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We have always something going on in getting our tomato and garlic produce and seedlings out to you. You can also subscribe to our TNG&T newsletter for further convenience…

By now, we hope that all gardeners have your garlic in the ground. Now, in the dead of Winter, there will not be a lot obviously happening, but there is certainly a lot going on beneath the surface. Even if your garlic has barely popped its nose through, you will find that it already has a good, strong root system taking hold. Your garlic is getting well and truly settled in, in time for the warmer Spring weather, when it will take off.

If you have different cultivars (which we always recommend), you may notice some distinct differences. Notably, earlier cultivars like Tasmanian Purple, will likely be your tallest. They generally come up within a week of planting, then get a good bit of growing in before the cold settles. Cultivars like the mid-season Spanish Rojo, have much finer leaves. This will be the case throughout. If you have Dunganski, a very late garlic, you may have notices it has an entirely different and unusual early growth habit. It emerges somewhat spider-like, prostrate and a bit curly. Don’t panic. There’s nothing wrong with it. It will sit like that until the warmer weather arrives then it will shoot up past everything else, tall and straight.

For now, keep your garlic well weeded. With all this wet weather, make sure it’s well drained. It hates wet feet. As it starts to move in Spring, you will notice there are always a couple of dead or dying leaves on the bottom. This happens as new, healthy ones emerge, so don’t panic.

Garlic is a hungry feeder and should have gone in with plenty of good organic matter and amendments in the soil. Regular three-weekly seaweed feeds are important for plant health, especially as the weather warms up. Nitrogen is necessary for early leaf formation, but this should only be used very early on.

Can you believe it? We are still finishing up the last of our Winter tomatoes (gotta love those Yellow Romas!) yet we are preparing for our first Spring plantings. The first of our tomato seeds will be going into seedling trays in mid-August, ready for planting out into the poly tunnels in mid-September. Brrrrr! Nevil has the Winter cover crop in the ground. It will provide a healthy soil-feeding, bug-purging green manure crop that will be mowed and rotary hoed into the ground just prior to planting.

Meanwhile, we’ll still be busy planting seeds for you (or you can purchase your own).

Our Annual Seedling Sale will be on again this year, with just a few adjustments to keep us all safe.

In order to prevent large numbers of visitors to the farm all at once, here’s what we’re doing:

• All of our seedlings will be available online through Click & Collect. Orders can be collected from Monday 5th October to the end of November. (Note: not all seedlings will be ready by 5th October).
• We will hold our big on-farm sale over two weekends instead of one – 17th & 18th October, then 24th & 25th October. 
• We will be open 9-5 every day for on-farm sales. Come on a day that suits you.

Keep an eye on our online shop for what we have available. You’ll find the usual 130+ heirloom tomato varieties, as well as capsicums, chillies, eggplants, pumpkins, rhubarb, strawberries, herbs, tulips and lots more.

In planning for your tomato crop, here are a few quick questions to think about:

Where do you live? It’s important to choose tomatoes to suit your area/climate/specific conditions. Eg. Do you need something especially hardy and cold tolerant? (Think Russian varieties). Do you need something that can tolerate heat? Humidity? Do you have fruit fly? (Think green). Are you restricted by space, height, etc? (Consider dwarf varieties). Do you need something very early? Very late?

What do you want to use your tomatoes for? (eg. Fresh eating, quick snacking, saucing, roasting). Your intended use will determine the type of tomato you buy. (Note: hearts are often very good all-rounders).

What size do you like your tomatoes? At TNG&T we group our tomatoes into three main sizes – small (cherries), medium and large.

Do you have a colour preference? As a very general rule, different colours will give a different flavour experience. Do you want rich classic flavour? Sweet? Fruity? Earthy? Tangy? Citrusy? Umami? We can guide you.

We are always happy to take your calls and enquiries, so you can make the best choice for you.

Here’s to a great gardening season ahead.

TNG&T has suddenly lost most of our regular retail customers. Sadly, the coming months and years will present some enormous struggles for our close-knit quality food community.

In order to survive, we will be re-assessing and streamlining many aspects of our TNG&T business, while also taking things a bit slower, keeping in touch with loved ones and generally looking after ourselves.

Our new website has been a long time coming. Now, it’s finally here, with more opportunities than ever to bring our produce to you. With the temporary closure of the Launceston Community Harvest Farmers’ Market and our absence from Tasmanian Farm Gate Market, we are offering our products through Online Harvest Launceston Community Farmers' Market. And even better, over coming months we will continue to build our own online store and ship direct to you.

Grow your own garlic to harvest straight from the garden, ready for use when you choose.

Plant in Autumn, relax and watch it grow throughout the Winter, help it along in Spring, ready to harvest for the season ahead. Perhaps you like your garlic to be the perfect all-rounder; strong, bold and beautiful with a magnificent punch; the early season Tasmanian Purple or the later variety, Dunganski. Maybe you prefer hot and spicy (Spanish Rojo), or perhaps sweet and nutty (Lokalen). We offer a range of garlic choices to suit cool climates. 

Note, we are experiencing heavy demand for our garlic, with some cultivars already sold out. If you’ve missed out through the farm, check out our Nursery Stockists for TNG&T garlic seed. 

At around 130 varieties per year on our farm, TNG&T arguably grows the largest range of heirloom tomatoes in Australia.

Within our broad range of colours, shapes and sizes, we specialise in taste and specific use. Shop online with us for an increasing number of our tomato seed offerings. We are already making plans for our very popular Heirloom Tomato Seedling Sale in October, so watch this space.

Shop online.