Xmas Tomatoes

 I've got to share this.

My ambition in Newcastle has always been to get tomatoes from the garden
before Xmas.  This year, I've come in a real winner- grew some "Siberians"
in my little KMart $35 hot house and planted them out - complete with the
first fruit - in 2nd week of Sep - running the risk of the normal last frost
at the end of Sep.  Fortunately the frost didn't happen and I picked the
first small but delicious fruit last week !!

Siberians are supposed to be the most cold tolerant and I initially bought
them to grow at the end of the season, but they are way ahead of the usual
earliest Romas. I'll let you know how late I can get them to grow .

Cheers,
Geoff

 
/is jealous

i had pre-xmas tomatoes last year (in canberra - everyone was shocked - it's
not the done thing there, you know ;-) but this year i started them from
seed & the whole enterprise has been just a total dud. most of them still
only have seed leaves & they're just not growing - it's absurd.

so today i broke & got some big juicy seedlings from the nursery.

good luck & let us know how you go!! you'll be famous! <g>
kylie

 Geoff & Heather wrote:

What is this "frost" stuff? Isn't that the stuff you put on patty
cakes?

Bruce (in Perth) who has tomatoes ripening from plants that self sowed
from the compost.

 Yeah we lived in Perth for a while and got one frost (well something that
resembled slightly white grass) when we liven in Upper Swan - I think it was
about 1983.

We generally get about 5 or 6 a year here, but they are quite good ones,
about minus 4 and any time from Early May to the end of Sept. It makes
growing frost sensitive things a bit of a challenge, but you can get by as
long as you can pick the frost coming and cover things up.