Organic Red Khaki tomato seedling

Awesome Features:

– Good disease resistance

– Deliciously flavourful and firm, with a pretty uniform green shoulder

– Good leaf cover and vigour, so it’s less prone to common leaf issues

Seedling Tips:

• Your organic seedling will be 6-8 weeks old when you receive it. It will have been upsized once, creating a good root system.

• You can keep the seedling in its container for a further 2 weeks should you not be able to plant out on arrival.

• Harden off seedlings for 3 days to their new environment, i.e., place outdoors in full sun during the day and return under protection at night. Remove from packet before doing this.

Growing Tips:

• Red Khaki is a determinate variety, so plant spacing in rows is 45-60cm and between rows is 90-120cm.

• Simple staking or using tomato cages can be sufficient for determinate varieties.

• Dig seedling hole twice as wide as container and just as long, maybe a touch deeper.

• Gently remove seedling from container and place in hole. Backfill hole and gently press soil around to firm up planting.

• Tomato plants generally need about 2.5-5cm of water per week, including rainfall. Water deeply so that the moisture reaches the root zone, about 15-20cm deep.

• Provide support for the plants as they grow, using tomato cages or stakes to keep them upright and encourage even fruiting.

• Mulch around the plants to retain moisture, suppress weeds, and regulate soil temperature.

Feeding Your Plant:

• In my experience as a commercial grower, I have had success with well-prepared soil and also in last-minute soil prep. The main objective for plant food is that over a period of 2-3 years, you need to build the soil up with green manures and good animal manure. If you are starting out, simply apply good compost and organic all-purpose fertiliser to the soil 4 weeks before planting. Some calcitic lime also helps soil ph.

• Tomatoes will need help along the way in the form of calcium and magnesium foliar spray. Helps prevent bottom rot, etc.

Harvest Tips:

• Harvest when the tomatoes are to your choice. If you like champagne-colored tomatoes, then pick it at that stage. My preference is to keep the tomato on the plant as long as possible. This gives me a great choice to eat as is with a full flavour. Vine-ripe gives great puree and sauces.

• Check for ripeness by gently tugging on the fruit. A ripe tomato will come off the plant easily.

• Harvest regularly to encourage the plant to produce more fruit.