RickHarrison.com presents...
A Guide to Growing Tomatoes in Florida

why gardeners love tomatoes

Tomatoes are the most popular crop among American vegetable gardeners. Flavor is probably the main reason. A vine-ripened tomato fresh from the garden tastes about a hundred times better than the typical supermarket tomato. I'll admit that produce markets sometimes carry vine-ripened tomatoes that taste okay, but they don't compare to a tomato just plucked off the vine, with the heat of the sun still in it, practically vibrating with aromatic fragrance and juicy flavor.

Nutrition and safety are additional reasons to grow your own tomatoes (and your own vegetables in general). Fresher vegetables grown in enriched soils are more nutritious than vegetables grown in depleted soils and shipped a great distance. Other countries still use pesticides that have been banned in the US, and imported produce is sometimes contaminated with bacteria from human colons. Even in the US, crops are exposed to more chemicals than many people are comfortable with.

Another reason to grow your own is that you have access to greater variety. There are orange tomatoes, purple tomatoes, nearly white tomatoes, sausage-shaped tomatoes, hollow tomatoes shaped like bell peppers, strangely wrinkled and pleated tomatoes, and fruit sizes ranging from smaller than grapes to bigger than softballs. There are very tart and tangy tomatoes, very sweet and sugary tomatoes, well-balanced tomatoes, and tomatoes that taste a little bit like wine or citrus. To experience this vast spectrum of tomato varieties, you have to grow your own.

seeds or seedlings?

You can buy tomato seedlings at plant nurseries and in the garden departments of stores like Target, WalMart, K-Mart, etc. Look for dark green, stocky plants. If you see any signs of blotchy leaves or insect infestation, don't buy the plants; go home, take a shower, change your clothes and then go shop somewhere else.

I prefer to grow my tomatoes from mail-order seeds. That way I get to choose from hundreds of varieties, and I get to control the timing. Here's a link to my list of seed sources.

how to plant tomato seeds

Tomatoes don't always have to be pampered. You can take a cherry tomato from your next salad and throw it on the ground in a sunny spot; if conditions are good, a few plants will spring up and produce some tomatoes. However, taking good care of your plants usually produces better results.

Start with some good fluffy potting soil or soilless mix. Avoid cheap brands (such as Hyponex) which take on a rock-like texture after they get wet and dry out a few times. I like to make a 50/50 mix of sandy soil from my own garden and commercial potting soil. Put your mix, slightly moist, into an oven-proof bowl. Sterilize it by baking in a microwave oven at medium power for 12 minutes.

Sterilize some planting trays or cell-packs in hot tap water with a splash of chlorine bleach added. As soon as you're sure the planting mix has cooled down to room temperature, spoon it into the trays or cell-packs. Make sure the mix is slightly moist but not soggy! Plant one seed in each "compartment," about 1/4 inch deep. Label the containers with the names of the varieties you have planted.

It's a good idea to buy a fancy blank book at a bookstore or art supply shop and keep notes on the varieties you plant and how well they perform. (Don't use a cheap notebook. Writing in a nice hardbound journal with a good pen feels much better, and makes a better gift to future generations. Naturally one wouldn't try to keep such important data in an unreliable storage medium such as a computer hard drive.)

Tomato seeds sprout quickly and grow vigorously when the soil temperature is in the 80° to 86°F range. Put your seed trays in a warmish spot so they'll stay near this temperature. Some people use a heating pad on its lowest setting, sometimes with a layer of newspaper between seed trays and heating pad to prevent over-heating. (You can turn it off when you're away from home if leaving it on worries you.) Either cover the seed trays with Saran Wrap or something similar to keep them from drying out, or spritz them with an atomizer daily. Check twice a day to see if there are any sprouts; I usually see sprouts after 4 to 5 days. As soon as sprouting occurs rush the trays outdoors into full sunlight. Bring them back inside only if the outdoor temperature goes below 45°F.