FL -- planted fall tomatoes

[amberroses]

I started my Fall plants even earlier this year. They are doing well and look healthy. I am waiting on the temps to drop so I can get some fruit set. Confession, they are all in regular pots. My Earthboxes busy growing other things at the moment.

[jimmyjohnnyjoe]

I have a question for all you fall tomato enthusiasts. Is there a reason that you did not keep your tomato plants going that you planted in the spring, in other words, keep watering them through the hot months even if they were not producing at the peak of summer, and then have them ready for their second harvest of the fall? Were they worn out? Or did they die from the heat? Or were you just ready to try a new variety?

jjj

[gardendoc]

Notes from the UNF

By July 1 the heat and humidity are taking their toll and foliar diseases are rampant.  It's much easier to pull and replace than try to maintain

[movrshakr]

I have a question for all you fall tomato enthusiasts. Is there a reason that you did not keep your tomato plants going that you planted in the spring...

Mine were 95% dead from the heat.

[Fldeb]

I planted Celebrity for the first time this spring.  It was a very good producer and it tasted very good also. I planted them early and they handled the cold also.  Deb

[amberroses]

Why would you water, fertilize, spray, and generally fret over plants all summer when they aren't producing fruit? The heat takes a toll as well as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and insects.

[gardendoc]

Why would you water, fertilize, spray, and generally fret over plants all summer when they aren't producing fruit? The heat takes a toll as well as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and insects.

My thoughts exactly

[mjb8743]

If you're really h*llbent to keep your plants going, another alternative is to take cuttings off healthy growth, and keep those going in a more hospitable environment until ready to transplant. If they get too big before you're ready, take cuttings off those and keep the process going. Remember to occasionally feed the cuttings with a weak liquid fertilizer. They will have a good root system and can quickly be plopped into a ready EB.

Mickie

[writeone]

I don't see the purpose of having 7' plus tomato plants

Don't determinants typically give one large harvest and indeterminants  gradual? Thus one would be best for the farmer selling crops and the other best for personal use enjoying and ongoing yield for an extended season?

[writeone]

Do you Florida gardeners do anything different re: sun exposure during the spring vs fall seasons? If so, what?

Also, given that it's too hot during early fall for fruit set, is it helpful to prune first blooms rather than wait for the plant to abort?

Any insights related to these concepts is much appreciated.

[gardendoc]

I don't see the purpose of having 7' plus tomato plants

Don't determinants typically give one large harvest and indeterminants  gradual? Thus one would be best for the farmer selling crops and the other best for personal use enjoying and ongoing yield for an extended season?

That's a vegetable garden urban legend.  Determinants grown for commercial production are varieties that ripen all at once for mechnical harvesting.  For the home garden it's a different story. 

[gardendoc]

Do you Florida gardeners do anything different re: sun exposure during the spring vs fall seasons? If so, what?

Also, given that it's too hot during early fall for fruit set, is it helpful to prune first blooms rather than wait for the plant to abort?

Any insights related to these concepts is much appreciated.

If you're thinking reducing the energy expense by clipping the first flowers it won't make any difference.  While flower formation requires more energy the real energy hog is the developing fruit that developes BER.

[cc-fl]

I always plant tomatoes in full sun.  I had a Celebrity (determinate) that I planted in August of last year and it produced well all the way through the spring.  I decided to leave it in the box until I was ready to replant and continued to get tomatoes up until I pulled the plants in mid-August this year so I could replant.  I did replace the fertilizer strip mid-way through and supplemented with the Snack.  However as I previously noted, the production was slower and the tomatoes were ripening sooner once the heat of summer set in and thus were smaller.  Nevertheless, they retained their great flavor.

Thought this season I'd give the heirlooms a try but I expect I'll plant Celebrity again in January if the heirlooms don't perform up to par.

[amberroses]

My experience is that heirlooms do better in the fall. In the spring the whitefly pressure seems higher and I get more of the virus problems that certain hybrids may provide resistance to. This is just my personal experience though.

[mjb8743]

My experience is that heirlooms do better in the fall. In the spring the whitefly pressure seems higher and I get more of the virus problems that certain hybrids may provide resistance to. This is just my personal experience though.

When you say they do better, are you referring to plant health or ripened fruit production? With longer maturity times, it almost doesn't matter if the plants stay healthy if the fruit hardly has a chance to ripen before freezes set in.

Mickie