This year in the Edible Forest we ran an experiment on when is the best time to plant tomatoes in the Yarra Valley. We planted a few varieties Grand Final Weekend (late September) and the remaining Cup Weekend (early November). Now we know the weather has a lot to do with the growing and fruiting process, but it seems as though those planted in September are the winners. This may be different next year due to the rain early in October that ceased in Nov/December.
Each variety has provided us with an abundance of tomatoes that have been used to make passata, sundried tomatoes, salads, fresh on bruschetta, tomato sauce and pizza sauce to name a few.
Varieties planted in the Edible Forest this year include;
- Purple Russian
- Black Krim
- San Marzano
- Roma
- Beef Steak (Nov)
- Old Ugly (Nov)
- Black Krim (Nov)
- Sweet Bite (Sept)
- Tommy Toe (Sept)
- Heirloom, Red & Black (Sept)
- Sunrise Bumble Bee (Sept)
- Green Zebra
- Apollo
- Pink Ponderosa Tomatoes
When planting, be sure to use ‘companion planting’ which has beneficial effects on one another (we are trying to confuse the pests here too!), so plant your Tomato seedlings alongside by intermingling them with Basil, Carrots, Peppers, Marigolds & Nasturtiums … all of which are perfect in a summer / autumn salad.
A few planning tips:
- Plan your layout to combine with companion plants
- Tomatoes love heat – warmer soil will mean earlier ripening fruit
- Bury them deep, don’t worry – they will grow towards the light
- To stake or not to stake? If you are not planning to stake your tomatoes, that’s ok – this season we left some of ours ramble abundantly on the beds in the Edible Forest and they are flourishing!
