By Garry Tomato: sowing, planting, growing and harvesting
Learn when to sow, plant, care for and harvest tomato in your garden.
🌱 Tomato : key growing facts
📅 Growing calendar
Indicative Northern Hemisphere temperate-climate calendar only. Adjust to local frost dates, climate, variety and growing conditions. In the Southern Hemisphere, seasons are approximately six months later.
🔎 Growing specifications
🧺 Harvest readiness & expected yield
When to pick
Pick fruit when it reaches full cultivar colour and yields slightly to gentle pressure; avoid chilling unripe tomatoes.
What to expect
Commonly 2–5 kg (4–11 lb) per plant for productive garden varieties; highly variable.
Indicative only; variety, climate and care affect harvests.🌿 How to grow successfully
🤝 Companion planting
Grow basil or low-growing greens nearby where space permits; provide each crop with adequate light and airflow.
↔️ What to avoid
Do not plant outdoors before frost risk has passed or crowd plants into poorly ventilated beds.
🐛 Pests and diseases
Watch for aphids, whitefly, mites and fungal disease.
🧤 Ongoing care
Stake where needed, mulch and water consistently at the base.
🧺 Harvest and storage
Pick fully coloured, slightly yielding fruit; keep ripe tomatoes at room temperature for best flavour.
🧑🌾 From sowing to harvest
Prepare the soil
Choose a sunny sheltered site; incorporate mature compost and install supports before roots spread.
Sow or transplant
Start seeds indoors with warmth and good light; harden plants off gradually before transplanting after frost.
What to monitor
Check flowers, fruit set, soil moisture and early signs of blight or insect damage.
When and how to harvest
Pick fruit when it reaches full cultivar colour and yields slightly to gentle pressure; avoid chilling unripe tomatoes.