Growing in Ipswich

Best time to plant tomato in Ipswich

Solanum lycopersicum

Sow tomato in Ipswich in Aug to Jan.

Eaten as a vegetable but botanically a berry, the tomato is the fruit of a frost-tender, mostly annual vine in the nightshade family. Thousands of cultivars differ in shape, size, colour and taste, and the savoury umami flavour makes it a key ingredient in sauces, soups and salads.

When to sow in Ipswich

Ipswich, QLD is in the subtropical zone. The zone also plants in Feb to Mar, but Ipswich's frost dates make those months risky for a frost-tender crop.

Matches local guides.

Your local conditions can shift any months shown here, so treat them as a guide.

Frost in Ipswich

Frost usually arrives in Ipswich around late May and finishes by late August. In about 1 year in 10 it comes as early as mid May or as late as mid September, so frost-tender crops are planned around those dates.

From its Bureau of Meteorology station, 1991 to 2020, counting a night at 2°C or lower as a frost. Frost hollows and hillsides can shift these dates by weeks, so ask the growers at your garden too.

On a shared plot: suits a plot

Finishes in a season and stays within its space, so it suits most plots.

Growing details

How to start
Raise seedlings, then transplant
Sowing depth
5mm
Plant spacing
45cm
Row spacing
45cm
Germination
4-10 days at 20-30°C
Time to harvest
65 days
Frost
Frost tender
Sun
Full sun
Life cycle
annual

These are typical figures, and varieties differ. Your seed packet takes priority.

Tomato elsewhere

Tomato across Australia