Tomato – Roma – Heirloom Seeds

Roma tomatoes have thick, meaty flesh and low juice content, which is why they are the favourite for cooking down into sauces, pastes and passata, and for oven-drying. Plants are a compact, bushy type and crop heavily over a few weeks, which suits bottling and freezing.

Growing guide for South Africa

• When to sow: in trays from August to October in most areas, and transplant after frost danger has passed (Highveld from October). Warm frost-free areas can sow from July to January, and the Lowveld from February to May for a winter crop.
• How to sow: sow about 3 to 5 mm deep in seedling trays, keep warm and moist, and transplant at 5 to 6 weeks when seedlings are 15 cm tall.
• Germination: 7 to 14 days at 20 to 25 degrees C.
• Spacing: 40 to 50 cm apart in rows about 1 m apart. Stake or cage for neat, clean fruit.
• Position: full sun, rich soil with plenty of compost, and deep, regular watering.
• Harvest: roughly 75 to 85 days after transplanting, over a few weeks.
• Care: water evenly and add calcium-rich compost or bone meal to help prevent blossom end rot, which Roma types are prone to. Mulch, rotate beds yearly, and watch for early blight, whitefly and fruit fly.

Quick facts: Packet: heirloom seed. Plum type, determinate (bush) habit. Annual. Sowing times are a guide: adjust for your local frost dates and climate.