• Several varieties of tomatoes thrive in Southwest Florida.Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  Southwest Florida offers an ideal environment for growing vegetables. The humidity and temperature both remain relatively mild except for the summer months. While tropical vegetables withstand summer heat, spring planting gives gardens the best chance of success, including for tomatoes. Soil in Florida is sandy, so add homemade compost that includes eggshells, manure, bone meal and coffee grounds.
  
  

Heirloom Tomatoes

• The University of Florida Extension performed studies on heirloom tomatoes, determining which ones grew best in Southwest Florida's environment. While many varieties didn't handle packing and shipping, they fared well as tasty vine ripe produce. The Eva Purple Ball had a shelf life of two weeks. Lemon Boy and Green Zebra also showed excellent storage tolerance. The Clear Early Pink tomato produced the biggest, unblemished fruit. Overall, heirloom tomatoes suit home gardeners more so than commercial ventures due the delicate nature of the fruit. At home, these lovely tomatoes go from garden to table, adding unique colors and rich flavors to any recipe requiring tomatoes.
  
  

Small Tomato Varieties

• Various cherry tomato varieties thrive in Southwest Florida. The Chelsea tomato yields hardy, sweet tomatoes throughout the growing season. These plants resist drought and cracking along with 10 tomato diseases. Florida Basket cherry tomatoes also do well here, coming to fruit in just less than 60 days. These tomatoes reach about 2 inches overall. They benefit from seaweed fertilizers. Micro Tom likes this environment too. This is the smallest tomato plant known, growing an average of 5 inches tall. Amazingly, the plant yields upward of 24 tomatoes in a season. The growing time from seed to fruit is about 80 days.
  
  

Main Crop Tomatoes

• Main crop tomatoes produce either medium- or large-sized fruit. On average they take 72 days from seed to fruit. Better Boy is one example of a tomato well-suited to Southwest Florida, resisting cracking and deformities. They benefit from mulch and require wire cages or other support systems. Along with the Better Boy, Florida gardeners can try the Celebrity tomato that yields 10 oz., flavorful fruit that resists disease. Alternatively, consider the Floradel, which produces 6 oz. tomatoes and handles shipping well, or the Flora-Dade, created by the University of Florida specifically to withstand disease-ridden regions of Florida that develop due to humidity. Some other good choices for the garden include Solar tomatoes that appreciate 90-degree weather, as do Sun Coast plants and the Walter tomato.