| It finally is Tomato planting time in this
part of Adelaide. Soil is warming and night air temperatures are mild enough to get them
moving and your patience is probably running out too. They
need at least five hours of sunlight a day and if planting them against a fence, keep all
seedlings at least 50cm from a fence or fungal disease will claim them later in the year,
due to poor air circulation. Plant onto a mound of about 10cm, just to improve drainage
and do not fertilize or mulch just yet. The soil needs all the warmth it can get for the
next four weeks. Only fertilize when the first flowers appear.
If you have lots of room and want lots of fruit, the
grafted Legef™ is as good as they get in this area. It may well grow to over three
metres, so a nearby pergola is a help! These grafted varieties, can have one of several
varieties as scions, but all are tasty and very productive.
Other big and bountiful mid season Tomatoes, that grow on
their own roots, are the 'Mighty Red', the 'Improved Grosse Lisse' and 'Father Tom' all of
which grow to at least 2 metres, need a sturdy stake and set loads of tasty fruit, plus
all these are disease resistant, to all that you'd expect in this area.
If you like the milder flavoured cooking Tomatoes, then the
best for our local soil, climate and water are the egg shaped 'Milano' and 'San Marzano'
as well as any of the improved 'Roma' types. Improved generally refers to disease
resistance that has been bred into the variety, so the seedlings require less dusting.
These only grow to 1.3 metres and can even be grown without a stake.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that 28,000
tonnes of Tomatoes are grown in Australian home gardens each summer. Why is that? Well I
think it's the flavour and knowing what went onto growing them. Prune or not to prune...
who cares? |
