When To Plant Tomatoes In Melbourne

Wondering when to plant tomatoes in Melbourne? You have two good options - autumn and spring!

There is much debate about when to plant tomatoes in Melbourne. That’s because traditionally tomatoes are synonymous with summer. However, unfortunately due to our changing climate and much warmer weather, I now think that in many parts of the country including Melbourne, an Australian summer is just too hot for growing tomatoes.

In my experience, the best time to plant tomatoes in Melbourne is either in March or April when the weather is still warm but not hot, or also in early spring like late August or early September when tomatoes have a chance to grow and get strong before the heat really kicks in.

If you’re looking for a few different tomato varieties to grow in Melbourne, I’ve also included 4 varieties I’ve had good results with and I’ve included my new Heirloom Tomato Sellers list below too - that has over 20 seed sellers across Australia!

Some of the tomatoes bounty I’ve grown in my backyard (above) - there were so many!

What Are The Best Tomatoes To Grow In Melbourne?

#1 Cherry Tomatoes: I love the gorgeous sugarlump cherry variety for it’s ombre colouring and huge trusses.

#2 Currant Tomatoes: Teeny tiny currant tomatoes are about a third of the the size of cherry tomatoes and their cuteness alone make them one of the best tomatoes to grow in Brisbane. They are easy to pick off the vine to eat like fruit.

#3 Riesetomate: I grew this intriguing Riestomate variety (the third tomato above) because my grandparent’s surname is Ries. It is a super cool heirloom variety that clumps up with 6 or 7 clumps per fruit.

#4 Beefsteak Tomatoes: If you want to challenge yourself, grow a huge beefsteak tomato variety, easily one of the best tomatoes to grow in Brisbane. They can weigh hundreds of grams each and feed a whole family!

The best time to plant tomatoes in Melbourne is in early spring in September or otherwise autumn in April as both have warm but not hot weather conditions that tomatoes thrive under

Looking for more information? Check out my take on When To Plant Lettuce In Melbourne or What To Grow Now In Melbourne, By The Seasons.