by Victoria Moss

Created on: July 28, 2008   Last Updated: December 05, 2011

Tomatoes are the most common vegetable in the home garden, probably due to the fact that they are easily grown and to their delicious flavour when freshly picked; quite unlike the tasteless offerings from supermarkets that have spent countless weeks in storage.

Tomato seeds germinate so easily that young plants might spring up from your compost heap as the weather becomes warmer, and you can transplant the strongest of them into a permanent position. The plants will grow so readily that the minimal maintenance required from then on will be amply repaid by the outstanding crop they will produce.

When spring approaches it is the time to start to think about your tomato crop (although in some tropical areas they can be grown all year round) In temperate areas that experience frost later planting is needed, but you could buy small seedlings, transplant them into bigger pots and keep them on a sunny, sheltered terrace until the danger of frosts is over.

Plants established in early and mid-spring should produce their first fruit in two to three months, depending on the amount of heat that follows. Here, in the south-eastern region of Australia, gardeners are proud to boast of their skill if they can produce tomatoes by Christmas Day!

Although tomato plants will produce some fruit no matter what you do to them, for a bumper harvest the following factors should be considered:

1. The site.

Select the position and prepare the bed at least six six weeks before planting.Choose a place that is not subject to strong winds and one that gets full sun for at least five hours of the day, although a whole day's sun is preferable for the heaviest cropping. The soil must be well-drained; you can build raised beds if drainage needs to be improved.

The area to be planted should be one which has not been used for tomatoes or others in their family (potatoes, chillies or eggplants) in the previous year, due to the risk of diseases that may have remained in the soil.

2. Preparing the soil.

Dig over the soil, removing all weeds and breaking lumps up until it is quite fine. Dig in a generous amount of cow manure, a light sprinkle of potash and a handful of lime for every square metre. If you already have alkaline soil, add some gypsum.

3. Planting (at least six weeks later)

While you can plant from seeds that you have saved, seedlings are inexpensive and reliable and give you the choice of different types of tomato.

Plant when the sun has enough heat to warm the soil. Planting too early

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