Matt's Plants & Co – Australia

The classic cherry tomato is one of the easiest plants to grow.

Not only do they help with your confidence in the garden, you can use them in the kitchen to add a splash of colour – and flavour – to any dish.

Whether it’s a salad, sauce, pizza or pasta, everything benefits from the sweetness and juiciness of the cherry tomato.

Tomatoes are great for brown thumbs because they’re hard to kill, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t easier ways to grow them.

Spacing

When I sowed tomato seeds into a mixture of soil and compost for the first time, I threw them in the ground close together and ended up having to remove most of them because they were overcrowded; they were messy, they weren’t getting enough sunshine and they would have been fighting for nutrients.

So, now I leave at least 30cm, otherwise they just end up in the organics bin.

Mulch, sunshine and water

Once the seedlings have established, I add a gentle layer of mulch so I don’t have to use as much water and it seems to prevent weeds from popping up.

Tomatoes thrive under full sun for most of the day, however, I cover mine with shade cloth so the temperature is more consistent. It also stops the birds.

I aim to water them in the mornings as leaving them soaking wet at nighttime can cause mildew. A good dose of vegetable fertiliser will help them along, too.

Harvest

It’s best to pick your tomatoes as they begin to turn red so you can ripen them indoors. Truthfully, that’s better said than done. I often forget to pick mine and then return with way too many cherry tomatoes. They look delicious but it’s often an abundance which I cannot get through.

So, where possible, ripen them indoors and then place them in the fridge.

I try and attend to my tomato plants daily and always do a good picking before heavy rain is expected, because this can cause them to split and they go off before you can eat them.

Seeds

As the growing season comes to an end, why not save a couple of dollars and save your tomato seeds. Pick a few tomatoes, open them up and lose the gooey pulp and scatter the wet seeds over a paper towel.

Let them dry on top of your fridge and then pack them up into an airtight container in a dark place ready for next season.