How to grow tomatoes - from seed to harvest

[Adam_W]

Hi all,

Tomatoes are without doubt the most popular of the home veggies (although technically a fruit...) so last year I tracked my tomato growing across the entire season, from seed to harvest, and created a series of videos so I could share my tips this year.

As we've now come full-circle & we're heading again into tomato time here's the first one.

As some folks do plant from seedlings they buy I'll share the others in separate posts so you can go directly to the most relevant videos easily.

Enjoy & happy gardening!

[Adam_W]

Here's the second part of my tomato growing video series with tips on caring for seedlings and the all important bed selection and preparation.

[Adam_W]

Here's number 3 in my tomato growing series and this will be handy for folks who have bought seedlings or advanced plants too.

[MitchellMc]

Great stuff @Adam_W!

A timely reminder that I need to prepare my beds for tomato planting.

What's your recommendation for this little green grub pictured below? They devastated my entire crop from three separate plants. By the time I noticed they were there, the damage seemed to have been done. All tomatoes already had holes in them, which led to the fruit being destroyed. Subsequently, I sprayed the complete plants a few times with Mavrik (as I had it on hand, and there were dozens of grubs), but that didn't even seem to stop the others that survived the spray from attacking any new fruit.

Really demoralizing to get excited about a bumper crop to find that all the work was for nothing.

Many thanks for posting.

Mitchell

[Adam_W]

Hi @MitchellMc 
Yes... the dreaded green looper caterpillar. Problem is the rotten things often decimate a crop before you know they are there.
Proactive & preventative... you can net your plants with a suitable garden netting. Make sure the sort you use is wildlife friendly & complies with regulations recently introduced in some areas.
Vigilance is always the best preventative. Just keep a regular watch on your plants & remove any grubs before they get busy. The give away can be when you see moths or small butterflies fluttering around your plants. They may well be laying eggs.
Otherwise on the spray side...
- Nature's Way Dipel is a natural organically certified spray for caterpillars. Needs to be reapplied after rain or overhead watering.
- Yates Success Ultra is derived from natural bacteria & is very effective. Better rain tolerance.

- Maverick - yes, effective but some folks may prefer a less chemical option.

[Adam_W]

Hi everyone,

Finally I managed to finish #4 in the series!
Enjoy

[EricL]

Hi @Adam_W

What an excellent series on tomatoes. I'm sure our members will get a lot of information in this video about how to keep their tomato plants healthy. 

We look forward to seeing your next plant series.

Eric

[jeff1001]

This helps a lot. Thanks.

[EricL]

Hello @jeff1001

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. Thank you for joining the discussion.

Are you planning on making a tomato garden? There's nothing like the feeling of growing your own vegetables. Any updates you can provide about your garden project would be much appreciated. If you have any questions you would like to ask, please don't hesitate to post them. Our ever-helpful members would be more than happy to provide you with advice and information.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.  

Eric