Tomato

Solanum lycopersicon

Tomato. Sourced figures stay next to their citation. Planting windows are listed for locations that have one. Unsourced fields say coming soon.

Unverified — based on HORDI Crop - Tomato, Department of Agriculture Sri Lanka, accessed 2026-10-20: https://doa.gov.lk/hordi-crop-tomato/; confirm for your microclimate.

Spacing

In-row spacing: coming soon
Between-row spacing: coming soon

Other sourced figures

Soil pH: 5.5–7.5
Seed depth: 0.5 cm

From farmer field experience

Based on hands-on growing experience from Sri Lankan farmers. Not yet verified against official sources.

Nursery days: 21–25 days: Nursery days before transplanting. The HORDI page states a transplant age of 14–18 days and does not state this nursery span.; Farmer field notenoted Oct 2026
Days to first harvest: 75–90 days: Days after transplanting. The HORDI page does not state a day count to harvest.; Farmer field notenoted Oct 2026
Harvest window: 45–60 days: Picking period.; Farmer field notenoted Oct 2026
In-row spacing: 40–50 cm: In-row spacing for staked plants. The HORDI page states 80 cm × 50 cm and does not say which side is the row.; Farmer field notenoted Oct 2026
Between-row spacing: 60–75 cm: Between-row spacing for staked plants.; Farmer field notenoted Oct 2026
Container volume: 15–20 L: One plant. The container planner uses 15 L, the low end of this range, as the minimum.; Farmer field notenoted Oct 2026
Container diameter: 30 cm: Pot diameter about 30 cm.; Farmer field notenoted Oct 2026
Container depth: 35 cm: Pot depth about 35 cm. The container planner uses this depth as the minimum depth.; Farmer field notenoted Oct 2026
Plants per container: 1: One plant in that pot.; Farmer field notenoted Oct 2026

Market months

Prices vary by week, market, and year. This is not financial advice.

Based on hands-on growing experience from Sri Lankan farmers. Not yet verified against official sources.

Higher prices: October–January
Rain diseases cut yields.
Farmer field notenoted Oct 2026
Higher prices: May–June
Rain diseases cut yields.
Farmer field notenoted Oct 2026
Lower prices: February–April
Rain diseases cut yields.
Farmer field notenoted Oct 2026
Lower prices: August–September
Rain diseases cut yields.
Farmer field notenoted Oct 2026

Planting windows

Colombo — Low Country Wet Zone

March
Transplant
Farmer field experience. Using 75–90 stored days. Plant in Mar, first harvest about 75–90 days later (around May–June). Calculated from the stored day count and the planting month. It is not a separate harvest calendar.
HORDI says the suitable nursery period is the middle of March. The grid marks all of March because a month is the finest step. The same page gives an optimum elevation of 1000-2000 m and also says the crop can be grown in almost all agroclimatic zones except the up-country wet zone. Colombo is not named.
Unverified — based on HORDI Crop - Tomato, Department of Agriculture Sri Lanka, accessed 2026-10-20: https://doa.gov.lk/hordi-crop-tomato/; confirm for your microclimate.
August
Transplant
Farmer field experience. Using 75–90 stored days. Plant in Aug, first harvest about 75–90 days later (around October–November). Calculated from the stored day count and the planting month. It is not a separate harvest calendar.
HORDI says the suitable nursery period is the end of August. The grid marks all of August. Transplanting is 14-18 days after sowing. No maturity day-count is stated.
Unverified — based on HORDI Crop - Tomato, Department of Agriculture Sri Lanka, accessed 2026-10-20: https://doa.gov.lk/hordi-crop-tomato/; confirm for your microclimate.

When to plant Tomato in Colombo