When is the right time...??

[huntsman]

In the Southern Hemisphere, when should you start germinating, and when should you get the toms outside?

Thanks!

[dice]

This thread on the Australian 2007 season might give you some
hints:

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...ght=Australian

[huntsman]

Thanks dice, but I am after something that details when to start from seed, when to pot up, when temps are right to take outside, etc. Interesting thread, though. Wonder why it stopped dead end 2007...?

[ContainerTed]

I think you can apply the same rules we have here in the Northern Hemisphere.

Start seeds indoors 4-8 weeks before the last frost date. Plant them out when all possibility of frost is past. Start peppers a week or so later as they like the heat better than cool temps.

You're in winter now and that means your spring planting is approaching. I see that your zone is 9. If that's the same as the North American Zones, then you may be looking at two seasons. If your summertime heat is above 30 Celsius, this could be true and your planting scheme would be more like some of our folks in Texas and the Southwestern states.

These dates will be slightly different all over the world, but the principles still apply.

Ted

[dice]

You need some local climate information to time your planting
that we would not easily find in the US for a South African
locale. (I was thinking Australia would be close, and Grub's
first post in that 2007 Australia thread had his intended
plant-out date for Sydney, Australia.)

Here is a vast overview of the South African climate discussed
in the context of global climate change. It is probably overkill
for what you want, but the information on last frost date might
be found in section 3.4:
http://www.beeh.unp.ac.za/LTMS/0708%...%20Cl%20Ch.pdf

In some hot parts of the US, proper timing is very tight. What
some people do is start enough seeds that they can bluff on
last frost: they will harden some seedlings off and plant early
enough that a late frost could kill them, and if it does, they
have backup seedlings ready to go in the ground a week or
two later. They watch the daily and weekly weather reports
closely at transplant time. If practical, they keep some
overnight frost protection handy (like foam row cover, plastic
sheeting, blankets, cardboard boxes, coffee cans, etc; you
name it, someone in Texas has used it to try to save
transplanted seedlings from a late frost).

Looking at this Wikipedia description, it looks like you have a
great climate, with a lot of latitude in when you can plant,
and a long growing season:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannesburg#Climate

We have these institutions called "agricultural extension
offices" in the US, that are localized in a given area, that
one can consult for information on local agricultural best
practices like planting times, local plant diseases and insect
pests, and so on. You might have something similar in Guateng
somewhere, perhaps more than one for different parts of
the area, but I have no idea what they might be called.

[huntsman]

Originally Posted by ContainerTed

I think you can apply the same rules we have here in the Northern Hemisphere.

Start seeds indoors 4-8 weeks before the last frost date. Plant them out when all possibility of frost is past. Start peppers a week or so later as they like the heat better than cool temps.

You're in winter now and that means your spring planting is approaching. I see that your zone is 9. If that's the same as the North American Zones, then you may be looking at two seasons. If your summertime heat is above 30 Celsius, this could be true and your planting scheme would be more like some of our folks in Texas and the Southwestern states.

These dates will be slightly different all over the world, but the principles still apply.

Ted

Thanks, Ted -

I've already planted pepper seeds in germ trays on the advice of a pepper forum, so I guess I can start immediately. (cool!)

I estimate my zone as zone nine, but I could be a zone out I guess. Certainly Summers peak in excess of 30C. I'll have to find out more about this 'two seasons in one' method you mentioned...

Originally Posted by dice

You need some local climate information to time your planting
that we would not easily find in the US for a South African
locale. (I was thinking Australia would be close, and Grub's
first post in that 2007 Australia thread had his intended
plant-out date for Sydney, Australia.)

Here is a vast overview of the South African climate discussed
in the context of global climate change. It is probably overkill
for what you want, but the information on last frost date might
be found in section 3.4:
http://www.beeh.unp.ac.za/LTMS/0708%...%20Cl%20Ch.pdf

In some hot parts of the US, proper timing is very tight. What
some people do is start enough seeds that they can bluff on
last frost: they will harden some seedlings off and plant early
enough that a late frost could kill them, and if it does, they
have backup seedlings ready to go in the ground a week or
two later. They watch the daily and weekly weather reports
closely at transplant time. If practical, they keep some
overnight frost protection handy (like foam row cover, plastic
sheeting, blankets, cardboard boxes, coffee cans, etc; you
name it, someone in Texas has used it to try to save
transplanted seedlings from a late frost).

Looking at this Wikipedia description, it looks like you have a
great climate, with a lot of latitude in when you can plant,
and a long growing season:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannesburg#Climate

We have these institutions called "agricultural extension
offices" in the US, that are localized in a given area, that
one can consult for information on local agricultural best
practices like planting times, local plant diseases and insect
pests, and so on. You might have something similar in Guateng
somewhere, perhaps more than one for different parts of
the area, but I have no idea what they might be called.

Hi dice!

Yep, Grub's post certainly gave me a starting point, thanks.

It seems my last frost is end August, which confirms that I should start germination now, right? I have a small grow room in my garden, that I keep heated...

I'll ask about for one of those agencies in the Gauteng area, but we're still pretty 4th world here, I'm afraid! Certainly worth a look though.

Thanks for all of the effort - much appreciated!

[dice]

It seems my last frost is end August, which confirms that I should start germination now, right?

Right. You really want them to be 6-8 weeks old when you
transplant, but if they are a little small still, plant anyway.
Smaller seedlings catch up fast in warm weather. Have backups
in case of problems. Eventually you will find other people to
give them away to if it turns out that you did not need the
extras, and any that you end up tossing as excess were a small
price to pay for the insurance against late frosts and other early
season problems (dog running over them, torrential downpour,
etc).

[huntsman]

Yeah, sounds good to me!

Might have to arrange a leetle accident to my dog - he is sooo going to love planting season!

Now to the next stage...deciding on raised beds vs earthpots vs...etc! lol!