In brave gardens tomatoes have already gone in, but I prefer mid-November to plant these cold-tender plants out into the open garden as the weather is warmer and more settled.
Although planted a little later they will catch up to earlier-planted tomatoes and will usually perform better.
The care and attention tomatoes receive from now until they are ready to harvest will largely determine their success or failure.
I plant tomato seedlings quite deep, in fact, with the first pair of true leaves (not the bottom pair of seedling leaves) level with the soil surface.
Do not overfeed tomatoes in the early stage of growth as it can prevent the first flowers setting fruit.
Plant into soil that has ideally been fertilised the previous season with organic matter and then supplement with a little complete tomato fertiliser.
When the first bunches of fruit start forming they can have some tomato fertiliser at the rate of about a handful per metre or apply a liquid fertiliser once a week, after watering.
Tomatoes need an even supply of moisture throughout their entire life and can be severely damaged by either over-watering or under-watering.
If spaced about one metre apart in all directions, the need for water will drop quite noticeably because the roots of each plant will have a greater area from which to draw water without any competition from other tomatoes.
This spacing also allows for greater access to sunlight and air which contributes to the overall good health of the plants.
Over-watering or under-watering can bring about the condition known as blossom end rot, a physiological upset caused by the poor uptake of calcium from the soil which appears as a brown patch on the bottom or blossom end of the fruit.
Too much water that causes water logging will damage the roots so they cannot take up sufficient calcium from the soil. The same happens if the soil is allowed to dry out.
Pruning is an important task with the main purpose to increase fruit size, but there are some varieties that have satisfactory sized fruit without any pruning.
Another reason is to keep the vigorous growers such as Grosse Lisse to a manageable size so that they can be more easily attached to a stake.
Some of the smaller fruited varieties can be pruned to one or two leaders to increase the size of their fruit.
The first step is to decide on the number of leaders you require and this will be determined by the variety.
All side shoots in excess of the number of leaders are pinched out as soon as they appear. Bush types like KY1 need no pruning.
The vigorous varieties as in Grosse Lisse do well when pruned to four leaders, but when they reach a little over knee high can be left to grow on without further treatment.
Remove side shoots as soon as they appear in the axis of the leaves.
Can't wait to pick and take in the aroma of my first sun-ripened 'tommy'.
DIARY
November 6: North West Lilium Society meeting, Penguin Baptist Centre, 130 Ironcliffe Road, 1pm.
November 6,7: Open Garden, "Banff', 114 Elphin Rd, Newstead, 10am-4pm. Devonshire Tea $10, plant and book stalls. Entry $7, children free. Supporting North Esk Rowing Club.
November 6, 7: Launceston Horticultural Society Late Spring Show, Evandale Memorial Hall, High Street Evandale, Saturday 2pm-5pm, Sunday 10am-4pm.
November 16 : Australian Plants Society Tasmania meeting, Max Fry Hall, Gorge Road, Trevallyn, 7.30pm . Ian Clarke will speak on native grasses and their identification.
November 20, 21: The 53rd Annual Longford Spring Show, Longford Town Hall, Saturday 12pm-5pm, Sunday 10am-4pm.
