Thank you for all the responses! Helenh - I had already googled to find info on these tomatoes, I'm looking now for more personalized experiences. Most of what you find through google are specifics from places who sell the seeds/tomatoes, and not personal growing experiences (which I find much more useful) :) We also had a lot of splitting last year because of all the water, so it is difficult to tell whether that was "normal" or not! I hadn't heard of Green Grapes (I'm assuming it is a smaller fruit, almost a cherry) but I'll definitely look into that one! Green Zebra is on the list, and they sound quite popular although polarizing. Some people really love and some people really hate ... the pictures of it almost sell me on this tomato right there, so beautiful! Ladon - thank you for the Pineapple endorsement. That is actually one of the yellows I am looking at for next year, and you make it sound so delicious. I do love the show offs :) Hemnancy - thank you so much for all the suggestions. I've actually not heard of any of those so it gives me good reading ... I really appreciate the suggestions! Does anyone have any comments on Zapotec, the pink one? or Ferris Wheel? Or Vintage Wine? I'm finding it difficult to get good info on these ones. Are they as tasty as the ads make them sound? Are they on your must-grow list, or not?

Not a Florida grower so not sure how much help this will be but from reading all the past discussions here (search 'Florida') on growing tomatoes there it seems the planting time is what is crucial, not the variety. In other words you can grow just about any kind you want if you get them planted out by late February to early March to beat the onset of the heat. It appears from what the other Florida growers have said that middle to late May puts an end to your production if the weather follows its normal patterns. Then you have a second fall growing season starting in September. In that season it seems to be the so-called "early" varieties (60 day) that work the best. Have to talked with your local county extension service about planting times? They can be a wealth of info on both when to plant and which ones work best. And check out the Florida Gardening forum here too for info on which varieties grow best for your neighbors. They have lots of tomato discussions going over there. I linked one past discussion from here below that offers some variety suggestions. Dave Here is a link that might be useful: Choosing Tomatoes for Florida

These are three of my all time favourite pasta dishes. The Penne is served at our favourite Italian restaurant and is remarkably good for being so simple. Gina's Lemon Scampi is often on our menu. So easy and fast but oh so good! The Puttanesca is for nights I'm feeling naughty. I usually serve it with chicken or veal Parmesan. Penne Calabrese 2 pound Italian sausage -- Sliced In 1/4 Inch PiECES 4 cups plum tomatoes -- Peeled And crushed 1 sweet red pepper -- sliced 1 sweet yellow pepper -- sliced 1 jalapeno -- sliced thinly 1 1/2 pound penne olive oil Grated Parmesan Combine all ingredients except olive oil and penne. Cook over low heat for 2 - 3 hours. Cook the penne and drain, toss with the olive oil. Toss penne with the sauce and serve with gated Parmesan. Lemon Linguine With Scampi (Gina) Vegetable oil 1 TBSP kosher salt plus 1/2 teaspoons 3/4 lb linguine 3 TBSP unsalted butter 2 1/2 TBSP good olive oil 1 1/2 TBSP minced garlic (4 cloves) 1 lb large shrimp (about 16 shrimp) -- peeled 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves 1/2 lemon -- zest grated 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons) 1/4 lemon -- thinly sliced in half-rounds 1/8 tsp hot red pepper flakes Drizzle some oil in a large pot of boiling salted water, add 1 tablespoon of salt and the linguine, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or according to the directions on the package. Meanwhile, in another large (12-inch), heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter and olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic. Saute for 1 minute. Be careful, the garlic burns easily! Add the shrimp, 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and the pepper and saute until the shrimp have just turned pink, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat, add the parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon slices, and red pepper flakes. Toss to combine. When the pasta is done, drain the cooked linguine and then put it back in the pot. Immediately add the shrimp and sauce, toss well, and serve. Pasta Puttanesca 1 pound spaghetti or linguine 2 Cans best grade Italian plum tomatoes 1/4 cup best quality olive oil 1 teaspoon oregano 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or to taste) 1/2 cup black olives, Sliced 1/4 cup capers, drained 4 garlic cloves, minced 8 anchovy fillets , chopped coarsely (or less) 1/2 cup Italian parsley, chopped Drain the tomatoes and cut in half. Combine the tomatoes and olive oil in a skillet and bring to a boil. Keep the sauce at a boil and add all remaining ingredients except pasta, stirring as you add. Reduce heat and simmer until the sauce has reached a consistency you like. Meanwhile bring 4 quarts salted water to the boil. Cook pasta until tender but still firm. Drain and toss with sauce. Serve immediately with fresh grated parmesan.

Just offhand, I'd have to guess blight/fungal infection. Heirlooms are notoriously unresistant to those. What to do? Not much. You can spray with fungicide, but that won't cure the infected leaves. It'll just prevent spread. So at this point, if you spray, you just have to hope that the plant can churn out a lot of new leaves that you'll keep from getting infected. Fungicides are preventatives and, for unresistant varieties, it's important to start using them early, before the infection can start.