I grew them in the summer too -- but that was NJ and NC. This is Florida - you have to plant in the late fall and during the winter you will have a garden. By early spring you will be picking regularly. When I moved here 2 yrs ago, as an experiment, I planted 1 big boy in the small planting area inside the pool enclosure. By the time the plant was spent I picked 33 excellent tomatoes. That never happened in NJ or NC. Also you have to till in cow manure or mushroom compost to boost the organics that will give you the yield and the flavor - and also whack the nematodes. Heirlooms or not, you will be surprised.

it's too late to plant full-sized tomatoes, though you might still have time to put in some cherry/currant sized tomatoes. sungold is a perennial favorite here on GW. matt's wild is a little obnoxious in its growth, but (they say) it produces nonstop during the summer. and i also recommend yellow currant, which has been highly productive so far this year. grow them using the posthole method -- just search on this forum for directions. MAKE SURE YOU TRELLIS THESE! my sungold is at least 10' tall right now -- i cannot even begin to reach the tomatoes at the top without a stool.

Here is a link that might be useful: post hole method v2.0

Definitely a waste of time to try for larger fruited tomatoes in the Summer here!

That said, come August, you can start geting ready for the Fall & my newest fave is Speckled Roman(from Pinetree) - a beautiful long, pointed OP indeterminate tomato w/ gold/red striped skin & great for both cooking & fresh eating - very juicy & sweet & I just harvested the last of my Fall planting 2 weeks ago = )

I meant to try for some Sugar Plum tomatoes for the Summer, but my seedlings died from neglect = (

I might still try some more. Tho my Matt's Wild grew throughout a Summer season the year before last, the tiny (very tasty!)fruits were a PITA to harvest & way too seedy for cooking = S

I've resigned myself to a coupla months w/o fresh garden tomatoes, but I do have a few quarts of frozen whole fruits to get me through - they're good for cooking & salsa, if not salads, anyway.

The link below is a great tomato/pepper reference - even if you don't buy from 'em.They're in Ft. Myers

HTH

Here is a link that might be useful: Tomato Growers Supply Co.

My tomato passion is put on hold till this fall. The last of mine just died off in this heat. I hate buying store bought!

Looks like I'll be learning how tough volunteer Tomatoes will be, over this summer. They are coming up everywhere, in all my plant beds and containers. All this action was fueled by well-fed chickens, who both kicked out my mulch and pooped tomato seeds in its place.. Any flawed Tomatoes went to the birds, for many months now.. I'm finding Potato-leafed varieties in with the Blueberries, Lemon trees and potted Peaches.

Life is interesting here, to say the least!

Lisa

My all time favorite is Brandywine. The Ugly tomatoes seen in grocery stores here in Florida is like a smaller version of the Brandywine. It may not be pretty (purdy) but it sure does taste good.

Lisa-I gotta borrow your chickens! They sure must keep your life interesting! lol

Thanks all! I can't wait to try sungold. The pictures of your tomatoes, Carol, are amazing. I already have DH working on trellises. Well, my marglobes are almost dead now but they seem to be holding out just long enough to let the tomatoes turn red. I picked 8 yesterday and have another 20 or 30 that will be ready in the next few days. A little disapointed that I didn't get more off of them but that was gardener error, not the plants fault.

Guess I should remember to count the 20 or so green tomatoes I plucked from the plants though. LOL-can't be without fried green maters! Ahhh, my next quest. To find that perfectly tart tomato for frying! Yummy!

Have any of you tried Riesentraube or black cherry? Those are two that I am thinking about trying next year.

happygirl hope you are right about the brandywines,just ordered some from tomato growers supply along with betterboy,earlygirl,bigbeef and sweetbabygirl.this was my 1st year trying maters in florida.the ones i tryed in the spring dried up before any were ready.so gonna try my luck with the fall season ,hope its not to late.i was hoping TGS would have the brandyboy i was reading about on another forum was good for are area.i just found this site today im learning alot allready. kirk