Time to plant tomatoes in South Florida

By Christine Winter Juneau
Sun Sentinel

It’s that time of year again, when South Florida gardeners can start thinking about luscious home-grown tomatoes. If you are not from around these parts, it takes awhile to shift your mindset. What used to be harvest time back north is now planting time.

Here are some random tips about tomato growing that I have garnered from Master Gardener classes, talks by Elaine Farquharson, who is otherwise known as The Tomato Lady, publications from the University of Florida and a seminar at Mounts Botanical Gardens on vegetable growing in South Florida. Plus a few hard-earned tips from my own experience.

Never start seeds in the ground. Protect them in dappled shade and gradually give them more and more sun. It takes 45 days until they are ready to go into the ground (or an EarthBox). When you are ready to put them out, bury them up to the first true leaves.

Manage your garden; don’t plant everything at the same time to make your harvest last.

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