Episode: #3 16/09/2006
Presenter: Judy Horton

Tomatoes are everyone?s favourite for salads and cooking and we all know that the best tasting tomatoes are the ones you grow yourself. If you have never grown tomatoes before, it can seem a bit daunting.

Start with some of the cherry tomatoes, they are the toughest of all and they taste terrific.

To grow big tomatoes, start with rich, well-drained soil in a sunny spot, and then dig in some complete fertiliser, or some organic Dynamic Lifter.

While the plants are growing, feed them with special tomato plant food. It is applied as a liquid so it gets into the plant really quickly. Remember, a well-fed plant is sure to be a healthy plant.

Tomato plants are magnets for pests and diseases but you can keep them away by regularly spraying with Yates Tomato Gun. It is so easy to use, just shake, turn the nozzle to an on position and squeeze the trigger.

Tomato Gun takes care of insects (which can be great spreaders of disease) and also has two fungicides that work together to beat the fungus diseases that spoil the leaves.

Another great solution to have on hand is Success. It is a natural caterpillar control that won a gold award for its environmental credentials. It gets right into the tomato and stops it being spoilt by those big green grubs.

There is another puzzling problem that affects tomatoes. It is called blossom end rot and it appears on the bottom of the tomato, where the flower used to be. It can spread to form a wide brown sunken patch.

It is not a disease. The plant tissues collapse because they can?t get enough calcium from the soil which usually happens because the plant is too dry, or wet, and then dry.

The best solution is to keep the plants well watered, well mulched and use a soil wetter at planting time.

Before you know it, you?ll be eating your own yummy tomatoes.

Featured Product

Dynamic Lifter Organic Plant Food:

• This is a versatile feed for all garden, potted and Australian native plants.
• Slow release nutrients improving structure and retention of the soil.
• It also encourages earthworms and is beneficial to soil micro-organisms

Success

• Controls various caterpillars on fruit and vegetables.
• Low toxic formulation.
• Contains spinosad, which is derived from naturally occurring soil beneficial bacteria.
• Spinosad is effective through both contact and stomach action.
• Easy to use.

Yates Tomato Gun

• Controls various insects and diseases on tomatoes
• Effective combination of insecticides and fungicides, to control the most common pests and diseases on tomatoes.
• Ideal for a small number or garden of potted tomatoes.
• Easy-to-use trigger pack - no mixing required, no measuring, no mess.

Tomato Plant Food

• A fast acting, complete, liquid fertiliser ideal for feeding garden and potted tomatoes
• Specially formulated blend of nutrients, with nitrogen for healthy foliage growth and rich in phosphorus and potassium to encourage prolific flowering and fruiting.
• Feeds through both the foliage and the roots
• Also ideal for feeding other fruit and vegetables.