Growing tomatoes in Florida is both the dream and the challenge. They’re the crown jewel of the backyard garden, but they also frustrate gardeners more than any other crop. Some seasons feel effortless, others feel impossible. The truth is, you can grow tomatoes in Florida. You just need to know the real Florida tomato season. It’s not about dates on a calendar, it’s about frost on one end and the Four Horsemen of the Tomato Apocalypse on the other.

Fall Tomatoes in Florida

Fall tomato season runs from the end of summer weather until the first frost. In Zone 10a (Tampa, Orlando, and surrounding areas), frost might only show up once every few years. Could be as early as Thanksgiving, could be as late as Valentines Day. That's what keeps it interesting. Hard freezes are even more rare. A little farther north in zone 9b (Brooksville to Jacksonville and a weird pocket south of Polk), frost is pretty much a guarantee and hard freezes are a bit more regular. And in the Panhandle, 9a and beyond, you can count on it every season. You'uns might as well be up north. If you live right on the Gulf or Atlantic anywhere in the state, just count yourself down one half zone from your neighbors who live 5 minutes more inland.

For fall planting, I recommend fast determinate tomatoes like Roma, or Homestead or indeterminate cherry varieties like Sweetie, Sungold, or Everglades. Determinates give you a quick harvest, and cherries are your insurance policy. Even if a frost rolls through, you’ll already have been picking. The trick is to start seed early... like July or August.

Spring Tomatoes in Florida

Spring tomato season runs from the last frost until summer weather sets in. You want plants that are flowering and setting fruit right when you transplant them... which is right after the last danger of frost. That’s the key to a productive Florida spring tomato crop. 

The best trick is to start early in pots. Tomatoes don’t need to live under grow lights. Florida’s winter still gives plenty of warm days. It’s really only a handful of nights where frost or freeze threatens. Start seeds in plug trays, and keep seedlings in 4-inch pots. Bump them up to gallons if they outgrow them. You only bring them inside on those cold nights. By the time you’re truly out of the frost danger zone, you’re planting strong, sometimes already blooming plants. That’s how you stay ahead in Florida gardening Zones 9a-10a. Zones 10b and 11, we are not talking to you.

The Four Horsemen of the Tomato Apocalypse

Every Florida gardener eventually learns when tomato season is finished: sometime between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, maybe as late as July 4th if you’re lucky. That’s when the Four Horsemen have all shown up- Heat (high night temps), Humidity, Daily rain, and Insects. Once they all arrive, tomatoes are toast. You can battle 1, 2, or 3 of the Horsemen at a time, but not all 4.

This is why Florida vegetable gardening is all about timing. Your slicers do best in spring if you get them in early. Wait too long, and you’ll have a wall of green vines that never set fruit before the Horsemen take their tax.

Growing Tomatoes in South Florida

South Florida runs on different rules. Down there, not only do iguanas live in the trees, but most years, the tomato season carries straight through winter and into spring. Unless you see said iguanas falling from trees you should have one continues season. The only draw back... you’ll be the last to start and the first to finish. Still, the same principle applies: get plants flowering early, harvest steadily, and pull them before summer shuts it all down. Wait... are the iguanas a fifth Horseman?

Tying It All Together

So instead of watching the calendar, watch the air. Is it coming from North Carolina or Cuba? If you can sip your morning coffee outside without feeling like you’re wrapped in a warm wet towel, that’s your planting trigger. Dare I call that our first cold front? That’s when fall tomato plants go in.

In spring, as soon as you’re confident the danger of frost is past, set out plants that are already in bloom. Harvest until the Four Horsemen arrive, then clear the field and reset for fall.

Can you grow tomatoes in the summer in Florida? I don't know how to answer that except... just because some can, doesn't mean one should.

What’s Next

This tomato growing guide ties into a few other key posts and garden news

          Hardening off seedlings- how to toughen them before transplanting.

          Tomato plant spacing- How close can they go?

          UF Planting Chart Critique - a deeper look at how to use those monthly charts the right way.

Final Word

Tomatoes in Florida are not impossible. They just don’t follow the same playbook as up north. Think of fall as running from the end of the devil's living room until first frost, and spring as running from last frost until the Four Horsemen ride in. Start early, get fruit on the vine fast, and always plant with the end in mind. That’s how you find the best tomatoes for Florida gardens, whether you’re in Zone 9, 10, or 11.