It's tomato planting time

The Destin Garden Club is getting ahead of the tomato planting time with a program featuring the Pensacola East Hill Edible Gardening group.  

You can find this group selling many of their exotic, usual, and unusual tomato choices at the Palafox Market in Pensacola each Saturday of the month from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. Many of their options are award-winning for taste and production. If you’re planning to go over to Pensacola, I advise you to call ahead to ensure they will be there. The group has somewhere close to 75 different tomato plant options for you to choose from.  

Gardeners, Renée Perry and Tom Garner, drove over from Pensacola for the Destin Garden Club meeting, bringing tables full of tomato plants ready to purchase and put in the ground now. These two people are celebrating the 10th anniversary of their nursery, and they also offer classes in Pensacola on what to plant, how to plant, and when to plant.  

Perry says she has taught over 750 people the art of gardening. One of her classes is Basic Weed-Free Organic Gardening. Class prices run between $30 - $35. Perry describes our area, Destin and Pensacola, as being in the subtropics. That means we have a concise window for planting our tomatoes and having them enjoy the proper climate for excellent production.  

Planting in mid-February to mid-April gives you perfect tomato-growing weather. You can cover your new tomato plants with a box or a bucket if we have a late freeze or a temperature below 50 degrees.  

East Hill Edibles sows seeds early inside and starts them on a heating mat set to 85 degrees. Bring the plants outside as soon as possible, as they need sunlight to develop properly. 

Many people are confused about the terms determinate and indeterminate when shopping for tomato plants. What you need to know about these terms is that your determinate plants will grow to a particular size and then stop. Indeterminate tomatoes will grow higher and higher as the season progresses, and you will need high trellises to hold the high upper branches to keep them from toppling over.  

If you are having trouble with growing the perfect tomato or any tomato at all, remember we have a short growing season here, and she recommends that when you buy a tomato plant, make sure that the maturity date is 80 days or less. She also stated that the Heirlooms are not so good for our area. 

When planting your tomatoes, it is recommended that you add crushed eggshells to the bottom of the hole and mushroom compost, plus some cow manure. As your plants grow and leaf out, it is recommended that you remove all suckers below the second flower clusters on your determinate tomatoes.  

For indeterminate, prune off lower limbs below the first cluster of fruit which will help in the air flow as the plants mature. As the season wears on, remove any yellow leaves and water twice a week for ½ inch. Watering from above does not seem to hurt your plant in any way, and another clue I would never have thought about is to harvest your tomatoes when they are still ½ green and let them ripen inside the house. As the season progresses, often you will find that bugs and insects enjoy nibbling away at your tomatoes; this will help avoid that crushing dilemma. 

The garden club meets or travels once a month, and we always welcome new members. For more information, contact our President at allecollins933@gmail.co. 

This column was provided by Laura Hall. She is a member of the Destin Garden Club.