HOW to GROW a
PEAK PERFORMER 

and receive
EXTRA-LARGE,
HEALTHY and DELICIOUS crops
(applies to all fruiting plants: 
Tomato, Eggplant..-any!)



  1. Think about your Climate Challenges and get a variety of the correct Extreme Grade 
    (details on Extreme Grades here: Extreme Grade Scale )-the article is written for tomatoes, but applies to all varieties, apart from the temperature borderlines different for every variety )
    A correct Tomato Extreme Grade variety (in Australia no less than +1, for (sub)Tropics no less than +2) and then decide whether Dry or Humid )
    is genetically adapted to thriving despite our specific climate challenges.
    It is especially important with XL-fruiters, because every amount of stress on the plant affects the size and the taste of the fruit and the whole harvest greatly.
    This is the main reason why we do not recommend "0" Extreme Grade for Australia: even that they may be capable of extra-large/super-tasty/unusual-coloured fruit under no-stress conditions, the very sensitive 0 Grade fruit (if any) WILL be greatly affected by any tiny challenge of weather, which our climate is not short of.
  2. Sow Reliably into the particular variety'sseason 
    (When night temperatues become reliably over the minumum threshhold for the variety, desirably a few grad warmer)
    Min Night threshhold temps can be advised by the seller.
    There is no advantage in planting outside earlier than season:
    we might only get weakened seedlings which will produce smaller crops.
    The seeds can be started indoors a lot earlier though.
  3. Choose a SUUNY location, perfect if your plant receives 
    Morning and Late Afternoon sun, but is in shade during the hottest hours (e.g. The shade of a nearby tree moving onto it for these hours).
    If this is impossible, the option of Morning Sun is always preferable.
    Observe the garden no more than a few days before choosing and preparing the site, because shades lie in sometimes totally different places in different seasons, yes, in exactly the same garden spot.
    Everything failing, make sure you place the plant in full sun rather than shade
    and that the place is convenient to arrange for a simple fabric shade in the most heat of the day (e.g. Trees around convenient to tie the cloth to etc.)
  4. Choose the site desirably away from fences, walls etc – no less than 1.5 m –
    to ensure good air circulation: stagnant air almost certainly means fungus.
    But at the same time, make sure the plant is protected from strong winds.
    Something non-solid shaped, such as shrubs, treees etc – are aerodynamically best for breaking strong wind.
    Use a clothes-dryer wire stand ($15 in Crazy Clark),or something like this, which gives multiple support points to branches which will be loaded with fruit.
    Secure the Wire Stand with a few poles making sure it will not trap over when plant gets heavy and pulls on the wires with CONSIDERABLE power.
    Make sure all supports, poles, wire stands, shade cloth pegs etc. are in place at the time of transplanting your seedling. Inserting them more than a week after transplant will almost certainly damage the developing roots.
  5. Prepare the site VERY well.
    Especially if your garden soil is difficult and climate suitable (most areas) ,
    Use Raised Garden Beds, filled with Loamy, Well-Drained mixture rich in Organic Matter.
    A correctly prepared Raised Garden Bed accounts for over 50% of your plant's success!
    (For details on how to make them, what to fill with and which climates are best
    click here : Raised Garden Beds )
    Quick general guidline:
    If your soil is clay or any other non-benefitial condition, such as sand or rock,
    the perfect solution is to dig a hole about 50 cm deep, and over that hole raise a garden bed about 30 cm high. This will guarantee excellent drainage during rains and full root development (especially if Samungus is used-organic root developer). Fill the Raised Garden bed with mix of Mushroom Compost(organic matter that most of fruiting plants love) and conditioning + feeding substances.
  6. FEED well and regularly. Details on how to feed and with waht are in the free Garden FAQ's booklet here: Garden FAQ's brochure )
    At the stage of seedling, complete food (Like Sudden Impact for Roses, organic based – or an organic analogue like diluted warm castings, compost etc ) androot developer (Seamungus, organic) are great. They help your seedling pass the tender teenage stage as quickly as possible.
    As soon as fist flowers appear, cancel the root developer and cut on Nitrogen (otherwise will be plenty of leaves and few fruit) – (check your food's labels -N should be less than 10% from now on). Dont feed too much till fruits are well into development (about 3 cm in diameter for regular-sized tomatoes, about 1 cm for cheery tomatoes ) -to prevent fruit abortion in favour of further growth , after fruit is definitely set feed well (remember, low Nitrogen). Fruiting tomatoes put incredible amounts of calcium into their fruit, so crushed eggshells dug into soil are always accepted gratefully! You can actually see little roots hugging the shells, just in a few weeks!
  7. WATER EVENLY, DEEPLY and REGULARLY.
    All fruiting plants need a lot of moisture to thrive AND deposit into the fruit.
    Deep watering encourages healthy root system, which does not spread on top hoping to catch every drop of moisture and subsequently gets burnt by sun. Good roots go deep into the soil, following your deep watering technique.
    Irregular watering will obviously result in fruit size fluctuations and eventually to cracks.
    Uneven watering (just one part of the garden bed) will result in disabled root system developed only on your favourite watering side.
  8. If your plant is or has recently been Seriously diseased (fungus, pest, physical damage caused by a neighbour's goat snacking on it ) - just for a period of it's recuperation time (until it again looks vigorous and happy)
    we need to only leave 3 maximum 5 fruits on the whole bush .
    I know it hurts emotionally to pinch the flowers out, but every flower and especially fruit takes up the precious nutrients and energy away from recuperating process and diminishes the quality of developing harvest anyway.
    Once the plant is back to full health, it will quickly make up for the loss of fruit!
    ATTENTION!This rule DOES NOT APPLY to DETERMINATE varieties (Arctic Proven ) - their harvests all happen at once and are ultra-quick, so pinching fruit out makes no sence here. Just care for the plant as well as you can and do not plant new ones in exactly same corner of the  garden.
  9. Try to PROTECT YOUR PLANT FROM EXTREME STRESS!
    Yes, even if it is a tough -3 or +3 grader!
    Remember: the less stress, the bigger your fruit and whole harvest, and the tastier!
    Mist leaves AFTER the hottest hours (not to burn them), use shade cloth around midday, from time to time water/spray with a treat of Harvest or Seasol solution (organic) – these are known anti-stress tonics!...-the plants do not need that much, just a bit of extra attention! (Remember: spraying with tonics should only be performed in abcense of fungus! - otherwise we would be feeding the fungus. If your plunt is diseased with fungus, water it with a tonic solution instead. Bug (pest) problem is OK to apply tonic sprays though by itself, but since bugs weaken the plant, it becomes more susceptible to all diseases, including fungus. So we stay away from tonic sprays on any diseased plants just to be on the safe side and water them with the tonic solution.)
  10. Find out (online research, especially website of  Department of Agriculture for your state) if your area is prone to FRUIT FLIES. ( Here around Brisbane it definitely is). If yes, prepare very fine mosquito net and wrap it securely around your fruits at the first sign of ripening (juuuuust when the tomatocheekies start blushing with pale yellow rather than deep green). Make sort of a christmas bulb with your tomato inside, allowing well for the fruit's growth.
    This will also protect the fruit from earworms. Eggplants are usually not that prone due to thicker skin. (You can use male and female fruit fly traps at the same time, but here with really healthy fruit fly populations all around neighbourhoods the perished insects are immediately replaced with new ones, so we find it just a time waste.)
  11. And, last but not least, treat any problems AT THE FIRST SIGNS!
    A tiny fungus spot can be dealt with by organic Eco-Fungiside.
    If left untreated, the bad case of fungus only leaves you a HOPE of saving your plant by several applications of Mancozeb or analogue, which are very far from being organic.
Enjoy your XL harvests and Super -Delicious fruits!




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