| Tomatoes are the single most commonly-grown backyard edible plants in Australia - and now is the time to grow them in many parts of the country. What are your favourite home-grown varieties?
Tropical Zone
In the Top End, wilt is a perpetual threat to tomatoes. Don't plant tomatoes or other solanums like eggplant or chillies where they've grown in the last four to six years. Water early in the morning, avoiding the leaves. Choose from wilt-resistant varieties like Tropic, Scorpio, Roma and the many cherry tomatoes: Tomatoes for the Tropics Fact Sheet Subtropical Zone
Cherry tomatoes will produce buckets of fruit. Try Brown Berry, Green Grape, Broad Ripple Yellow Currant, Red Fig, Yellow Honey Bee, Cocktail and Pink Marbles. Jerry recommends keeping them off the ground to help prevent fungal diseases: Staking Tomatoes Fact Sheet Temperate Zone
Temperate gardeners can take advantage of their climate by growing a wide variety of tomatoes with staggered growing periods, producing flushes of different fruits. That means you can grow anything from large beefsteak tomatoes, like Big Beef, Grosse Lisse, and Black Krim to Roma-type tomatoes, like San Marzano, Amish Paste and Napoli and the cherry types mentioned above: The Vegie Patch - Growing Tomatoes Fact Sheet Arid Zone
Tomatoes are best grown in self-watering pots in fresh potting soil in arid areas. Here's a great home-made soil mix that will keep them producing for months. Firstly mix 50% compost and 50% aged or composted manure, then to three parts of a general potting mix add one part of the compost and manure mix, plus 1 teaspoon of trace elements and 1 teaspoon of sulphate of potash. Mix well. Also feed fortnightly with an organic liquid fertiliser that has high potassium and phosphorous levels. Cool Zone
Start seedlings now to plant out once the frosts are past and the soil is warming - although Tino has some tips for planting established tomatoes in the ground early: Spring Planting Fact Sheet
And if you want some ideas of what to plant in the vegie patch, don't forget to visit The Vegie Guide or Download the App | 
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