How to grow tamarillos: Planting, pruning and feeding tips – Kem Ormond
Well, it was a hive of activity over the weekend in my vegetable garden.
The tomatoes are growing like triffids and will need to be staked and tied before long.
I weeded the beetroot and carrots and enjoyed a couple of meals of new potatoes straight from the garden.
There has been a lot of wind here in Whanganui, so I am keeping an eye on the tamarillos I have recently planted.
Also, the gourds that had not made a sign of an appearance have finally emerged above the top of the soil.
I am still having stewed tamarillos with my breakfast from the fruit from last year’s tamarillo tree.
They are one of my favourite fruits, but nowadays they are more of a treat because they are rather costly, unlike 40 years ago, when they were abundant.
If I were to describe a tamarillo, I would say tasty, tangy, sweet and tart all in the same mouthful.
Tamarillos were formerly called tree tomatoes because of their subtle similarities, but that is about as far as it goes.
It is actually more closely related to the guava than the tomato.
Tamarillo trees take about two years to produce fruit and will then be productive for about 10 years.
They are a short-lived tree and prone to various diseases, but don’t let that put you off.
They like warm summers and a mild winter, and once they find their happy spot, they are off.
Fruit will ripen any time from April to November and can take eight months from pollination to ripening.
They like to grow in full sun, but you need to be aware that if the area you plant them in is extremely hot and prone to drying out, then partial shade will be needed to keep them happy.
They are a subtropical plant so they are not keen on cold or blustery wind, so if down south, I don’t think they will be very tolerant of your weather conditions.
They prefer to grow in the warmer regions of this country.
They do not like frost, so the best time to plant is in late autumn or early spring when the risk of frost has passed.
Once fully developed, they will tolerate a very, and I mean very, mild frost.
You need to prepare the soil with some good compost or sheep pellets; in fact, I have planted mine right next to one of my compost bins, and it is happy as.
They are evergreen and are incredibly fast-growing, so they will need some feeding in the growing season, with a good watering and some mulching.
They do not like to have their feet in wet, soggy ground, so make sure they are planted where there is good drainage.
They are shallow-rooted, so make sure to mulch around the base during summer.
You need to plant your tamarillo tree in a sheltered position, as they can be prone to the stem and branches breaking, and I would suggest staking as well.
Tamarillos are self-fertile, so they don’t require a pollinator, as their flowers are pollinated by insects and bees, as well as the breeze.
They fruit on new season’s growth, so it is important to prune at the end of each season after they have finished fruiting, and when the risk of frost has passed.
Let your plant grow to around 1.5m, then snip the top off it, and hopefully this will encourage branching.
When the branches get to around 50cm long, take the tips out to make sure they fruit close to the centre, to avoid getting overweight with fruit and breaking branches.
Tamarillo varieties
You may need to try some of the different varieties of fruit to decide what you prefer.
There is basically red-skin or yellow-skin varieties.
Red being tarter and more yellow sweeter.
Ted’s Red, Oratia Red and Ruby Red are popular red varieties, while Bold Gold and Goldmine are the popular sweeter yellow varieties.
Pest and disease control
You need to watch out for whitefly that can reduce yields if in large enough numbers, with the honeydew they excrete giving rise to deposits of sooty mould on the fruit.
Any sap-sucking insect needs to be eradicated, as they can be the instigators of several viruses to which tamarillos are susceptible.
Some of the fungal diseases that can affect tamarillos, such as Phytophthora and other root-rots manifest themselves where the drainage is poor, soil heavy and there is high humidity.
Kem Ormond is a features writer for The Country. She’s also a keen gardener.