My father in the 1960s in Melbourne metro used to plant tomatoes which he had ready on Cup Day. He didn’t cover them but planted them in a sheltered position facing north. Makes me wonder if the weather was warmer perhaps different 60 years ago. It is good to have found your videos for Victoria. So many are Northern Hemisphere. I have planted out 5 varieties in the sheltered position facing north like my dad. Some already have flowers. Many more varieties to try but I always save seeds.
That's so amazing your tomatoes already have flowers! Melbourne is much warmer than we are up here, especially at night. Sounds like your father was a great grower of tomatoes. It's nice to have a sheltered area to plant them as it creates a warmer climate. I hope you get an amazing harvest. Thank you for watching!
I'm glad I came across your video.! Thank you for sharing your experiences with us. I have been watching videos from America, but our climate is not the same!! I live in Victoria too, so this video is very handy to me.
I am following Charles Dowding's sowing advice. Just pricked out my seedlings today. Adelaide, top of the Fleurieu Pennisula. I over wintered a cherry tomato in my glasshouse. It has ripe fruit on it. Harvested 12kgs of cherry tomatoes last season
I love Charles Dowding's advice, so good! So great that you over wintered a cherry tomato and that you have ripe fruit now. I hope your tomatoes grow well this year.
Hi Amy I'm in Ballarat and I just bought a bunch of tomatoe seedlings from the local nursery on Leith St. which I'm about to repot ready for after I've got rid of all the grass and weeds. I'll be putting them in a bit deeper aswell so they get a stronger root system and become a much stronger plant. I bought a couple of cherry tomatoes and five larger tomatoe varieties hopefully this year I'll get something from them with how much they cost and I've also bought a dozen capsicum seedlings to repot before planting so now I just have to start some peas, snow peas and beans and a few other goodies. Very good video and I wish you the best of luck with your garden. Have fun!
Hi there, I'm Melbourne SE Suburbs on a windy community gardens plot next to the Dandenong Ranges. Weather has been all over the place, but no frost here for ages. I'm thinking I'll put my cherry tomatoes out under some covers this weekend, despite all the old timers telling me we have to wait until Cup Day 😁. If they look okay after a week, I'll put some of my others out when I've got space for them. Thanks for the video 👍
Hi, just found your channel, I’m in far west NSW and we are having our first 40 degree day today. Planted my tomatoes out end of August and just starting to get the first few fruits now, it’s wild how different our climates are.
Hello! Gosh, I can’t believe you’re at 40 degrees already. We are going to have a 28 degree day next week, which will be lovely. Enjoy your tomatoes! 🌻
Hello! I'm in Central Vic too at 600m above sea level. I grow my tomatoes from seed inside by the fire in late July and plant them out in the garden around 2nd week of Nov. It usually works out fine re frosts by then. I don't get tomatoes until mid-late Feb/early March though. And I don't have a greenhouse. Love your videos!
That's when I used to plant my tomatoes out too, but I've been too eager to get tomatoes earlier. Loved having them in late Dec and January last year. I hope you get a wonderful harvest. Thanks for watching!
Hi ,I’m near Warragul, I put tomatoes out a couple weeks ago,most are fine,a couple are a little frost burnt,they are against a fence,so some protection.
I’m in SE Melbourne near the bay. I’ve seen my tomato seeds in a mini greenhouse for germinating. First time growing from seed. Fingers crossed some sprout.
Hi Amy. I'm in Rushworth, Victoria, and thought it would be okay to plant out my single tomato plant. But it was just before that frost the other night, and I forgot to cover her ... she is not looking very happy. 😢 Thank goodness I left the younger seedlings in the greenhouse!
Thank you for the videos :) they’re lovely easy watching :). I live in Vic and for my pathways I use wood chips, free from arborists. Maybe that might be good for you? I’m sure there’s an arborist in your area and they normally need somewhere to put their wood chips and drop them for free. I just keep a pile out of site and use it on my paths in my veg patch and never have a weed problem. I have used wool carpet until some parts, but thick wood chips work so well :)
Oh also, I would love to see a video on dandelions and their health benefits and all of the different ways you use them if you ever feel like doing that. I haven’t considered them before and you regularly mention them :)
Thank you for watching! I use woodchips too from our wood chopping, but we haven't chopped our massive pile of wood yet and I was getting impatient. I've also asked an arborist but they don't have any jobs in our area yet. I might call up a few others and see if I can get some. Thanks! Have a lovely weekend!
Good morning, we are Homesteading off grid near Castlemaine also! 😎 pretty rough winter with all those -6s this year! As stated a few times in the comments, Melbourne cup was my Grandfather’s marker for frost tender seedlings, but have had a few lite frosts in Dec! A future solar passive greenhouse will be a game changer! Happy growing 😎😎🐶
Hello there, lovely to meet another local! We definitely get late frosts out here. A solar passive greenhouse sounds amazing! The sun is almost gone from our north windows in our solar passive house so I have to grow my seedlings outside now. I can't wait to have a greenhouse one day. Enjoy this beautiful weather!
Hi Amy. Respect from another central Victorian off grid farm (Cherokee in the Macedon Ranges). Enjoyed your video, and oh my, but your tomatoes are miles ahead of here! The other night was 0'C here with light frost, and was candidly a bit of a worry for the apricot and almond crop. The tomatoes have been started in the greenhouse and will go into the ground outdoors in November. Look forward to seeing how your plants go over the growing season. Cheers. Chris
Hi Chris, thank you for taking the time to comment. We had that frosty night here too and I lost a few seedlings I left out, so will need to plant again. I think out apricot and almond trees have been hit hard by the rain and hail and we probably won't get a harvest again this year. I hope yours do well. Thanks for watching!
Hi Amy. Thanks for sharing your experience. I am in Pakenham VIC. My tomato babies are inside and about 6 weeks old. Still getting nice and strong. I had always followed the idea to plant out cup weekend but I felt last year that was just too late and my harvest seemed to be super delayed. I have been wondering if I could chance them out a little earlier seeing as our nights have been quite warm already compared to previous years, other than a couple of drops here and there. I like the idea of getting a few out and seeing how they go so I might do a staggered planting. Especially seeing as i always start way too many and never have the heart to dump them. Thanks for the idea! Loving your content xx
Thank you! So glad you're enjoying my content. It's easy to give up a few plants when getting them out early. At least you won't lose then all if something happens. Good luck with planting your tomatoes, I hope they grow well! x
Your tomato plants look amazing 🤩 I have a brown thumb when it comes to anything in pots . I've been forcing myself to only grow from seed for the last few years ,other than occasionally gifts of seedlings from MIL or last minute desperation when the season is running out and I still have no capsicum sprouting, for instance. We are in SEQLD on 5 acres with a north facing slope , on paper our place ticks all the boxes but in reality our annual rainfall is very low and the ground is pretty awful. We were completely spoiled on our last homestead . It is improving but it's taking a huge volume of inputs , if I started here again, I would order a truck load of compost and another of cow poo ,and then attempt to garden. Chicken tractors have been an amazing tool though. I can see exactly where they've improved over the last 4 yrs. My seedlings , really they're no more than sprouts are looking terrible. I may have to just direct sow again ,as I have slightly better success with that way . Thank you for the video to enjoy with my lunch. ❤❤
I have no capsicums sprouting either and my parents have had trouble too. Maybe it's still too cold? My chillies have popped up though. I hope your tomato plants grow strong and you get a great harvest. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. I love hearing from you and what you're up to on your property. Have a wonderful weekend!
@@ThreeBarrowFarm yes, hopefully weather is what's affecting my seeds and not my thumbs. Haha . This week we have mostly up to 9*c onight but one night will go to 6*c again. I'm not complaining though , I'm loving the extra cardigan weather 🥰🥰
Dandenong ranges here. Planted 11 rams horn toms on the weekend just past along with 30 other spring veg. Time to start another 30 assorted spring veg! Succession planting square foot gardening is what works best I have found.
Central North Island, New Zealand, still getting to nearly 0 some nights. I have tomatoes in pots but resisting the urge to plant out. Traditionally it is Labour Weekend to plant the vegetable garden (last weekend in October) but we often wait until early November. A frost this month killed 3 of my 15 tomatoes, all off the ground and under cover. Not sure why 3 frosted and the rest were fine. We can get frosts here any month of the year so will have to bitecthe bullet sometime.
Resisting the urge sounds like a good idea. Interesting that three plants died out of your 15. Do you cover your tomatoes throughout the summer at night? Must be hard having the chance of frost any time of the year, but its always so lovely and green over there in NZ compared to how dry it gets here.
@@ThreeBarrowFarm yes, I wondered if they were wet on the leaves by accident. The ironic thing is 2 were from seeds I was given from Central Otago were it gets really, really cold, and really, really hot. We have had very dry summers/droughts, but not last year, and hopefully not this year.
I'm in Shepp and am completely new to growing food. I planted my tomatoes last week but wish I'd seen your video first I might have made a few mistakes. We'll see how they fair.
I made the mistake the other week planting 4 of my tomato plants as it was several days of beautiful sunshine. That night we had a massive frost and woke up the next morning to all 4 plants gone. So I'm holding off, not sure when but don't want to loose anymore.
I’m sorry yours got hit by the frost. I would normally wait till mid-November but the frost cloth works well. I have lost plants in the past and it hurts! I’ll definitely be waiting to plant more out later. Did you use anything to cover the tomatoes that died?
@ThreeBarrowFarm No i didn't and that's on me lol but i might try your method and see how i go. I do have some volunteer tomatoes popping up in one of my garden beds which is covered and so far they are ok.
Thank you for the lovely informative videos - I live in Adelaide and I still haven't planted any of my summer veg out yet - it is way too cold (especially at night) to even consider it - I like to plant them out when the overnight temps get above 10 degrees. I was late sowing my tomato seeds so they are still very small, I am going to repot them and then leave them to grow a bit until I plant them out (gives me more time to really work on the beds more!!) - so everything is still in the greenhouse. Where did you get your frost cloth from? I have been looking for some but can never find it! Have a wonderful long weekend!!
Thank you for watching, I'm glad you're enjoy my videos. Leaving your tomatoes until they are stronger and bigger is a great choice. I got this frost cloth from Bunnings but it's not that great; it deteriorates so quickly. Only lasts a season or two. Have a great weekend!
Hi all, I’m bayside Victoria, I’ve jutted potted up my tomatoes..the weather is just so up and down, my brassicas don’t know whether to go to seed or not😂.. my garlic seems to be suffering, maybe it will perk up once the days are more consistent. Have a great weekend all🍅
I have not even sown tomato seeds yet, but I'm doing that in October, planting on cup day, which is the traditional way for Central Vic. I am terrible at growing tomatoes though.
I generally think the cup day planting is more a Melbourne thing as we still get frosts here late November, but I'll be planting most of mine that week too. I do enjoy experimenting and seeing if I can get tomatoes again before Christmas. We shall see! I hope your tomatoes grow strong and give you a wonderful harvest!
Yes, that’s the traditional day in Melbourne. Still can be too cold here in central Victoria, but most homesteaders try to get tomatoes out before then under frost cloth or greenhouses. I like to experiment and sacrifice some tomato plants in doing so. 😉
I was just wondering if l should plant my tomatoe seedlings out or not, the nights are still quite cold ,some around 5 degrees in adelaide, that was very helpful. Some of my seedlings got powdery mildew and l don't know if I shall chuck them out or still plant,what would you recommend? Yes those metal pegs,l use them the same way!😊😊
Sounds like your nights are warmer than ours here. Sorry some of yours have powdery mildew. Do you water them at the soil level or do the leaves get wet? I'd spray a neem oil and water mixture on them to help with the mildew. You can search for some recipes and ways to treat the mildew. I hope your tomatoes recover and you get a great tomato harvest!
Please excuse me for going off topic, but did you knit your own sweater? ❤ Is the pattern called "Into The Wild" by Tania Barley? My knitter's heart is squeeing with glee!
@@ThreeBarrowFarm Your sweater, or jumper as we say it, is beautiful 😍 Glad to meet a fellow knitter, gardener, and Victorian too 😊 I hope you are having a wonderful day!
@@ThreeBarrowFarm same my capsicum have started germinating in the last two weeks with some still coming up my chilli’s are really slow this year also with not many sprouted planted most in August and I’m on the Mornington peninsula and yes much slower than previous years, I had no problems with my eggplants..
@@HardCandy-d9q I’ve had no problem with eggplants coming up either and I have a few chillies up too. I’m trying to remember whether capsicum seeds took this long in the past, but I can’t remember.
@@ThreeBarrowFarm I agree this year were a few weeks behind schedule on the capsicums luckily some of mine overwintered so I’ll have a head start with those but the rest of my seed sown capsicum have been sprouting in the last week or two and I planted them with my tomatoes which I have already re potted so you’re not the only one, they’ll still be ok even though a few weeks later..So to answer your question it’s not only you we’ve had a colder start to spring..
Hi, I'm in Warrandyte on the Melbourne fringe, and I have two questions: where do you get those metal clips? and what is frost cloth exactly? The Offspring is trying to grow a banana tree in a sheltered spot, covering it with hessian over winter. Poor tree keeps getting burned by frost. Interested to know what alternatives there are to hessian? Cheers!
Hello! I get the clips from an online eco shop, but they are now everywhere. You can find them at Bunnings, Kmart and most online shops. Just make sure you select the Marine metal pegs as these ones don't rust. Bunnings have the marine ones. The frost cloth I got is from Bunnings and it's not the best. Most of it only lasted one season but I have some left from that roll I didn't use last year so I'm using it up this year. I don't recommend it and I'm going to research another option for next winter. Shall let you know when I find one. We've tried hessian on our citrus trees and it didn't work. They all died from the frost, expect one orange tree. I'd look for a fleece cover, I've seen some frost cloth made of this but trying to source it in Australia is hard. Again, I'll fill you in when I've found something good. Thanks!
@@ThreeBarrowFarm Thank you! I'll get those marine clips from Bunnings as there's one nearby in Eltham. Pity about the frost cloth but I would love to know if you find something better. Cheers!
Don't waste the effort starting early, unless you have a greenhouse. What is the variety? Psuedomonas fluorescence is the required bacteria to reduce the frost forming bacteria
You call that cool??? Here in Tasmania I generally have my last frost after Xmas, and my first frost often hits in January, usually misses February, but March frosts are a certainty. Then it starts getting cold.
Well, that's cold! Our nights are definitely fresh over summer, but the frosts don't start again till April. Do you have a greenhouse to grow things? I hope your tomatoes thrive this year.
@@ThreeBarrowFarm Thankyou for the good wishes! So far this year, we have now had 3 days in a row of cold, but calm sunny weather. Very wild crazy winds, rain and snow late in September. I haven't even thought about sowing tomatoes yet. I sowed them on a hot bed under cover last year, and they took about 6 weeks to germinate anyway. One of my many jobs is to replace the tattered polythene on my greenhouse with polycarbonate. When I first built it, I had magnificent pink brandywines and black Russian tomatoes. But only until mid March, when frost froze everything to mush one night. I need to build a rocket mass heater inside a greenhouse, to have any success.
