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HOW TO GROW A BETTER TASTING TOMATO IN FLORIDA
Brenda from Niceville asks, “Do you have any issues with tomatoes? I'm going to plant them in a different spot this year but everyone says I should put them in pots. Also, do you have an email listing to let us know when you update your blog?
Thanks for the questions Brenda. It’s always nice to hear from others in the area growing what they eat.
The answer is yes to both questions.
I generally prefer to grow most vegetables in the ground, but when it comes to tomatoes in north Florida, I like growing them in containers. That’s one of the keys to producing a better flavored tomato. Also, it protects your plants from nematodes.
Use a high quality potting mix in your containers. No soil. Our soil in Florida leaves tomatoes flavorless.
Now here’s the essential ingredient for growing full-flavored tomatoes in Florida: calcium.
Without calcium, your vine-ripened tomatoes will be as tasteless as green-picked hot house tomatoes.
Tomatoes need other micronutrients, too. Any good vegetable or tomato fertilizer will have them. But the strange thing is, few have calcium added.
I add calcium to the top half of the potting mix in my containers by mixing in about a cup of ground up eggshells or garden lime.
I grind eggshells using one of those electric coffee bean mills. If you have raccoons about, you might want to pass on using eggshells – they are drawn to them!
To insure that your tomato plants can take up the calcium, choose a fertilizer that uses a nitrate form of nitrogen. Ammonium nitrogen should be only a minor component because excess ammonium ions reduce calcium uptake. This leads to blossom-end rot as well as poor tasting tomatoes.
Another key to tomato success is keeping the plants evenly moist. Don’t let them dry out.
This can be difficult when you grow tomatoes in containers. You may have to water them twice each day when it gets hot. I have had great success growing tomatoes in an Earth Box, which features a self-watering system that keeps the potting mix uniformly moist.
If you chose to grow tomatoes in the ground, you can increase their flavor by using these same techniques. |
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