Tomato (Large) Growing Guide Solanum lycopersicum Crop Rotation Group Solanaceae (Potato and tomato family) ● Soil Rich soil with plenty of compost mixed in before planting. Position Full sun. Frost tolerant No. Feeding Weekly liquid feed or seaweed drench from mid summer onwards. Spacing Single Plants: 1' 7" (50cm) each way (minimum) Rows: 1' 5" (45cm) with 1' 11" (60cm) row gap (minimum) Sow and Plant Start seedlings indoors or start with purchased plants. Set out after the last frost has passed, when the soil is warm and settled. Our Garden Planner can produce a personalised calendar of when to sow, plant and harvest for your area. Notes Bushy determinate plants can be tied to stakes, but long-bearing indeterminate varieties need a sturdy cage or trellis. Harvesting Pick regularly as soon as the fruits turn color but are still firm. Store at room temperature. Troubleshooting Watch for leaf-eating tomato hornworms, and pick them off. Black patches on the bottom of fruits are a nutritional disorder best prevented by growing tomatoes in well-prepared soil with constant light moisture. Planting and Harvesting Calendar < Back to All Plants Pests which Affect Tomato (Large) Aphids (General) Colorado Potato Beetle Corn Earworm Flea Beetle Leaf Miner Leaf-Footed Bug Slug Snail Spider Mite Stink Bugs Thrips Tomato Hornworm Plant Diseases which Affect Tomato (Large) Late Blight Tobacco Mosaic Virus Tomato Early Blight Tomato Fusarium Wilt Tomato Powdery Mildew Tomato Root Knot Nematodes Tomato Septoria Leaf Spot Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus Verticillium Wilt