#  >  > Living And Legal Affairs In Thailand >  >  > Farming & Gardening In Thailand >  >  Growing Tomatoes in Thailand

## anto2

This is my second attempt at growing Tomatoes in Thailand in Chiang Mai .I am hoping for better results this time .The seed was sown in early November and the plants are now about a foot high .

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## Norton

> The seed was sown in early November and the plants are now about a foot high


Appear to be healthy. Variety?

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## anto2

Varietys are ''Ailsa Craig ,and Alicante .Seed bought in Europe early this year .I am growing the plants in  a perspex and wood leanto at the side of the house .I will give updates on progress .I am hoping for better results this time as its cooler weather and Tomatoes dont like temps over 30c .

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## superman

I brought some seeds from the UK but they don't seem to take. They grow to about an inch and then wilt and die

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## Norton

> Alicante


These do fairly well in hot humid climate. Not sure about the Ailsa Craig.

Good luck with them. I tried growing Beef Steak tomatoes in Isaan. Miserable failure. :Sad:

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## Marmite the Dog

The humidity here in most of Thailand will cause most European varieties to fail. They really need to be grown under cover and the conditions kept dry and (relatively) cool, unless you go for a hardier local variety.

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## Mid

> Growing Tomatoes in Thailand


Like Marmers said , they don't  :Sad: 

and as for the local ones ,

well the less said about them the better .

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## grasshopper

There may be an opening for a smart young lad from Oz here. We grow tomatoes in climes where the temperatures rise well above 30 degrees. Gross Lisse springs to mind, not to mention Black Russians. Question is, are you permitted to bring packets of seeds into LOS? Or do they come in secreted about the body? 
 :mid:

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## Mid

> Question is, are you permitted to bring packets of seeds into LOS?


expect so , sure ain't an Australian type shake down at the border  :Smile: 

best bring some soil too , something about rhizomes  :Confused:

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## grasshopper

> Originally Posted by grasshopper
> 
> Question is, are you permitted to bring packets of seeds into LOS?
> 
> 
> expect so , sure ain't an Australian type shake down at the border 
> 
> best bring some soil too , something about rhizomes


"Rhizomes"?  Is that a technical term for rhino poo? Like as in "fertiliser"? :mid:

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## Mid

maybe the wrong word , something about a nasty in Thai soil that also inhibits Tomato production

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## dirtydog

TeakDoor.com - The Thailand Forum Growing Tomatoes in Thailand

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## Mid

them cherry tomatoes ain't tomatoes .

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## DrAndy

> Originally Posted by anto2
> 
> Growing Tomatoes in Thailand
> 
> 
> Like Marmers said , they don't 
> 
> and as for the local ones ,
> 
> well the less said about them the better .


 
we have brought seeds of three Portuguese varieties here and last year they grew very well, and were delicious

this year we have an attack of the snails, so most of the young plants have been chomped

any way of getting rid of the buggers here?

as for local tomatoes, we bought a lot in the local market last week, small ovoid jobs, and they were very nice and sweet

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## dirtydog

> maybe the wrong word , something about a nasty in Thai soil that also inhibits Tomato production


But in that link the article tells you not to even use your garden soil, obviously nasty critters all over the world, we set up a raised garden for a mate of mine, bought sacks of all nice black soil, he planted his packet of UK cherry tomato seeds and had to throw most of the tomatoes away, were just too many of them, like at least 40 per plant.

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## Mid

Som Tum Bombs  :Sad: 


flickr.com


Tomatoes  :Smile: 


gardenexpress.com.au

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## Marmite the Dog

> Som Tum Bombs


They look nothing like the local ones.

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## Mid

small red and round , what you on ?

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## Marmite the Dog



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## Davis Knowlton

It's not just Thailand. Here in the Philippines, I thought I could grow anything. My garden has mangoes, pineapples, limes, guava, coconut palms, bananas, corn, beans, peppers (including Thai), etc, etc. But, every shot I have taken at growing tomatoes has been a horrible failure. When I lived in Bangladesh many years ago (super wet and hot), I had great success with huge, delicious beefsteak tomatoes - used to take sacks of them to work every day for give away. But here - no luck at all - and I have tried about six different varieties. End up small, pale, pithy and tasteless.

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## anto2

There is a company called D.A.T.T. (www.datt.co.th ) who produce tomatoes here in Thailand ( in the hills surrounding Chiang Mai ) .They produce them using Dutchhydroponic technology .They sell the tomatoes in vine bunches and they are big and juicey and taste great .This bunch i bought in Rimping Supermarket in Chiang Mai for B55 .I have also seen them in Tops Pattaya but for around B120 .

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## DrAndy

> and I have tried about six different varieties. End up small, pale, pithy and tasteless.


they need a rich soil to grow well, lots of cow shit is good

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## Marmite the Dog

^ Or better still, using hydroponics.

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## Panda

*"Tomato DiseasesBacterial Wilt*_Ralstonia solanacearum_ _(= Pseudomonas solanacearum__)_
_Most severe in tropical and subtropical climates with high rainfall_
_and warm temperatures_
_World Vegetable Center_*Symptoms*_Wilting first appears on the youngest leaves of plants_
_during hot daytime temperatures. The infected plants_
_may recover, temporarily, in the evening, when_
_temperatures are cooler. A few days later, a sudden__and permanent wilt occurs."_

http://www.avrdc.org/pdf/tomato/bacterial_wilt.pdf

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## taffyapple

:cmn: hey anto they look good any chance you send a jiffy bag full down to isaan i got the cheese.

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## Davis Knowlton

^^^^I'm going to try again, and will cow shit the hell out of it. I swear, you could stick a pool cue in the ground here, and it would sprout. But the tomatoes just don't cooperate. ^^^Hydroponics is quite nifty, and I may try this as well, but it seems quite complicated.

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## anto2

> ^^^^I'm going to try again, and will cow shit the hell out of it. I swear, you could stick a pool cue in the ground here, and it would sprout. But the tomatoes just don't cooperate. ^^^Hydroponics is quite nifty, and I may try this as well, but it seems quite complicated.


Ref Hydroponics ,

In the UK and Ireland you can get a ferteliser called Phostrogen ,which has all the nutrients and chemicals a plant needs .Just add the right amount to clean water and away you go .Anyone know of a similar chemical advailable in Thailand ?

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## Marmite the Dog

> Anyone know of a similar chemical advailable in Thailand ?


There is a hydroponics thread on here that may help. Do a search.

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## Mid

> Anyone know of a similar chemical advailable in Thailand ?


there is also a commercial hydro set-up on Samui

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## DrAndy

> In the UK and Ireland you can get a ferteliser called Phostrogen ,which has all the nutrients and chemicals a plant needs .Just add the right amount to clean water and away you go .Anyone know of a similar chemical advailable in Thailand ?


the tomatoes will grow, sure, but will they be like most tomatoes grown in the UK, tasteless

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## terry57

> ^ Or better still, using hydroponics.


I've done hydro veges here in Perth. Peace of piss once you get a handle on the chemicals.

Also a commercial set up on Koh Tao so the chemicals must be available easily.

With the heat and the sun in Thailand they would go nuts and grow at a huge rate of knots.

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## Spin

> this year we have an attack of the snails, so most of the young plants have been chomped  any way of getting rid of the buggers here?


We didnt find a way to get rid of them but simply surrounded the area the tomato plants were located with a 3 inch wide channel of coarse building sand. They dont like to go over sand, and they didnt.

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## who

> There may be an opening for a smart young lad from Oz here. We grow tomatoes in climes where the temperatures rise well above 30 degrees. Gross Lisse springs to mind, not to mention Black Russians. Question is, are you permitted to bring packets of seeds into LOS? Or do they come in secreted about the body?


     I seems that Thai airport customs went out of business some years back.  The only hint of them is a gaggle of high rank officials standing around smiling in their smart gold bedecked white uniforms.
.

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## who

[quote=DrAndy;1640501]


> Originally Posted by anto2
> 
> Growing Tomatoes in Thailand
> 
> 
> Like Marmers said , they don't 
> 
> and as for the local ones ,
> 
> well the less said about them the better .


 
we have brought seeds of three Portuguese varieties here and last year they grew very well, and were delicious

this year we have an attack of the snails, so most of the young plants have been chomped

any way of getting rid of the buggers here?

     Put strips of copper (copper pipe will do) on the ground surrounding your tomato plot.  Snails won't crawl over copper.
.

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## who

> Originally Posted by grasshopper
> 
> Question is, are you permitted to bring packets of seeds into LOS?
> 
> 
> expect so , sure ain't an Australian type shake down at the border 
> 
> best bring some soil too , something about rhizomes


     rhi·zome (rzm)
n.
A horizontal, usually underground stem that often sends out roots and shoots from its nodes
.

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## who

> This is my second attempt at growing Tomatoes in Thailand in Chiang Mai .I am hoping for better results this time .The seed was sown in early November and the plants are now about a foot high .


     Plant them in the SPRING rather than in the WINTER.
.

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## who

> Originally Posted by DrAndy
> 
> this year we have an attack of the snails, so most of the young plants have been chomped any way of getting rid of the buggers here?
> 
> 
> We didnt find a way to get rid of them but simply surrounded the area the tomato plants were located with a 3 inch wide channel of coarse building sand. They dont like to go over sand, and they didnt.


     And cheaper than copper.
.

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## Mrwizard

> Originally Posted by Spin
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  Originally Posted by DrAndy
> ...


Use salt, it will kill the snails.
Tomatoes taste vary on species, some are tasteless some are very nice. 
Winter or Summer, Thailand has a climate that it does not matter. Winter time is better less hot to start with the young plants.

Cow shit can contain bacteria which are bad for the European plants. Hydroculture can give you more tomatoes, but you have select species of tomatoes which can grow very well with Hydroculture.

In The Netherlands Europe they have lots of experience with hydroculture vegetables, they have selected species which will do very well with hydro and still have a very good taste.

So experiment is the key I guess....

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## pone

screen the noon sun,aluminium mosquito screen will go for years,not  like that 
black/green sheete who fell in powder in 3 month.Did somebody try mexicans 
varieties,Mexico fatherland of tomatoes ,chili,corn,peperoni,cocoa...&tropical
country azouel.
S-E Asia,bananas-fatherland

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## DrAndy

> Originally Posted by Spin
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  Originally Posted by DrAndy
> ...


 
sand sounds good; I will put some down next time!

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## anto2

>>Plant them in the SPRING rather than in the WINTER.<<

 

I disagree as i live in Chiang Mai ,and winter here is the equivalent of a very good Summer in my country (Ireland ) .Whether the length of day light hours affects the plants i do not know ,but in Thailand its around the same all year anyway.

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## wombat

> There may be an opening for a smart young lad from Oz here. We grow tomatoes in climes where the temperatures rise well above 30 degrees. Gross Lisse springs to mind, not to mention Black Russians.


concur........ i lived in Qld and they grew like weeds in shit soil...no dramas at all

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## Happy Dave

[quote=grasshopper;1640435]There may be an opening for a smart young lad from Oz here. We grow tomatoes in climes where the temperatures rise well above 30 degrees. Gross Lisse springs to mind, not to mention Black Russians. Question is, are you permitted to bring packets of seeds into LOS? Or do they come in secreted about the body? 
 :mid: [/quote

I had both those sent me on Samui, by mail , no problems. Tried  a few Grosse Lisse
The seeds started ok but i had to go to mainland and seedlings got forgotten. Am back in Queensland right now so will try again when i get back. If anybody wants some, i could mail them from QLD........siddlang[at]Gmail.com.au

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## Happy Dave

To avoid the slugs and cutworms etc., a friend of mine here grows his toms in a 20 ltr bucket.        Cut hole in centre of bucket bottom put compost/seedling mix in half of bucket. when seedlings are big enough, transplant into hole in bottom of bucket and hang it up so that seedlings pointing down. They will curl up the outside of bucket and can be tied together across top of bucket..........Bugger ! that sounds complicated, but it works for him and he just moves them if he wants.
Hole to be about size of ordinary drinking glass ( not too big)

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## nigelandjan

Are they chillis your growing in front of your toms Anto ? and if so is it because they will attract some little critters to keep the aphids away ?
         I am hoping to be able to grow beefsteaks when I live there , I grew a load very successfully here last year and the missus makes the most delicious meals with them .
               Good luck with it all anyway you look to be doing well so far

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## Happy Dave

> ^ Or better still, using hydroponics.


That will involve mixing chemicals. I know a guy who does that here on a large scale with hundreds of drip fed plants all automated.

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## Happy Dave

> Originally Posted by anto2
> 
> Anyone know of a similar chemical advailable in Thailand ?
> 
> 
> there is also a commercial hydro set-up on Samui


Where is that MID, would'nt mind having a look sometime

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## Happy Dave

That  Grosse Lisse which  Grasshopper mentioned  are quite a large tomato and so flavoured and sweet, can be eaten like an apple anytime.
 When growing tomatoes, break off the laterals as they shoot. This is the bushy shoot that grows between the main stalk and the leaf stem, otherwise the plant will become very bushy and produce small shit tomatoes. Let the flowers and then fruit grow at the top of the plant.

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## anto2

> Are they chillis your growing in front of your toms Anto ? and if so is it because they will attract some little critters to keep the aphids away ?
> I am hoping to be able to grow beefsteaks when I live there , I grew a load very successfully here last year and the missus makes the most delicious meals with them .
> Good luck with it all anyway you look to be doing well so far


Well spotted .They are large fruited peppers red and green to be exact .There are also two Cucumber plants there .No reason other than i wanted to grow them also .

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## Happyman

Mat of mine tried to grow them here in Phuket - first 2 years they were 'snailed' big time when they were a foot or so high .
For the last 2 years no problem - sprays them with a tobacco / whilst they are growing - just had some of them on a cheese sandwich ! Bloody great !

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## nigelandjan

Anto I dont know if your gonna keep them toms in the same place through to fruit ,, but I would have thought unless your gonna train them up the roof your gonna run out of room for Ailsa Craigs ,, mabe your gonna only let about 3 flowers sets on each before stopping it.  Mabe worth trying Sunsetters if you can get the seeds ,, if  you want any seeds from the Uk I can bring for you in Feb 2012 no worries mate .
           Its bloody ironic how people in the UK spend fortunes on greenhouses to ripen toms and over in your garden difficulties because of over heating . Ive learnt something on here today about the toms not growing over 30 degrees ,,,,,amazing Thailand !

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## Mid

> Where is that MID, would'nt mind having a look sometime


LHS of the ring road near the right hander before you climb up the hill to Macro .
, if you are coming from BoPhut .

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## anto2

> Anto I dont know if your gonna keep them toms in the same place through to fruit ,, but I would have thought unless your gonna train them up the roof your gonna run out of room for Ailsa Craigs ,, mabe your gonna only let about 3 flowers sets on each before stopping it. Mabe worth trying Sunsetters if you can get the seeds ,, if you want any seeds from the Uk I can bring for you in Feb 2012 no worries mate .
> Its bloody ironic how people in the UK spend fortunes on greenhouses to ripen toms and over in your garden difficulties because of over heating . Ive learnt something on here today about the toms not growing over 30 degrees ,,,,,amazing Thailand !


Yes ,i am going to train them across the roof .Hope to get at least 6 trusses from each plant .At the moment they are slow to flower .One plant is nearly 18 ins with no flowers yet .
As for seeds i intend trying the seed from the fruit of the Dutch growers in Chiang Mai .( if they are not F1 hybrids ,they should take through ) .Will also try to get the seed mentioned before from northern Australia .

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## nigelandjan

Good they will look the biz being able to walk in there and reach up and pick em lovely ,,,,,,,,hope you can post some pics then. Gues your gonna liquid feed them once the flowers are set Be interesting to know how they pollinate in there as its normally done by wind outside or insects inside so i guess youll have a few of them or otherwise it will be hand pollination ( I have done that in my conservatory at home )
           If you can get hold of Sunsetter seeds they are ideal if they will grow there producing lots of sweet small fruits from a bushy plant  and the big bonus with them is they are very easy to re-grow from the seeds they produce ,,,,,,,,,,  any way mate the offers still there if you want some in Feb 2012 when we come back over I can bring you some .
           Happy growing look forward to some more pics

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## oldgit

:tieme: 


> Originally Posted by DrAndy
> 
> this year we have an attack of the snails, so most of the young plants have been chomped any way of getting rid of the buggers here?
> 
> 
> We didnt find a way to get rid of them but simply surrounded the area the tomato plants were located with a 3 inch wide channel of coarse building sand. They dont like to go over sand, and they didnt.


Or make a twelve inch diameter COPPER ring two inches high and put at base of tomato plant snails wont cross over that, (gives them a shock or something)also just tap the plant when in flower, done! plant pollinated.

Another tip, the side shoots you nip out can be planted and you will have many more plants, they soon catch up with the parent plant,

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## DrAndy

> For the last 2 years no problem - sprays them with a tobacco


you just steep the tobacco leaves in water then use that to spray?

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## Panda

The main reason tomatoes dont grow well in Thai land is the prevalence of a disease called "bacterial wilt". Look it up on Google. There is no cure and it is endemic in most areas. A couple of varieties are resistant, but of poor eating quality. All cooler climate varieties are susceptible.

The disease is harboured by many native weeds and certain other crops, and can remain present in the ground for a long time. Again, there is no cure.

Occasionally, a farang will be lucky enough to stumble into an area where the bacteria is not established and tomatoes will grow profusely. Its not through any special management or growing techniques, but rather that he just stumbled onto some uninfected soil.

The area in which I live in northern Australia is badly affected with this disease. 
Yet there are isolated pockets within the community that are not affected. 
I have been trying to grow tomatoes for years without much success. Along comes a newcomer friend of mine only a kilometer away and grows a lush crop of beautiful Roma tomatoes straight up with very little preparation. 

It aint the breed of tomato, it aint the ground preparation, it aint the time of year you plant, it aint if you got a green thumb or not. It all depends if you got that bacterial wilt bacteria in your ground or not. And most places in Thailand have it.

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## nigelandjan

> "bacterial wilt"


         Christ I hope that dont transfer to the nether regions .

 No seriously thanks for that info thats most interesting ,, if thats the case then what I shall do in the future is make loads of my own compost as I do now , which by the way looks like fine topsoil after 12 months and grow in raised beds as i do in the UK ,cheers happy growing

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## Panda

> Originally Posted by Panda
> 
> "bacterial wilt"
> 
> 
> Christ I hope that dont transfer to the nether regions .
> 
> No seriously thanks for that info thats most interesting ,, if thats the case then what I shall do in the future is make loads of my own compost as I do now , which by the way looks like fine topsoil after 12 months and grow in raised beds as i do in the UK ,cheers happy growing


If the bacteria that causes the wilt is in your soil it will be difficult avoid contamination. I have even gone so far as to sterilize the potting mix in the oven and plant in pots up on bricks. But the disease still finds its way into the plants somehow. A neighbour reckons ants, small lizards and other crawling creatures spread it around.

Right at the moment I am trying "Apollo" strain tomatoes that are supposed to be bacterial wilt resistant. But its the wet season here now. Hot, wet and humid. Not the best for tomatoes. Still the plants are well established now and are not showing any signs of disease. Unfortunately the flowers have mostly come to nothing with only one tomato produced so far.

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## nigelandjan

Well Panda what I was meaning by making my own compost as I do in the UK I use no soil at all ,,   I have learned a way of layering all the veg waste , leaf waste/ lawn waste , + shredded paper over an 18 month period  ( I have 2 heaps on the go at anytime )  now this turns out what can only be descibed as looking just like pure black soil ,, so that is just what I use in its pure form .
           However ,,,,,,, if what your describing is how it is in Thailand what that sounds like mate is some kind of airborne disease in which case I would imagine that is going to be very difficult to compete with unless as some other posters are suggesting a F1 variety to compete with it . 
          Makes me wonder where they grow those mini cherry / plum shape toms for the som tum ,, I did grow some of those from seed in the UK this year most succesfully however they came out that awfull pale red colour as in Thai and were absolutley tasteless  , one thing I did note was the black around main stem of the plant ,, these all went to the local rubbish dump after and not into my compost bins , and I wont be growing them this year.  Happy gardening

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## wombat

"mini cherry / plum shape toms"

imho are a throwback from the genetically engineered ones.....

 example....if you have been eating tomatoes and then bury your next days excrement in little plots ..7 times out of ten you will get the little toms growing out of where you have buried... they are feral,...deisese resistant and if you leave them alone (dont spray) the bugs and thngs have no effect on them...use pig shit not chook poo to get squat healthy plants

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## Panda

> "mini cherry / plum shape toms"
> 
> imho are a throwback from the genetically engineered ones.....
> 
> example....if you have been eating tomatoes and then bury your next days excrement in little plots ..7 times out of ten you will get the little toms growing out of where you have buried... they are feral,...deisese resistant and if you leave them alone (dont spray) the bugs and thngs have no effect on them...use pig shit not chook poo to get squat healthy plants


The hybrid varieties dont reproduce true to form from seed and can throw any variation of their genetic ancestry on either side. Some hybrids are the result of cross breeding with wild or semi-wild varieties to enhance certain genetic traits such as disease resistance.

The older established varieties have been bred to be self pollinating and therefore will always reproduce true to form from seed because they have a very narrow gene pool due to many generations of inbreeding.

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## Panda

> Well Panda what I was meaning by making my own compost as I do in the UK I use no soil at all ,, I have learned a way of layering all the veg waste , leaf waste/ lawn waste , + shredded paper over an 18 month period ( I have 2 heaps on the go at anytime ) now this turns out what can only be descibed as looking just like pure black soil ,, so that is just what I use in its pure form .
> However ,,,,,,, if what your describing is how it is in Thailand what that sounds like mate is some kind of airborne disease in which case I would imagine that is going to be very difficult to compete with unless as some other posters are suggesting a F1 variety to compete with it . 
> Makes me wonder where they grow those mini cherry / plum shape toms for the som tum ,, I did grow some of those from seed in the UK this year most succesfully however they came out that awfull pale red colour as in Thai and were absolutley tasteless , one thing I did note was the black around main stem of the plant ,, these all went to the local rubbish dump after and not into my compost bins , and I wont be growing them this year. Happy gardening


Bacterial wilt is a tropical disease. So no doubt the cooler areas would be better for growing tomatoes. 

Grafting onto rootstock of another related disease resistant species is an option. I did try it about a year back, but got busy with work and it all fell apart. And I am not talking about other breeds of tomatoes for rootstock. Tomatoes are related to a wide range of other plants that will accept a graft.

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## anto2

..just an update .The first sign of flower trusses are forming .Plants still healthy if a little thin .

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## nigelandjan

Sound like some good organic liquid feed called for

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## Panda

> ..just an update .The first sign of flower trusses are forming .Plants still healthy if a little thin .


The wilt usually hits the plants as the first fruits are about the size of a marble. They start wilting from the top down as the roots and lower stem rot away preventing adequate water uptake. Just one or two plants affected in the heat of the day at first. Then over the next few days all of them, until they all die.

If you can get to the stage of producing mature fruit, you have got it made.

The only two plants I have had that have survived the disease grew long and spindly like a vine rather than a bush. One grew to be several meters long and lived for over a year. It was a scraggly looking thing and ended up producing about one delicious tomato a week. Probably some kind of a throwback.

These "Apollo" breed tomatoes I am trying now are supposed to be resistant to the bacterial wilt. They too are growing long and spindly, but the flowers are not setting fruit. Could be because we have had a lot of rain here over the past several weeks.

Good luck. Thanks for the progress reports.

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## Panda

Update on my "Apollo" wilt resistant tomato plants. 

The upper most tip have started wilting in the daytime heat. 
I know from experience that it will only be a couple more days before the whole plant is dead.

Though this strain has done far better than any other I have tried it has still succumbed to the disease. But, to be fair, it was probably the worst possible time to plant them with high humidity, lots of rain, temperatures consistently well over 30 C in the day, and an area known to be heavily infected. 

Will try this breed again in the cooler dry months here around end May to July.

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## nigelandjan

^  oh dear , its gutting to get that far

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## anto2

Update my plants have now a second truss of flowers and are starting to spread across under the roof .Still healthy .The cuckumber plants were wilting mid day so have had to put on some shading over the roof .

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## robo122354

Hi Yall
About that slug problem.  I live in the USA mid-south region,and our slugs are total drunks.  Here we put out a low sloped saucer of beer at night and our slugs get sloshed and drown in their pool of beer.  It really works,set out to or three saucers in a slimed area and open the bar.  Cheers

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## Happy Dave

> Originally Posted by Happy Dave
> 
> Where is that MID, would'nt mind having a look sometime
> 
> 
> LHS of the ring road near the right hander before you climb up the hill to Macro .
> , if you are coming from BoPhut .


Thanks Mid, i know where that is, just about where all the water is always over the road. I will be coming from Maenam. Amazing what you miss when you are not looking. !

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## nevets

> Hi Yall
> About that slug problem.  I live in the USA mid-south region,and our slugs are total drunks.  Here we put out a low sloped saucer of beer at night and our slugs get sloshed and drown in their pool of beer.  It really works,set out to or three saucers in a slimed area and open the bar.  Cheers


Yes that is a good idea and is used in the UK but in a jam jar in the ground like a golf hole .

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## Panda

Some good news. My (2) plants are holding on! We had a couple of weeks of heavily overcast days with rain and no direct sunlight to stress the plants. Now the sun is out again and no sign of wilting yet. But still no sign of fruit forming from the flowers. I have got only one tomato from these plants so far and nil new fruit forming. This one tomato looked healthy but split open on ripening and went rotten before it could be eaten. Maybe will have to try assisted pollination with a small paintbrush?

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## DrAndy

if you have flowers and no fruit later, it probably is a pollination problem

a little brush is a nice happy ending for the plant

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## chitown

> Originally Posted by anto2
> 
> Growing Tomatoes in Thailand
> 
> 
> Like Marmers said , they don't 
> 
> and as for the local ones ,
> 
> well the less said about them the better .


I have a friend that has set up a hydrophonic garden in Thailand that grows some nice tomatoes.

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## anto2

Update ,now have first fruit ,on first truss ,so fruit small so far .Plants still healthy although one did die of a wilting disease .Same with two of the Peppers .Peppers and Cucumber also bearing first fruits .

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## nigelandjan

well done Anto looking good ,, suprised me how long in that heat to fruit though

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## Panda

They certainly look like healthy plants and fruit.
Well done.

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## Happy Dave

> Originally Posted by grasshopper
> 
> 
> There may be an opening for a smart young lad from Oz here. We grow tomatoes in climes where the temperatures rise well above 30 degrees. Gross Lisse springs to mind, not to mention Black Russians. Question is, are you permitted to bring packets of seeds into LOS? Or do they come in secreted about the body? 
> 
> 
> 
>      I seems that Thai airport customs went out of business some years back.  The only hint of them is a gaggle of high rank officials standing around smiling in their smart gold bedecked white uniforms.
> .


I just brought them with me from Brisbane. Same ones you mentioned.

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## Happy Dave

Some say  that its too hot for Toms on Samui, but that cannot be right as the climate is about the same here as the Bowen area of Queensland where they grow thousands of tons each year !  I think it is about starting in the coolest months.

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## Happy Dave

Anto ! i am jealous. I have also brought with my Grosse Lisse and Black Russian seeds a fertilizer to be used when the first truss forms. It is phosphorus based, which is what Toms need.

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## Sampattaya

Not sure where you could find any but my mother always told me the key is phosphate, it causes the flowering plants to flower and the fruit producing plants to produce more fruit....might help. I've tried to find phosphate over here but no luck so far.

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## piwanoi

> hey anto they look good any chance you send a jiffy bag full down to isaan i got the cheese.


 Why not try a local farmer were he keeps his cows or Buffalo's compounded up at night ,I dug some out and mixed it with old rice husks ,we got great results ,shade is important with young seedlings , I used the cheap black plastic close knit netting ,you could also use the green crystals you dilute with water , its very much like growmore in the UK but at a quarter of the price  :Smile:

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## skyywalker

Here in Khon Kaen, I've been growing some tomatoes using seeds from California. The first cherry tomato plant (3 months old) is now 2.5 meters high. We've picked around 30 ripe tomatoes and there are over a hundred on the vine with more yellow flowers all the time. It's growing out of an Isaan style pot (old car tire or something. We moved it up against the west wall where everything (lettuce, spinach, sweet basil & other varieties of tomatoes) seems to grow better. I assume that's because there is no direct sunlight after 2pm.

We're growing 6 varieties of California tomatoes - some in pots, some in the ground -with mixed success. I think the biggest danger to the plants, aside from my three year old, is too much sun! For the tomatoes that are in the middle of the yard, I have them covered with that green plastic-like stuff, so they only get about 3 hours of direct sunlight at the end of the day. Hopefully, I'll figure out how to post a few pics.

Okay...don't URLs for the pics...deal with that later.

I'll post a video that shows our little operation here in Khon Kaen. The cherry tomato plant in the video has been moved to the left 20 feet against the west wall and the 10 tomato plants in the ground are no covered by the green, plastic-like meshy stuff.

Okay...I see no option to put in a YouTube video.

Maybe a link???

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## DrAndy

I have successfully grown some Portuguese varieties I brought in by seed

you have to protect them from all sorts of bugs and rats though

but they thrived and were delicious, as was the Basil and Parsley grown with them

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## skyywalker



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## Norton

Looks. Good. I've just started. Have a couple plants. Doing ok. Under eaves so should do fine.

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## skyywalker

I've had no problem bringing seeds into Thailand. I was advised to take the seeds in carry-on, not checked luggage, because the x-ray system is different and can sterilize the seeds in a checked bag...no idea if that's true!

Here are a few pics of the seed packages for the tomatoes plus some peppers I'm hoping will flourish:

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## expattaffy

Like many others I have tried many varieties from the Uk. only had success one year but the crop was small. Given up. :Confused:

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## Bingo Enthusiast

The variety you allegedly want are called tropic ( see description below). Has anyone tried these before i import those along with some moneymaker and black Russian. i will also try some seeds from local toms

"This  variety developed by the Univ. of Florida is almost certain to grow in  almost any climate. Very disease resistant, 9 oz. red fruit (with some  green shoulders) is thick-walled and is excellent choice for garden or  greenhouse production. Highly recommended for those areas that are hot  and humid and prone to disease."

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## JBaker

The weather in Florida, USA is similar to Thailand in that it is very humid and hot.

I think the favorite varieties there are Better Boy and Amelia. Better Boy is very good and holds the Guinness world record of more than 340 pounds (154 kg) per one plant. Amelia produces very uniform and tasty 8 oz (.25 kg) tomatoes. Neither is determinate which means they bear over a long season.

They are hybrids - cross pollinated from 2 different varieties - so their seeds won't bear true to kind. 

For tomatoes where the seeds will bear true to kind, I like Mortgage Lifter. It's called that because the guy who developed it paid his mortgage off from it in 6 years.

There are several types of bacterial infections that can kill a plant almost upon germinating or even later so it's not good to grow tomatoes in the same spot year after year. If was potting the tomato plant I'd sterilize the potting soil by heating it over a BBQ or fire just long enough to get it hot enough to kill any fungus or bacteria. 

Cheers

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## Gipsy

> I'd sterilize the potting soil by heating it over a BBQ or fire


Easier to just give it a few blasts in the 'Chernobyl' a.k.a the microwave...

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## JBaker

> Originally Posted by JBaker
> 
> I'd sterilize the potting soil by heating it over a BBQ or fire
> 
> 
> Easier to just give it a few blasts in the 'Chernobyl' a.k.a the microwave...


Lordy, I tried it inside just once. The stuff stunk so bad after heating - never again.

Maybe you have a different type of soil. Every soil I've tried that had a lot of organic matter in it stunk badly when heated. Everyone that I know does it outside and usually on the BBQ.

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## Hoops

> The variety you allegedly want are called tropic ( see description below). Has anyone tried these before i import those along with some moneymaker and black Russian. i will also try some seeds from local toms
> 
> "This  variety developed by the Univ. of Florida is almost certain to grow in  almost any climate. Very disease resistant, 9 oz. red fruit (with some  green shoulders) is thick-walled and is excellent choice for garden or  greenhouse production. Highly recommended for those areas that are hot  and humid and prone to disease."


Do we have a Thai source for these Florida varieties?  Or do we order them by mail.

I've been trying to to grow Aussie Apollo & Grosse Lisse (in pots with potting mix) but after 4 goes 100% failure!  

Sometimes they get the stem chopped when they about 5 or 6 cm.  The last lot got leaf wilt.

Would sun drying the potting mix be as good as putting them in the oven?

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## expattaffy

Like everyone I have always had trouble growing tomatoes for the last 8 years, however that is now behind me. I have vastly improved my soil and this year have had tomato plants over 6 foot high, for anyone who wants a laugh I can post a photo. What I done was use plenty of gypsum, you cannot over do it, My plot, 15 foot wide and 30 foot long has had about ten 50 kilo bags scattered into it and then rotavated over. This is the first year I have succeeded with tomatoes. I also had local onions 3 foot high, which had all the Thais gaping in amazement :UK:

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## expattaffy

> well done Anto looking good ,, suprised me how long in that heat to fruit though


Like everyone I have always had trouble growing tomatoes for the last 8  years, however that is now behind me. I have vastly improved my soil and  this year have had tomato plants over 6 foot high, for anyone who wants  a laugh I can post a photo. What I done was use plenty of gypsum, you  cannot over do it, My plot, 15 foot wide and 30 foot long has had about  ten 50 kilo bags scattered into it and then rotavated over. This is the  first year I have succeeded with tomatoes. I also had local onions 3  foot high, which had all the Thais gaping in amazement :UK: 

I still have one tomato plant so if you want a photo showing the hieght just say

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## expattaffy

> I've had no problem bringing seeds into Thailand. I was advised to take the seeds in carry-on, not checked luggage, because the x-ray system is different and can sterilize the seeds in a checked bag...no idea if that's true!
> 
> Here are a few pics of the seed packages for the tomatoes plus some peppers I'm hoping will flourish:


I get all the seeds I want from the UK, My sister sends them by post, Had one or two packets opened by customs but no problem, Been doing so for the last 8 years. The only time had a problem was when my mate tried sending goosberry cuttings, they were held, he has now saved the seeds and they have come, will be plaanting them next week

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## Happy Dave

> There may be an opening for a smart young lad from Oz here. We grow tomatoes in climes where the temperatures rise well above 30 degrees. Gross Lisse springs to mind, not to mention Black Russians. Question is, are you permitted to bring packets of seeds into LOS? Or do they come in secreted about the body?


Yes, i used to grow Grosse Lisse in SE Queensland. Brought some seeds back last time, no worries, just put them in my bag and said nothing. They do grow well here as i gave some seeds to a neighbour. The secret is  planting the correct time, which on Samui i think is around oct/nov.

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## Happy Dave

> ^^^^I'm going to try again, and will cow shit the hell out of it. I swear, you could stick a pool cue in the ground here, and it would sprout. But the tomatoes just don't cooperate. ^^^Hydroponics is quite nifty, and I may try this as well, but it seems quite complicated.


Two plant nutrients "must" be present in the soil or potting mix if tomatoes are to produce flowers. These are Phosphorus and Potassium. The phosphorus is essential for the flower initiation and potassium ensures good fruit.  These are naturally found in a soil pH as close to 6.8 as possible. It is a good idea to apply some Dolomite about 6 weeks before planting.  Use fertilizer  5-10-10    or 10-10-10

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## Happy Dave

> There may be an opening for a smart young lad from Oz here. We grow tomatoes in climes where the temperatures rise well above 30 degrees. Gross Lisse springs to mind, not to mention Black Russians. Question is, are you permitted to bring packets of seeds into LOS? Or do they come in secreted about the body?


I brought Grosse Lisse seeds back from Qld and gave my neighbour some seeds which she planted about oct/nov on Samui.  They were doing well standing about 4 ft high  with plenty of nice green toms. I went away for a month and when i got back she had 
pulled them all out, telling me  "Green no good cannot eat"   WTF.

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