Grow a tomato bursting with colour and flavour

A tomato plant needs at least 6-7 hours of sun a day to produce lots of fruit.

They also like protection from wind and need warm soil to flourish.

Apply a mulch of lucerne hay, pea straw or sugar cane when the soil has warmed up, which could be late spring or early summer in cold regions.

Mulch reduces weeds and helps to keep moisture in the soil. You can apply mulch right up to the stem of the tomato plant.

Free-draining, warm soil is essential.

Dig organic matter such as compost, aged cow manure or Dynamic Lifter Plus Vegetable Food into the soil before planting.

A sprinkling of sulphate of potash helps with flower and fruit development, and with disease resistance.

If your soil is acidic, which you can check with a pH kit, add liquid lime to the soil as a lime deficiency can cause blossom end rot.

If the soil has been well prepared, your tomatoes won’t need feeding until the first flower truss appears.

Use a soluble plant food such as PowerFeed for Tomatoes & Vegetables. Repeat fortnightly while the plants are fruiting.

Move the mulch aside when applying fertiliser and always water before and after fertilising.

Depending on the weather, water regularly and deeply at least twice a week, especially when the fruit starts appearing.

To help prevent disease, water around the plant base rather than from overhead.

Erratic watering causes a tomato to split.

The majority of tomato plants need staking, so position a 2m high stake 50mm from the stem at the planting stage to avoid damaging the root system.

As they grow, tie the stems to the stake with soft cloth or twine. You can also grow and support tomatoes in homemade wire cages.

Try Whites Tomato Cage Plant Trainer, $9. You simply drive the stakes into the soil and clip the supports in place.

The tomato fruit is at its tastiest when left on the vine to mature.

Cut the stalk but leave the calyx attached.