Seedlings are 20 cm and itching to go. Bayside Melbourne, full sun. The old rule says wait for Cup Day. Is that still a thing?
Tomatoes before Cup Day?
Asked by Leonie Fraser in Veg patch, Melbourne and coast. Four gardeners answered; the reply that helped most is marked.
Tomatoes before Melbourne Cup Day: brave or foolish? Answered #veg #melbourne
It's about soil warmth, not the date. Under about 15°C they just sit there sulking. Push a thermometer in 10 cm at 9am for a few days running.
Don't have a soil thermometer. Is there a rough guide?
If you can sit on the bare soil comfortably in shorts, it's warm enough. Not scientific, but it works.
Put them out now if you like, but under cloches or a cut-off water bottle at night. I planted mine last week in Brighton:
- no frost so far
- they've doubled in size
- staked on day one
Keep a few seedlings back in pots, just in case.
Up in Mildura they've been out a fortnight. Down south, I'd give it another week.
Grow it together.
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