Pods & fruit
Tomato
Ripe fruit from a well-supported, sunny plant.
Sowing & planting windows in Australia
Planting timing varies by broad Australian gardening zone. Local weather, unusual seasons and your garden’s microclimate can shift timing.
Cool
Sow · Sep-Dec
Core months: September, October, November, December
Temperate
Sow · Aug-Dec
Core months: August, September, October, November, December
Subtropical
Sow · Aug-Mar
Core months: January, February, March, August, September, October, November, December
Tropical
Sow · Mar-Jul
Core months: March, April, May, June, July
Arid
Sow · Mar-Sep
Core months: March, April, May, June, July, August, September
Getting started
Start seed in pots or trays, then grow young plants on in good light. Transplant into warm outdoor conditions after frost risk has passed.
The right conditions
Choose a sunny, sheltered position with fertile, well-drained soil. Allow room for the variety's mature growth.
As it grows
Keep moisture even. Put support in place early for tall varieties and tie stems as they grow. Check whether your variety is a cordon or bush type before removing side shoots; bush plants are not pruned in the same way.
Ready to harvest
Pick fruit when it develops the ripe colour and feel of its variety. Check regularly as the crop ripens, supporting the truss while you detach the fruit.
Related how-to guides
Harvest fruiting vegetables without damaging the plant
Check the plant guide: tomatoes colour at ripeness, while zucchini, cucumbers and many eggplants are usually picked immature and tender.
Support tomatoes and identify side shoots
Check the label: indeterminate tomatoes are usually trained as cordons; determinate bush varieties keep their branching growth.
Plant guidance: Desk-reviewed against linked sources; not field-tested. Planting windows are a guide rather than a rule.