Tomato season in Florida doesn’t last forever, and it can be tricky to know when it’s really over. I’ve been there—watching my plants slowly slow down and wondering if it’s time to let them go.
These 8 clues make it easy to spot when your tomatoes are done for the season. Say goodbye gracefully and get ready to plan for next year’s tasty harvest!
1. Yellowing Leaves
Those once vibrant green leaves turning yellow aren’t just having a bad day. In Florida’s intense climate, this discoloration often signals your plants are shutting down their production systems.
The humid conditions unique to the Sunshine State can accelerate this process, especially after a particularly hot spell. Time to start planning your fall garden!
2. Stunted Fruit Growth
Noticed your tomatoes staying small and refusing to ripen? Florida’s late summer heat often causes plants to stop putting energy into fruit development.
When temperatures consistently stay above 90°F across the state, tomato plants simply cannot produce normal-sized fruit anymore. The small, hard green tomatoes that remain won’t likely mature.
3. Cracked Stems
Splitting stems spell trouble for your tomato plants. Florida’s afternoon thunderstorms followed by intense sunshine create perfect conditions for stem damage.
When you spot these cracks appearing throughout your garden, it’s a clear indication the plants are struggling to maintain their structure. Many Florida gardeners mark this as the definitive end-of-season signal.
4. Blossom Drop
Flowers falling off without forming fruit? Your plants are saying goodbye to production. The combination of Florida’s humidity and high temperatures makes pollen sterile.
Even in South Florida’s extended growing season, this phenomenon signals plants can no longer set new fruit. When you see blossoms dropping consistently, your harvest window is closing fast.
5. Pest Takeover
Suddenly seeing an army of whiteflies, hornworms, or stink bugs? Weakening plants become magnets for pests in Florida’s bug-friendly climate.
When your Central Florida tomatoes start attracting more critters than they did mid-season, it’s nature’s way of recycling plants that are past their prime. The pest pressure becomes too overwhelming to justify continuing.
6. Dried Leaf Edges
Crispy, brown leaf margins aren’t just signs of thirst. In Florida’s intense late summer conditions, this symptom appears even with proper watering.
The plants simply can’t process water efficiently anymore after months of production. North Florida gardeners often spot this right before their first mild fall temperatures arrive, signaling the natural conclusion of growing season.
7. Leggy Growth
When your once-bushy plants start resembling tall, spindly trees, they’re redirecting energy away from fruit production. The longer daylight hours in Florida’s summer trigger this stretching behavior.
Many Southwest Florida gardeners notice their plants getting increasingly bare at the bottom while growing taller. This vertical growth comes at the expense of fruit development and indicates declining productivity.
8. Declining Harvest Volume
Remember those days of picking basketfuls? When you’re down to just a few tomatoes every week, your plants are winding down production.
Even in Florida’s extended growing season, this gradual decrease is normal. East Coast Florida gardeners often track this decline, knowing that when they’re gathering only a handful where they once collected pounds, it’s time to prepare for the next planting.