We’re lucky in Florida because tomatoes can be planted in late winter or early spring when the rest of the country is still only dreaming about it! Heck, you can even get a head start by planting seedlings indoors and then transplanting them after the threat of frost has passed. 

Tomato planting is a versatile task too! You can plant them in a traditional vegetable garden, in pots or even in hanging baskets. If you choose to plant your tomatoes in pots, consider lightweight pots – just in case there IS a frost and you want to move them someplace safe. Then, make sure that they are in a rich, well-draining soil. Potting mix is great and placing holes in your planting containers is a must.

In Florida, you want to give your plants enough growing time to get established because once summer temps reach 80s at night, the time for harvesting fruit has passed. For Florida tomato planting, it’s also good to pick an insect- and disease-resistance variety of tomato plant, like Better Boy.

Now all you have to do is find a nice sunny spot for your tomato plants as they need four to six hours of sun per day. Nutrients are also important, so it’s good to fertilize your tomato plants with a 6-8-8 controlled release fertilizer when you plant them and throughout the season. Then make sure your tomato plants get about one to two inches of water a week. Heavy soakings are best.

If you have trouble growing your tomatoes or find it too much trouble to plant tomatoes, don’t trouble yourself!  Perrine’s Produce has tomatoes in every make and model, from roma, to grape, to cherry, to compari, to tomatoes on the vine and fresh from the field.