Successful Tomato Varieties for New Zealand

StephenCoote · November 11, 2016

I'm wondering what varieties of tomato other Kiwi gardeners have had the best results with when considering things like yield, flavour and plant vigour.

So far Stupice, Tommy Toe, Black Cherry and Angel have proven to be good choices for my Nelson garden. Stupice (in my garden anyway) is generally fairly bland when eaten raw, but it is great cooked and it produces well. I've made many litres of sauce using Stupice.

So if anyone here has had experience growing tomatoes in NZ, I'd really appreciate reading your comments and recommendations.

Thanks in advance. Best wishes from Todd Valley in Nelson.

Labradors2 · November 11, 2016

No experience growing in NZ, but you should know about Margaret Curtain, a variety which originated there. It grew very well for me last year (in Canada), was prolific and very tasty!

Linda

CassInVic · November 11, 2016

Watching with interest from southern Australia....

schill93 · November 11, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by StephenCoote

I'm wondering what varieties of tomato other Kiwi gardeners have had the best results with when considering things like yield, flavour and plant vigour.

So far Stupice, Tommy Toe, Black Cherry and Angel have proven to be good choices for my Nelson garden. Stupice (in my garden anyway) is generally fairly bland when eaten raw, but it is great cooked and it produces well. I've made many litres of sauce using Stupice.

So if anyone here has had experience growing tomatoes in NZ, I'd really appreciate reading your comments and recommendations.

Thanks in advance. Best wishes from Todd Valley in Nelson.

If you would describe your seasonal weather where you are, it would be helpful.
How long are your summers and how hot does it get and for how long.

What do you temperatures drop to and when and for how long.

I think then, people could compare it to certain regions in the States, and give you some recommendations.

MissS · November 11, 2016

If I am correct, Nelson is much like Texas. They can grow citrus crops and it does get hot. I just do not know how long the growing season is. Perhaps they even can grow two or three crops of tomatoes.

Gardeneer · November 11, 2016

So, it high temperature and humidity should be the main factors for growing tomatoes. That can affect pollination.
Tomatoes are very versatile and tolerant of various climates. They are grown from zone 3 in Canada all the way down to Florida, Texas, Socal (zones 10, 11 ) .

StephenCoote · November 12, 2016

Thanks for all the comments, and thanks for your interest in our climate Schill93.

Apart from having a rain gauge in my back yard, and occasionally looking at a thermometer, I have not really kept note of our weather statistics.

I think in our particular area we get maybe 40 inches of rain in a year, and generally the middle of our summers are dry.

It is a tradition with many folks to plant their tomato plants in the open on or after our Labour Day weekend which might typically be the last week in October (Translating this to the northern hemisphere, this would be the last week in April). We still had a couple of light frosts about a week after Labour Day this year, but fortunately it didn't seem to settle on my tomato plants.

So around planting time, the temperature may drop to 36F at night, but it could get as warm as maybe 70F during the day. But the weather is fairly changeable at this time of the year.

During summer in our neighbourhood, night temperatures would seldom get below 50F. During the day they might get up to 90F, but they are more likely to be in the high 70's. The official meteorological records might paint a different picture and, like I said, I don't keep notes.

I think that my tomatoes are pretty much finished growing in early April (equivalent of October on the top of the planet).... but I've never really been aware of the dates. Tomatoes might continue to ripen well into April although we may start getting frosts near the end of April.

I'm not an expert on humidity. Never thought about it much. I found a graph that indicates that our humidity doesn't vary much over the year, and it might typically be between 70 and 80%.

I have become aware that there can be different growing conditions within a few hundred yards. My home is on the floor of a valley.... but within gunshot of the sea. On a ridge maybe 400 yards away, folks can grow avocados and other subtropical plants. I planted some tamarillo bushes (Solanum betaceum) which grew well for a while, but they were killed by severe frosts in what was probably their second winter. I believe that tamarillos are probably tougher than avocados.

Up another branch of our valley, a friend has some very healthy-looking outdoor tomato plants that have thick stems and are maybe two feet tall or more..... whereas my uncovered tomatoes are much smaller.

So... even if we do have average temperatures and frost dates, it seems that conditions can vary within a small area.

I suppose it would be a good idea to start recording temperatures and rainfall and crop yield for my back yard.

And yes... some citrus trees can be very successful in my patch. I have an orange, some lemons and about nine mandarin trees. The mandarins in particular do seem to get a bit burned by frost, but so far they've recovered nicely each year.

Best wishes......

MissS · November 13, 2016

I hope that all of you are doing OK after the earthquake. Please check in and let us know how you all are doing.

StephenCoote · November 14, 2016

Thanks for thinking of us MissS.

It was a heck of a big earthquake. There has only been one fatality directly due to the quake as far as I can tell. It seems that an old house collapsed on someone.

Our own house seems to be OK, and we still have water, power and sewerage services. The roads in and out of our area are damaged, so things have been slowed down. We don't have huge stockpiles of supermarket goods, but personally we should be fine for a week or two.

It will probably be a long time before all the roading infastructure is back at full capacity. There were some massive rockslides that came down over a main coastal highway.

Our neighbours asked me to feed their cat and chickens while they went on holiday for the weekend... and they went to Hanmer where the earthquake was centered. I got a text message this morning asking me to keep on looking after the animals as they are trapped in Hanmer and they didn't know how long for. It will at least be a memorable holiday.

I was asleep when the quake started just after midnight. The house was really swaying. As I woke, i heard a voice in my head telling me that I was safe and all was well. Interesting.

We got back to sleep and were woken by a phone call from a daughter who lives near the coast in Christchurch saying that she and her husband and daughter were stuck in a traffic jam as they were trying to evacuate the area following the tsunami warning. Fortunately, there were no abnormally big waves.

About two weeks ago we booked tickets to take my elderly mother to a daytime operatic concert today. The concert was still performed, but we felt a couple of aftershocks in the hall. Fortunately nobody insisted on an evacuation and everything went smoothly.

Heh... just swayed around with an aftershock while sitting at the computer.

To change the subject.... has anybody in your part of the world tried to trademark the word 'Heirloom' in relation to tomatoes? Seems like somebody down here has.... Jackie bought these at the supermarket a couple of days ago:

schill93 · November 14, 2016

StephenCoote: Your temperatures sound wonderful for growing tomatoes, provided your night time temperatures don't drop too low. I think you could grow just about any tomato there, and need to experiment with some different types to see what your preferences are. I for instance really love the dark purple/brown/black tomatoes.

Your cooler temperatures and presumably longer growing season there should allow you to grow the wonderful large beefsteaks like Brandywine Sudduth and a host of others like our northern friends here can grow. As you may find a lack of responses from
fellow New Zealanders, I would look to comparing your climate and soil type that you will be planting in to similar areas of the US to help you decide what to try. That is why I asked. It sounds like you have a fair amount of humidity and rain, so it sounds like the Northeast to me.

I don't know what seed is available to you there, but I'm sure that there would be some members that would be happy to help you out if you can't find a particular seed you want. Read the reviews on this forum of "favorite" tomatoes and "What was your 2016 season like?" type threads.

StephenCoote · November 14, 2016

Thanks for your encouraging response Schill93.

There is quite a variety of tomato seed available in NZ. There are folks who sell through 'TradeMe' (a bit like Ebay), and there are 'business' suppliers who keep tomato seed. One of the biggest selections is available from Bristol Plants and Seeds who are based in our North Island. There are heaps of varieties I am yet to try.

Of course I read about varieties on this forum which sound interesting... and which don't seem to be readily available down here. I will have to find out about the legalities of importing seed. Our border control people have some fairly strict rules. (Not that they've has stopped the psyllid beetle or the varroa mite from migrating here unfortunately

).

schill93 · November 14, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by StephenCoote

Thanks for your encouraging response Schill93.

There is quite a variety of tomato seed available in NZ. There are folks who sell through 'TradeMe' (a bit like Ebay), and there are 'business' suppliers who keep tomato seed. One of the biggest selections is available from Bristol Plants and Seeds who are based in our North Island. There are heaps of varieties I am yet to try.

Of course I read about varieties on this forum which sound interesting... and which don't seem to be readily available down here. I will have to find out about the legalities of importing seed. Our border control people have some fairly strict rules. (Not that they've has stopped the psyllid beetle or the varroa mite from migrating here unfortunately

).

Oh yes, I forgot. Need to check on that. I just checked Bristol Plants and Seeds, and they have an extensive list.

These are the ones I know that taste very good that they carry.

#1 Indian Stripe
Berkley Tie Dye Pink
Ananas Noir
Brandywine Pink Sudduth Strain
Carbon
Cherokee Chocolate
Eva Purple Ball
Margaret Curtain
Orange Russian
Paul Robeson
Pierce's Pride
Rose Tomato
Russian 117
Stump of the World

StephenCoote · November 15, 2016

Thanks for your recommendations Schill93 !

The only one in your list that I have tried is Paul Robeson. My plants only produced a few fruit each, but the taste was promising. It deserves another trial, and I have plenty of seed. And this year I hope to grow Eva Purple Ball. I ordered the seed a few days ago after reading about this variety's fine qualities and disease resistance on this forum. I probably won't get the seed for a few days, but I'm determined to plant some of it even though it is about two months later than I like to get my earliest tomato seed started. Theoretically.... with the chance of quicker growing in the warmer temperatures... I should still get fruit.

For the last couple of seasons I've been germinating my tomato seeds in folded wet paper towels that I put in a ziplok bag. I have placed these on a heat mat at times, but the germination can still be surprisingly quick if I simply leave the bags indoors without any artificial heat. I like to plant the seeds in potting mix as soon as the tiny sprouts appear. If I leave them until the shoots are longer, the shoots can burrow through the paper towel and there is the chance of damage as I try to separate the seeds. Either way they still seem to grow happily.

So Schill93, out of all the interesting, tasty tomatoes on your list.... which one would you recommend as being the the most robust, reliable and productive variety?

schill93 · November 15, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by StephenCoote

Thanks for your recommendations Schill93 !

The only one in your list that I have tried is Paul Robeson. My plants only produced a few fruit each, but the taste was promising. It deserves another trial, and I have plenty of seed. And this year I hope to grow Eva Purple Ball. I ordered the seed a few days ago after reading about this variety's fine qualities and disease resistance on this forum. I probably won't get the seed for a few days, but I'm determined to plant some of it even though it is about two months later than I like to get my earliest tomato seed started. Theoretically.... with the chance of quicker growing in the warmer temperatures... I should still get fruit.

For the last couple of seasons I've been germinating my tomato seeds in folded wet paper towels that I put in a ziplok bag. I have placed these on a heat mat at times, but the germination can still be surprisingly quick if I simply leave the bags indoors without any artificial heat. I like to plant the seeds in potting mix as soon as the tiny sprouts appear. If I leave them until the shoots are longer, the shoots can burrow through the paper towel and there is the chance of damage as I try to separate the seeds. Either way they still seem to grow happily.

So Schill93, out of all the interesting, tasty tomatoes on your list.... which one would you recommend as being the the most robust, reliable and productive variety?

Indian Stripe for sure. Good production and great taste.

StephenCoote · November 15, 2016

Thanks for that. I've just been Googling all the varieties in your list and I would like to try most of them as a result. In doing this I realised that the "#1" you wrote in front of Indian Stripe in your list was your recommendation for the best one as Google didn't include the #1 in the results ! So sorry for making you repeat yourself.

I'm tempted to buy some Indian Stripe seeds now, but I really don't have the room for any more tomato plants. Next season. It sounds wonderful.

I don't know why I get so excited about growing tomatoes.

November 11, 2016	#2
Labradors2 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Ontario Posts: 3,896	No experience growing in NZ, but you should know about Margaret Curtain, a variety which originated there. It grew very well for me last year (in Canada), was prolific and very tasty! Linda Last edited by Labradors2; November 11, 2016 at 08:26 AM. Reason: typo

November 11, 2016	#5
MissS Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin Posts: 3,150	If I am correct, Nelson is much like Texas. They can grow citrus crops and it does get hot. I just do not know how long the growing season is. Perhaps they even can grow two or three crops of tomatoes. __________________ ~ Patti ~

November 11, 2016	#6
Gardeneer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7 Posts: 4,919	So, it high temperature and humidity should be the main factors for growing tomatoes. That can affect pollination. Tomatoes are very versatile and tolerant of various climates. They are grown from zone 3 in Canada all the way down to Florida, Texas, Socal (zones 10, 11 ) . __________________ Gardeneer Happy Gardening !

November 12, 2016	#7
StephenCoote Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: Nelson, New Zealand Posts: 42	Thanks for all the comments, and thanks for your interest in our climate Schill93. Apart from having a rain gauge in my back yard, and occasionally looking at a thermometer, I have not really kept note of our weather statistics. I think in our particular area we get maybe 40 inches of rain in a year, and generally the middle of our summers are dry. It is a tradition with many folks to plant their tomato plants in the open on or after our Labour Day weekend which might typically be the last week in October (Translating this to the northern hemisphere, this would be the last week in April). We still had a couple of light frosts about a week after Labour Day this year, but fortunately it didn't seem to settle on my tomato plants. So around planting time, the temperature may drop to 36F at night, but it could get as warm as maybe 70F during the day. But the weather is fairly changeable at this time of the year. During summer in our neighbourhood, night temperatures would seldom get below 50F. During the day they might get up to 90F, but they are more likely to be in the high 70's. The official meteorological records might paint a different picture and, like I said, I don't keep notes. I think that my tomatoes are pretty much finished growing in early April (equivalent of October on the top of the planet).... but I've never really been aware of the dates. Tomatoes might continue to ripen well into April although we may start getting frosts near the end of April. I'm not an expert on humidity. Never thought about it much. I found a graph that indicates that our humidity doesn't vary much over the year, and it might typically be between 70 and 80%. I have become aware that there can be different growing conditions within a few hundred yards. My home is on the floor of a valley.... but within gunshot of the sea. On a ridge maybe 400 yards away, folks can grow avocados and other subtropical plants. I planted some tamarillo bushes (Solanum betaceum) which grew well for a while, but they were killed by severe frosts in what was probably their second winter. I believe that tamarillos are probably tougher than avocados. Up another branch of our valley, a friend has some very healthy-looking outdoor tomato plants that have thick stems and are maybe two feet tall or more..... whereas my uncovered tomatoes are much smaller. So... even if we do have average temperatures and frost dates, it seems that conditions can vary within a small area. I suppose it would be a good idea to start recording temperatures and rainfall and crop yield for my back yard. And yes... some citrus trees can be very successful in my patch. I have an orange, some lemons and about nine mandarin trees. The mandarins in particular do seem to get a bit burned by frost, but so far they've recovered nicely each year. Best wishes...... Last edited by StephenCoote; November 12, 2016 at 05:08 AM. Reason: afterthought

November 13, 2016	#8
MissS Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin Posts: 3,150	I hope that all of you are doing OK after the earthquake. Please check in and let us know how you all are doing. __________________ ~ Patti ~

November 11, 2016	#1
StephenCoote Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: Nelson, New Zealand Posts: 42	Successful Tomato Varieties for New Zealand I'm wondering what varieties of tomato other Kiwi gardeners have had the best results with when considering things like yield, flavour and plant vigour. So far Stupice, Tommy Toe, Black Cherry and Angel have proven to be good choices for my Nelson garden. Stupice (in my garden anyway) is generally fairly bland when eaten raw, but it is great cooked and it produces well. I've made many litres of sauce using Stupice. So if anyone here has had experience growing tomatoes in NZ, I'd really appreciate reading your comments and recommendations. Thanks in advance. Best wishes from Todd Valley in Nelson.

November 11, 2016	#3
CassInVic Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2016 Location: Macedon Ranges, Australia Posts: 21	Watching with interest from southern Australia....

November 14, 2016	#9
StephenCoote Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: Nelson, New Zealand Posts: 42	Thanks for thinking of us MissS. It was a heck of a big earthquake. There has only been one fatality directly due to the quake as far as I can tell. It seems that an old house collapsed on someone. Our own house seems to be OK, and we still have water, power and sewerage services. The roads in and out of our area are damaged, so things have been slowed down. We don't have huge stockpiles of supermarket goods, but personally we should be fine for a week or two. It will probably be a long time before all the roading infastructure is back at full capacity. There were some massive rockslides that came down over a main coastal highway. Our neighbours asked me to feed their cat and chickens while they went on holiday for the weekend... and they went to Hanmer where the earthquake was centered. I got a text message this morning asking me to keep on looking after the animals as they are trapped in Hanmer and they didn't know how long for. It will at least be a memorable holiday. I was asleep when the quake started just after midnight. The house was really swaying. As I woke, i heard a voice in my head telling me that I was safe and all was well. Interesting. We got back to sleep and were woken by a phone call from a daughter who lives near the coast in Christchurch saying that she and her husband and daughter were stuck in a traffic jam as they were trying to evacuate the area following the tsunami warning. Fortunately, there were no abnormally big waves. About two weeks ago we booked tickets to take my elderly mother to a daytime operatic concert today. The concert was still performed, but we felt a couple of aftershocks in the hall. Fortunately nobody insisted on an evacuation and everything went smoothly. Heh... just swayed around with an aftershock while sitting at the computer. To change the subject.... has anybody in your part of the world tried to trademark the word 'Heirloom' in relation to tomatoes? Seems like somebody down here has.... Jackie bought these at the supermarket a couple of days ago:

November 14, 2016	#10
schill93 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2015 Location: Nevada Posts: 275	StephenCoote: Your temperatures sound wonderful for growing tomatoes, provided your night time temperatures don't drop too low. I think you could grow just about any tomato there, and need to experiment with some different types to see what your preferences are. I for instance really love the dark purple/brown/black tomatoes. Your cooler temperatures and presumably longer growing season there should allow you to grow the wonderful large beefsteaks like Brandywine Sudduth and a host of others like our northern friends here can grow. As you may find a lack of responses from fellow New Zealanders, I would look to comparing your climate and soil type that you will be planting in to similar areas of the US to help you decide what to try. That is why I asked. It sounds like you have a fair amount of humidity and rain, so it sounds like the Northeast to me. I don't know what seed is available to you there, but I'm sure that there would be some members that would be happy to help you out if you can't find a particular seed you want. Read the reviews on this forum of "favorite" tomatoes and "What was your 2016 season like?" type threads.

November 15, 2016	#13
StephenCoote Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: Nelson, New Zealand Posts: 42	Thanks for your recommendations Schill93 ! The only one in your list that I have tried is Paul Robeson. My plants only produced a few fruit each, but the taste was promising. It deserves another trial, and I have plenty of seed. And this year I hope to grow Eva Purple Ball. I ordered the seed a few days ago after reading about this variety's fine qualities and disease resistance on this forum. I probably won't get the seed for a few days, but I'm determined to plant some of it even though it is about two months later than I like to get my earliest tomato seed started. Theoretically.... with the chance of quicker growing in the warmer temperatures... I should still get fruit. For the last couple of seasons I've been germinating my tomato seeds in folded wet paper towels that I put in a ziplok bag. I have placed these on a heat mat at times, but the germination can still be surprisingly quick if I simply leave the bags indoors without any artificial heat. I like to plant the seeds in potting mix as soon as the tiny sprouts appear. If I leave them until the shoots are longer, the shoots can burrow through the paper towel and there is the chance of damage as I try to separate the seeds. Either way they still seem to grow happily. So Schill93, out of all the interesting, tasty tomatoes on your list.... which one would you recommend as being the the most robust, reliable and productive variety?