Variety selection, often made several months before planting, is one of the most important management decisions made by the grower. Failure to select the most suitable variety or varieties may lead to loss of yield or market acceptability.

The following characteristics should be considered in selection of tomato varieties for use in Florida.

* Yield - The variety selected should have the potential to produce crops at least equivalent to varieties already grown. The average yield in Florida is currently about 1400 25-pound cartons per acre. The potential yield of varieties in use should be much higher than average.

* Disease Resistance - Varieties selected for use in Florida must have resistance to Fusarium wilt, race 1 and race 2; Verticillium wilt (race 1); gray leaf spot; and some tolerance to bacterial soft rot. Available resistance to other diseases such as Fusarium wilt, race 3 may be important in certain situations

* Horticultural Quality - Plant habit, stem type and fruit size, shape, color, smoothness and resistance to defects should all be considered in variety selection.

* Adaptability - Successful tomato varieties must perform well under the range of environmental conditions usually encountered in the district or on the individual farm.

Many tomato varieties are grown commercially in Florida, but only a few represent most of the acreage.

‘Florida 47’ was grown on about 36% of the acreage in Florida in the 1999-2000 season - a notable increase from the approximately 23% of the acreage the previous season. ‘Florida 47’ was grown on about 47% of the acreage in southwest Florida and 32% of the east coast acreage.

‘Sanibel’ had about 14% of the state’s acreage. It was the predominant variety in Miami-Dade County with almost 60% of the acreage.

All BHN varieties are lumped together and comprise about 13% of the state’s acreage, mostly in southwest Florida and north Florida.

‘Solar Set’ acreage increased to over 12% of the state total mostly in west-central Florida.

‘Florida 91’ acreage increased to about 7% from a fraction the previous year. The Palmetto-Ruskin area was the principal production site.

Summary results listing the five highest yielding and the five largest fruited varieties from trials conducted at the University of Florida’s Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, Bradenton; Indian River Research and Education Center, Fort Pierce and North Florida Research and Education Center, Quincy for the Spring 1999 season are shown in Table 1. High total yields and large fruit were produced by ‘BHN 399’ at Bradenton, ‘Agriset 761’, ‘Solimar’ and ‘Floralina’ at Fort Pierce, and ‘Florida 7851’ at Quincy. ‘Florida 7815’ produced high yields at two of the three locations. ‘Sanibel’ produced large fruit at all three locations and ‘Solimar’ at two locations. Not all entries were grown at each location.

Overall, results of these trials indicate that no single variety dominates the industry as during the periods when ‘Sunny’ and ‘Agriset 761’ were preeminent. Furthermore, varieties appear to be more location and seasonal specific than in the past.

Maynard, D. N. (ed.). 2000. Vegetable variety trial results in Florida for 1999. Fla. Agr. Expt. Sta. Circ. S-396.

Tomato variety evaluations were conducted in 1999 by the following University of Florida faculty:

D. N. Maynard - Gulf Coast Research & Education Center - Bradenton
S. M. Olson -  North Florida Research & Education Center - Quincy
J. W. Scott -  Gulf Coast Research & Education Center - Bradenton
P. J. Stoffella - Indian River Research & Education Center - Fort Pierce

Oriental Vegetables For Florida

In a modern world of mixed cultures it may be difficult to determine what really encompasses the Oriental crops. Traditionally these have been the edible plants cultivated by gardeners of Asian descent. But gardens of China, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam and neighboring countries today include both the old and new word crops.

Plantings of Chinese cabbage, daikon, kohlrabi and mizuna of Asia grow intermingled with peppers, eggplant, tomatoes and potatoes from the Americas. It appears all vegetables now grow in the Oriental garden. Only the varietal names may differ from one country to another.

Vegetable guides contain a popular listing of crops but may leave out some of your Oriental favorites. You probably won’t find mizuna listed in most guides. But if you remember it’s a type of mustard the planting dates of September through March can be quickly located for Florida.

It’s also helpful to know most related crops including all cabbages, broccoli and radishes are planted at the same time of the year. Sow seeds or set transplants of these vegetables in the ground during the late fall and winter seasons.

A few crops, due to their confusing common names, may give misleading planting dates. For example: Chinese spinach that’s stir-fried or added to soups is not a true spinach. It’s an amaranthus and needs the warm to hot months of March through September to produce the tender leafy portions. True spinach likes the colder months.

Another good vegetable, the winged bean does not follow traditional planting dates. Instead of a spring season, it prefers the fall months and must be planted August through October. Local planting schedules like the one included with this article can help with the crops most guides forget to include.

Today’s harvests are a mixture of vegetables from around the world but some of the most popular planting techniques are totally of Oriental descent. Gardeners are rediscovering the very ancient methods of producing big yields in small spaces.

You can call it square foot or raised bed culture but it’s really the century old method of Asian intensive gardening. Oriental farmers plant every square inch of available space. They use square, block and patch designs to plant their crops.

It’s an age old gardening technique for modern times. The size of the average garden nationwide has shrunk from 600 to about 200 square feet. Urban gardeners don’t have a lot of room and they are looking for an easy way to produce their crops.

Typical Oriental gardens are just 3 to 4 foot wide. It’s just wide enough to reach to the middle to plant, weed and harvest. The gardens vary in length depending on the space available. Small gardens are ideal for today’s cramped backyards, patios, entrance areas and even the walkways between adjoining properties.

Oriental gardens are usually constructed by mounding soil to produce 6 inch or higher beds that ensure good drainage. The raised bed also helps put the crops in easy reach. Many gardeners today add landscape timbers to contain the mounded soil. The wide wooden edges keep the garden neat and provides a place to sit while you work. Plastic wood-like beams and concrete blocks are also being utilized.

Enriching the soil is critical to traditional Oriental gardens. The ground is prepared with lots of organic matter. Adding compost and manure provides the nutrients needed by most crops. Often the gardens are produced without additional fertilizer throughout the growing season.

All sandy Florida soils benefit from the addition of organic matter. The decomposing plant portions and manures help hold moisture within the root zone of developing crops. Florida’s fall through spring seasons are the drier times of the year and moisture conservation is important.

Some Oriental gardens are constructed with a slightly concave bed or ridge of soil around the edge to help contain water during irrigation. This can be a valuable technique for local residents who find themselves watering every 3 to 4 days throughout the growing season.

Besides the additions of organic matter many gardeners also work a little fertilizer into the planting site. A good balance of nutrients is ensured by incorporating up to two pounds of a 6-6-6 fertilizer with every 100 square feet of garden prepared for planting.

After tilling the organic matter and fertilizer with the soil you are ready to plant. Oriental gardening techniques conserve space by planting crops close together. Seldom are wide rows left between vegetables - instead the plants are set next to each other with minimal spacings.

Crops are often planted in blocks. A planting of Chinese cabbage set 8- to 12-inches apart may abut winter onions with 1- to 2-inches between plants. Next to these crops might be plantings of edible pod peas trained to a trellis and then some mustard. There are no rows between the crops just between the beds.

Following are a few more tips to have a productive garden:

• Replant the garden as soon as one crop finishes.
• Try companion plantings to make maximum use of space.
• Keep tall or trellised crops to the north side of the garden.
• Allow the surface soil to only dry to the touch between waterings.
• Maintain a 2- to 3-inch mulch layer of hay, compost or leaves.
• Feed monthly with manure or a garden fertilizer.
• Use soaps and other natural controls for pests.

The gardening season doesn’t end when summer begins. Some very traditional Oriental vegetables including bitter melon, Chinese okra, jicama and yard-long beans thrive during the hot rainy weather.

Vegetable gardening is popular in Santa Rosa County and all over the state. Unfortunately, some gardens are not producing up to their potential. Many years of observing gardens and reviewing soil test results have convinced me that the lack of maintaining sufficient levels of potassium is often a limiting factor.

Potassium is generally very soluble in our sandy soils and therefore leaches during periods of heavy rains and irrigation. Most gardeners are aware that nitrogen leaches readily and supplement that nutrient, as needed, during the growing season. Unfortunately, the same logic is often not applied to potassium.

The problem most frequently arises when dealing with vegetable gardeners from points north. Coming from areas where soils are heavier, with higher cation exchange capacities, they are accustomed to sidedressing, but only with a fertilizer containing nitrogen.

How many times have agents heard gardeners say that they have sidedressed with "Ammo-Nite" or other nitrogen fertilizers, but the plants didn’t always respond well? In many cases, the reason could have been because potassium was also low. In such situations, adding more nitrogen would create an even greater imbalance between these two major nutrients.

Five years of sap testing of tomatoes, strawberries and melons indicate that market producers encounter the same condition on light soils. Almost without exception, tests show plenty of nitrate nitrogen in the sap, but levels of potassium that are below the optimum. This requires recommendations to quickly adjust the K level. Without sap testing it would be easy to blame low production on other factors.

The Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide - that familiar publication that we all use, specifically addresses this issue. On mineral soils, a fertilizer grade such as 15-0-15 is recommended for sidedressing.

Obviously, there are exceptions. Not everyone’s garden is low in potassium. Highly organic soils, or those well amended gardens with increased buffering capacity might maintain optimum potassium levels for the entire crop season. The average sandy Florida garden however, frequently benefits from supplemental potassium.

Periodic soil testing over several crop cycles reveals the ability of a particular soil to hold potassium and other nutrients. When sampling, timing is important. Samples should be taken several weeks following the basic fertilizer application after potassium levels have stabilized.

Congratulations to these growers. I am sure it is just a matter of time until these records will be broken, perhaps by the same growers. Thanks to you agents who have helped verify these records. Thanks especially to Phyllis Gilreath, Manatee County agent, for doing the work to get the big pumpkin certified (see photo).

I noticed recently a television news story about a lady’s collard plant which measured about 11-12 feet tall. They made a lot to do about it, saying it might be a world’s record. Had someone just checked with the Extension Service, they would have found out it was not even a Florida state record. Our record of 13 feet 3 inches was set in 1993 by a Leon County gardener named Kelso.