Here’s the full question:

‘I have been dreaming of my own vegie garden for years and now we have finally got a little space for a herb and tomato garden, maybe peas…
I know that you sowed your tomato seeds five weeks ago, so my question is – Is it too late for me to do so in a couple of weeks? Sorry if this is a dumb question, I don’t know anything about gardening, but I am really keen to learn. 🙂 Greetings from Rotorua’

Our response:

Good question. It’s definitely fine for you to sow tomato seeds now and for about another 3 weeks. But you don’t have to wait until your vege garden is ready. Sow the seeds into trays now. Click here to find out how to sow seeds. And try and find a good warm, sheltered spot for your seed tray because the nights in Rotorua will still be chilly. These seedlings will be ready to plant out in the garden around the beginning of December. So if you want to harvest tomatoes earlier, you could just buy some seedlings around Labour Weekend and plant those directly into your garden, and then plant your own seedlings a month later. This is actually the way to have a good long season. All the best!