Simon, I have been growing tomatoes for a long time and always get a good harvest even with the past hurricane that we had my season is more than enough for me, family and friends.

When the soil was good I grew them in the ground but here in FL the soil lack of many things and I grow them in containers.

The most important thing is that you follow the right time to grow them in your area, if you put them in containers you need the right size and the right mix, after that comes the care with watering, fertilizers and spray for bugs or disease.

I don't believe the upside down containers are any good, I never seen anyone doing good with them, it is just a marketing thing and probably good for herbs or flowers but tomatoes, I don't think so.

Keep trying, there is no reason why anyone cannot grow any kind of good tomato in Fl. I grow a big variety each season and most do well, some better than others.

Silvia

Simon - When I lived in NJ, I grew tomatoes with ease. In 1998, when I moved to Boca, I tried growing tomatoes. They were attacked by every bug known to man. I don't where you live in Boca, but there has to be a Publix within 6 miles of your house. We have Whole Foods, Fresh Market, and Western Beef, all with amazing tomatoes and no pesticides or evil chemicals. There are folks here who grow fruit and others who constantly try and fail. Shop well, my friend.

Get rid of the upside down planter and only water from the bottom. Getting water on the leaves is the best way to get blight. Also, water in the early morning so that the water can dry. Never water at night.

What variety are you growing?

When do you start them?

Boca Grande or Boca Raton?

Are you close to salt water?

Does your water have salt in it? Sulfur?

Do you have sprinklers that hit the tomatoes?

What kind of soil are you using?

Copper fungicide is a preventative. There is no cure for fungus once the plant is infected. You have to spray from the beginning. Spraying a plant infected with fungus is just spreading it around.

That being said, fungus is a fact of life in FL gardening. You can't get away from it, you just have to try to control it.

As I said to start I am getting much better results with the upside down planters - larger crops and slower start to the browning. I tried for 3 years with regular pots but the crops were smaller and the browning occurred faster.

I planted Better Boy, Heirloom and cherry tomatoes in October that have produced ripe fruit now. I planted in Miricle Gro Potting mix and added Dynamite Vegetables Plant Food.

I am in the City of Boca west of 95 on city water that seems clear of sulpher etc - there are no sprinklers that hit the tomatoes.

I did spray once a week with copper alternating with the "natural" 3 in 1 spray as a preventative.

My problem isn't with the first crop it is with subsequent crops. By the time the first crop ripens I have lots of blooms for the second crop but they mostly turn brown and fall of.

All I know is that tomatoes need at least 5 gallons of soil to grow well. I think that maybe by the time the second crop comes around, the soil in that small planter is depleted and they are horribly rootbound, so they just start dying. When I lived in SW FL, I never got but one good crop from my tomatoes before some blight or something started killing them, no matter what I did. I think it's just the nature of the beast, since there are so many elements trying to destroy them. I must admit, I miss how easy it was to grow tomatoes in South Carolina, with plenty of green tomatoes on the vines up until first frost, when they were picked to make pickles and chow-chow. I've never had that happen in FL -- never. Maybe Silvia will give up some of her secrets one day, but she seems to hold them close to the vest. :)

Well, they also do well hydroponically, but I agree that your tomatoes look like they are starving, Simon, as well as maybe having a bit of spiral whitefly in the last pic.

But I have lots of whitefly all the time and that doesn't stop my tomatoes from producing pretty well. I have tried some of the "xxxx boy" hybrids and to me they are extremely unsuited to container growing. The plants are just massive and they just can't get enough nutrients to fruit well in the average container. In my experience the smaller the fruit, the more productive a tomato will be in a container. I also think that determinate varieties probably are preferable, although I never seem to grow those.

I also don't think salt in the air is a problem. I'm not even 100 yards from the ocean and it doesn't bother my veggies, although the ones that are in very exposed locations do get wind burn from the winter gales here sometimes.

I'm afraid I have to join the chorus of folks unimpressed with the upside down planters, unless you want to go to itsy-bitsy plants like Tumbling Tom or Tommy Toes.

I always have very good luck with Husky Cherry Red for a small-fruited variety, although I must say that I hate overly sweet tomatoes, so if you want a supersweet, this isn't for you:

And this year I'm trying Sioux for a larger variety. So far so good, although all my plants are behind schedule since I waited till after Matthew before planting them up:

I'm not sure exactly what your tomatoes are lacking nutritionally, but I suspect that the amount of watering needed to keep the upside down planter moist enough is washing out your ferts too fast.

You might ask the folks over in the tomato forum about which nutrients they are lacking. They can tell from a pic.

ETA Forgot to say I'm a bit north of you (Stuart area), but being on the barrier island I'm in the same zone.

D, that is very funny! lol. But you have no idea about how many people I invited over to my house and show them everything they needed to know about the tomatoes that I grow and even give them seeds ....

There are many roads to be successful and many tomatoes that do well depending on what you like. As of today, I have an abundance of fruit and I have been making salsa to give away and oven roasted tomatoes for the freezer.

I go every week to pick strawberries at the hydroponic farm near me and they are organic same like me and they are having a tremendous tomato season also. And the most funny thing is that when they saw me, they asked me if I wanted a deal on the tomatoes (mostly they grow beautiful heirlooms) and of course I declined the offer,lol.

Maybe next time that I go there, I will take pictures of their operation. They are growing them in containers under hoops so they are protected somewhat from foliage diseases from rains or other factors. The flavors in the farm fruits are amazing, I usually get one tomato of a different variety that I don't have to sample and the strawberries are without a doubt the best in Florida!

Silvia

There's still nobody who has the success you do, Silvia!

Is your strawberry place the one on Story Rd?

Thank you Writersblock, you are being very kind. And yes, that is the place in Winter Garden.

Thanks!

ok, well I didn't read all of the above but I did notice you have leaf minor which is causing some browning of the leaves.

Ricky's post made me laugh but he makes some good points.

And my go-to garden guys says you should be pulling those warm weather "crops" out now because THEY ARE getting every disease and insect known to man.

I 2nd and 3rd that those tomatoes are not getting enough water.

Silvia, my love, I DO know how generous you are, you know. And you know I'm just jealous of your tomatoes. I think you must have an entrance to Hogwarts somewhere in your back yard and that your tomatoes are magical! LOL

Thank you D, it is so very nice that you said that and that reminds me that in my childhood garden, my father used to say the same thing about the plants, herbs and fruits in the garden, we gave tons of fruit and medicinal herbs away to anybody that asked. The edible plants are for sure magical to me...

Silvia

I feel ya! Last year I decided that it was the last that I was going to grow tomatoes - but I planted them this year anyway!

The further north you live, I think, the better success you have. I live in northern Palm Beach County and have been growing tomatoes for 15 years - not all that successfully - but this is what I've found helps.

1. Lower expectations. For me a good harvest is 7 to 10 tomatoes per plant. Some years - some plants will do better than that and well, I've had many plants provide less.

2. Fafard soil. Way way better than anything you'll find at the big box store.

3. Keep water off the leaves as much as possible - there's heavy dew on my plants every day until about 10 am. - so this is probably not going to help much.

4. Trim the diseased stems from the main branches frequently and get them out of the garden.

5. I always start a few plants in Sept. and Oct. from seed, but I also wait until Nov - Jan. to start more - avoiding the higher humidity of the early fall.

I only plant heirloom varieties and I don't spray them with anything. I've had luck with Anahu - but they taste slightly bitter, but were okay in a sauce. This year Homestead is doing well. Cherokee Purple - my favorite - does okay as well.

sonni1, I agree about the lowered expectations. I've only had really successful tomatoes a couple of times when I was in SW FL, and those were grape tomatoes. The big ones just don't do well for me, no matter what I do. In SC, I used to grow Park's Whopper and could count on a couple dozen tomatoes per plant ripe, and then enough green ones to make pickles in the fall. I also grew Marion for canning and those put out more tomatoes than I could handle, and I had to give a lot away.

Still, I get a good 5-6 Cherokee Purples from each plant, and that's enough to me. I wish I had room to grow more, but I have to be happy with just the one or two.

I love Fafard's! I can't find it anywhere around here, and it's too expensive to order online. If I could, I would never use anything else.