For those of you who followed my gardening journal will know that I have been trying to grow tomatoes for a long time. I had some success in growing cherry tomatoes but nothing to brag about. It’s impossible to grow tomatoes in Singapore but I have finally had some success. I harvest three tomatoes which are are as big as my palm.
I planted a few seeds in May and it was as tall as me by September. It survied a few storms along the way and after four and half months later, I get to finally taste the tomatoes. Not just any tomatoes, Florentine tomatoes from Italy. Talk about being patient!!
I have already harvested the first one and two waiting to be picked.
Doesn’t it look luscious?
I was waiting for one more day for them to ripe but I was a few seconds too late. Dam birds got to one of the tomatoes first and chewed up half of my tomato. 🙁
In September, I wrote a blog about some pumpkins growing among my compost. It’s now taken over the entire plot!! Lots of male flowers but no female flowers. You need female flowers in order to have pumpkins, just like cucumbers and zucchinis.
The leaves are so huge and I feel like using them for an umbrella. Hopely lots of yummy pumpkins to harvest soon!
I have just planted some basil and various types of tomato seeds. I would like to share these with balcony garden enthusiasts. I will let you know when they are ready for adoption. Happy gardening!! 🙂
Hey Nicky, the Italian basil and thai basil you gave me are growing like crazy in my garden, and I have already whipped up thai basil omelette with minced pork and chilli, caprese salad etc… Yummy! Thanks so much for them again! 🙂
Hey Nicky, the Italian basil and thai basil you gave me are growing like crazy in my garden, and I have already whipped up thai basil omelette with minced pork and chilli, caprese salad etc… Yummy! Thanks so much for them again! 🙂
p.s. your florentine tomatoes look amazing!!! I can tell the bird had a juicy feast off that one tomato but they look absolutely beautiful! Congrats! And yea, thank god it’s on your balcony and not in the compost area, coz I am pretty sure the residents would love to help themselves to a bite of that yummy looking fruit!
Hi Felicia, Great to hear that they are growing like crazy. I just harvest bunch of basil yesterday and made some pesto. I couldn’t believe how fantastic they taste. I also have some Italian Parsley seedlings so I will share them with you soon! Cheers!
hi nicky, congratz to your success in growing the Florentine tomatoes. Did u save some seeds from the fruits for next planting? If your seeds are abled to grow for several generation, i think you have yourself your own breed/variety of florentine that have adapted to Singapore’s climate. Very cool yeah…:P Anyway, do u grow ur tomato plants deep?
Thanks so much. Funny enough, I have just pulled the seeds out of one of the tomatoes and they are getting dried. Looking forward to see what next batch has to offer. My tomato plants are in a pot normally depth of 50cm or more. It’s always to bury them deep initially covering the bottom stem. 🙂
hi nicky,
Im so so surprised to see the Florentine tomatoes growing so well in Singapore. Bravo! do you mind? i want a foolproof guide as to start a tomato “garden” like yours?! I dont have balcony, only HDB hallway with afternoon sun… gosh…im going to save some seeds now!
I also started very small with a very small pot. It’s nice to have something fresh growing in your own home. Best of luck with growing and let me know if you have any question.
Hi Nicky! Its amazing how you have managed to cultivate your own organic garden in a Singaporean backyard. Not an easy feat! The tomatoes are plump and juicy and im sure the pumpkins will turn out Large and Tasty (Just in time for halloween too!) Keep up the good work!! 🙂
Hi Nicky! Your garden looks amazing! Any chance of an update for us to see how it’s flourished so far? 🙂 I’ll be trying your method of growing basil and leek mentioned in earlier posts. Any advice on how to grow thyme and coriander? Gardening and me usually don’t mix well so I’m hoping they won’t die on me!
Hi Jacqueline, thank you for your comment… I have moved to a new place so I had to clean up my garden and I will be starting all over again. Basil and leek grows really well but thyme don’t like water so you need to water them directly to the soil. I had no luck with coriander except 3cm tall and they seemed to all die, perhaps too hot. Before I moved to Singapore, I never grew anything, it’s trial and error so don’t give up!!! ^_^
Hello.. amazing you been able to grow tomatoes and pumpkins. I tried to grow tomatoes. Flowers but they dont stick to become fruits. What sort of soil did you use? And fertilizer? I realise now that tomatoes are vines, rather than plant. Hear from you. BTW, no more updates on your gardening efforts?
Thank you for your comment and sorry for the delay. Due to moving, I haven’t had a chance to update on gardening. I am hoping to start this week. As for the soil, I have asked at nursery what soil will be best for the vegetables and fruits and added organic compost which was available at the shop. Let me know how you go!
Can you share with us the URL you ordered your florentine tomato seeds or did you save the
seeds from a store bought tomato?
Anyway for those that would like to know you can obtain a product called TOMATOTONE that will force the
tomato flower to set fruit in Humid Singapore. Its from the ecocity hydroponics web store. It’s a Japanese
technology.
I bought the seeds from Italy when I was traveling. Thank you for your information!!