Hi Jim, stick around, you'll definitely get useful help here.

First off, where do you live now, and if you're a transplant where did you come from? I ask because your timing if off. March is really late to plant here, for the most part we're not very successful in the summer, too hot, humid, buggy and rainy....

We have two seasons, fall and spring (EARLY), use Table 3 of the UF guides as a benchmark for getting starting, then as you learn your weather you can modify the dates to fit your micro-climate.

And, nematodes here make it really hard to be successful in the ground....

Tom

And, nematodes here make it really hard to be successful in the ground....

Clarification, with tomatoes and okra, in the ground.

And, in the containers, what did you use for a soil mix? Here in Florida container soils need to meet two very specific requirements, they must drain fast and be kept cool. Study this post to understand good soil dynamics.

Tom

Hi Papa Jim

You do have a scary story! lol. But don't worry we all learn from trial and error.

About the varieties when I was in Arizona I bought all the solar set, heatwave and others supposed to tolerate the heat, but they were no better than the regular and they really did not have much flavor.

Giant Belgium I grew past season and also did not produced much for me, I thought because it was planted late. And like Tom said tomatoes need to go earlier than March in my zone.

I hope to hear a success story in the coming seasons. Happy tomato growing!

Silvia

So to sum up:

Planting tomato in ground = bad idea

Planting tomato in container = good idea

Hybrid tomatoes = productive

Heirloom beefstake tomatoes = not productive (although tasty, interesting, and worth it in my opinion)

I found these things out the same way you did but not as methodically. Here's to a return of the normal fall and winter weather pattern!

Sylvia & Tom: I've already learned a lot just from reading your posts. Such as Al's 5-1-1 mix and where to find pine bark fines in order to make it. Sylvia, I'm right down the road from you in Apopka so when do you set your plants outside?

1 of the biggest mistakes I made when I began gardening was to double dig my beds(major back-breaking work too!) - I was told much later by the county extension folks that it can bring nematodes up closer to the surface. You live & you learn, I guess. My 1st attempts @ almost everything did very poorly.

I grow all my tomatoes in the ground & have had plenty of success & I DO have root-knot nematodes, but I've found certain varieties seem less affected than others & what you grow before can help as well - I try to plant my tomatoes after things that the nematodes leave alone, like beans & peas.

& no more tilling or double digging! I just keep adding to the surface & mix plenty of compost & amendments in the planting holes. Micro & macro critters mix the soil for me.

& I mulch my tomatoes thickly w/ hay - seems to help keep foliar/fungal diseases down.

Papa Jim

I did the tomatoes in stages just in case something goes wrong,lol First set were 6 cuttings of last season plants. Then seedlings for some varieties after that more seedlings for other varieties.

In the background are the cuttings

They have small fruit already

Second set of tomatoes

This is the last set getting used to the sun, they will be put in the tomato garden this week

I started putting out gradually since the beginning of August, because it has been so hot I try to give them afternoon shade.

Silvia

Sylvia: I decided to pass on fall tomatoes and try my luck in the spring. When do you put your plants outside in the spring.

Carol: Well, we got the exercise anyway! I have read that lots of organic material repels nematodes so I guess that's what's working for you.

Carolb is absolutely right. Florida is considered a "no till" state.
Tilling not only disturbs nematodes but also billions of weed seeds.
Discing is different from tilling.
Research has shown that layering top down with organic matter
brings the highest rate of success.
Varieties chosen with the most letters after their name
have the best resistance.
The N stands for Nematode resistance.
V is for virus and so on.
By just changing a few things,
you can increase your odds of success.
This link has a lot of technical info on nematodes and vegetables.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nematode Management in Tomatoes, Peppers and Eggplant

Papa Jim - I wish you the best success next spring and if you have any question, I will be happy to answer. I hope that you are starting some other fall veggies, growing in the cooler weather is very productive!

February tomatoes in my porch, it was still cold.

Silvia

Try a little garden lime (or crushed eggsshells after)

I think growing them in high-organic material raised up out of the native sugar sand really does work better. I can't afford a lot of big-enough pots, so I make a high-raised bed (at least 18 inches) out of sand bags, or, this year, a silt fence; fill it with mushroom compost mixed with potting soil and plant in that. I think a deep raised bed with cardboard underlying it is pretty much just a really big "pot" anyway; so same difference I guess. Making and filling the beds is a lot more work than using pots though; so if price is no object, I think pots would be the way to go.

I haven't had much luck with my tomatoes in pots, other than the cherries. What is this mix with pine fines you speak of? I just bought pine fines for my blueberry, but will buy more if it will help me get better tomatoes.

It's Al's mix.