Tomato Varieties to try in the Florida Keys

The first blustery cold front is blowing through the Florida Keys, now is the time for vegetable gardening. The most popular garden vegetable plant grown is the tomato (actually a fruit). before planting your tomatoes do your homework. Learn what varieties grow best in the Florida Keys. Ask your neighbors what varieties they are growing and are they producing.

Tomatoes in the Florida Garden publication http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/VH028
provides a list of field trial grown tomato varieties that grow well in Florida. Visit the University of Florida Extension publication for information on these tomato varieties.

Tomato variety choices are determinate or indeterminate growth habit.

Determinate (D) tomato plants grow to a certain height and then stop. They also flower and set all their fruit within a relatively short period. This is an advantage if the tomatoes are being grown primarily for canning purposes. Determinate small tomato varieties: Floragold, Florida basket, Florida Lanai, Florida Petite, Patio, Cherry Grande, Castelle, Roma, San Marzano, Micro-Tom. Determinate large tomato varieties: Walter, Suncoast, Floramerica, Flora-dade, Duke, Sunny, Solar Set, Celebrity.

Indeterminate tomato plants grow, flower, and set fruit over the entire growing season. Indeterminate small tomato varieties: Red Cherry, Sweet Chelsea, Sweet 100, Sweet Million. Indeterminate large tomato varieties: Floradel, Manalucie, better Boy, Bonnie Best, Manapal, Bragger.

For More information:

If you want to grow your own tomato transplants, get your seed now.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs227

http://seeds.omri.org/ Great place to put in seed type and will list seed companies that have it

Tomato Growers Supply company: www.tomatogrowers.com
Photo Credit: Kim Gabel, UF/IFAS

Oleander, Gumbo Limbos & Buttonwoods are they galling you?

Witch’s Broom Gall is a term applied to growth distortion of woody stems. When something causes the growing tip to die the buds below may produce a tight cluster of shortened stems. This dense cluster of twigs growing from a central source looks like it belongs in a witch’s lair. This may be caused by mites, viruses, fungi, mistletoe, insects or nematodes. On trees, witch’s brooms are easier to see if there are no leaves present. On our evergreen shrubs, infections may go unnoticed until neglect reveals the unsightly growths.

In Florida many of these growths are a result of a fungal infection from Sphaeropsis tumefaciens. Plants in the Florida Keys affected by this disease include oleander, gumbo limbo and green buttonwood. On some of these plants the symptoms produced are a knotty gall.

Control: To deal with infected plants prune branches at least six inches below where symptoms are seen. Prune during dry times, dip pruning tools in a 10% bleach solution between cuts. Infested pruning shears can rapidly spread the disease. Severely infected plants should be removed & destroyed. No chemical fungicides are available to control witch’s broom.

For more information:
okeechobee.ifas.ufl.edu/.../witches.broom.htm

manateehort.ifas.ufl.edu/plantproblems/Oleander.htm

mrec.ifas.ufl.edu/jos/Sphaeropsis.htm

Photo credits:

Kim Gabel, UF/IFAS

Leaf mining anyone?

Have you ever seen those winding patterns on your citrus leaves or tomato leaves? Or have you seen a blotch pattern on the leaf? Both are signs of leafminer damage, first being the serpentine leafminer and second is the blotch leafminer.

Tiny female moths lay eggs singly on the underside of immature host leaves in the evenings or early mornings. Larvae emerge from the eggs feeding inside the leaf. The pupal stage is within the mine in a special pupal cell at the leaf margin, under a slight curl of the leaf. Adult moths emerge.

Control methods that work best are biological controls (parasitic wasps) and applications of horticultural oils.

For more information:
http://ipm.ifas.ufl.edu/pdf/Citrus%20Leafminer.pub%20(Read-Only).pdf

http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/veg/leaf/a_serpentine_leafminer.htm

http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/veg/leaf/vegetable_leafminer.htm

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/MG006

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/IN589

http://www.doacs.state.fl.us/pi/enpp/ento/pealeafminer.html

Photo Credits:
Kim Gabel UF/IFAS