems to the stake to provide support to the plant and to keep the fruit clean. Keep soil or potting mix moist but not wet at all times. Regular applications of Tui Tomato Food for the garden or Maxfeed Tomatoes liquid feed for containers will boost growth and fruiting capacity of plants.

 

  • Pick – allow fruit to ripen on the plant, although tomatoes do ripen further once picked, the flavour is always at its best when allowed to ripen fully on the plant.