Tomato Plants? Pool? Year Round? (Port Charlotte, Venice: to rent, big house, buy)

[JennySquirrel]

Does anyone know if I will be able to grown tomato plants year round in Venice?

What about the pool? can we use the pool year round? I sure hope so

[SoFLGal]

Hi Jenny,

My kids swim in the pool year 'round. It's a little too chilly for me but they are OK with it.

The growing in season for tomatoes is Oct-May. You plant them in Oct and then by May it gets too hot and they burn up/die.

[JennySquirrel]

SoFlGal, what would this forum do without you? You answer all the questions! Thanks for the info. I think I'll buy a solar cover. Maybe that will help alittle.

Is your pool heated?

[FLBob]

The season for tomatoes is fall,winter,and spring. The heat in the summer will cook the tomatoes. You'll do better with your tomatoes if you grow them inside your screen cage in large pots, at least 5 gal. Choose indeterminate varieties. The determinates will produce all at the same time.

Without heat your pool temps will mirror the temps of the gulf. We have solar heat and swim from mid-april to nov. The pool temp need to be mid 80's or I turn blue.

[SoFLGal]

I don't have a pool but my in-laws who live in Port Charlotte do, and no theirs is not heated. The lakes up north are way to cold for me as well, so I'm kind of a baby but like I said, my kids don't have any problem jumping in the pool in Jan-Mar

I would say a solar cover would be a good investment.

[ShepsMom]

Tomatoes, i would grow them inside of a green house, or inside of your own house. I gave up growing them outside, the bugs are horrible. I picked may be handfull of decent tomatoes, we had 10 bushes.
Pool, i would not swim during winter time, unless you have heated/solar pool. Too cold for me. Otherwise, yeah, i would swim while temperatures above 80.

[JennySquirrel]

Once again, thanks for all the helpful info. I will probably grow my tomatoes in big pots inside the cage. That way the bugs stay away and I can fill up a big pot with organic soil

Starting my plants in Oct. makes me smile to think about it. I'm used to not being able to get them in the ground until June. Even in June there were a few nights I had to go out and cover them due to frosts.

The house I am hoping to rent does have a heated pool and I will also buy a cover if it doesn't have one.

I'm a baby and if the water isn't 82 degrees, then I want nothing to do with it

Thanks for all the info

[Big House]

That is awesome. I love tomatoes. Our growing season in MD is from mid-April through July. I have a green house, and should use it, but I buy the starter plants and cage them out side. I did not plant any this year.

Heater or no heater, I'll swim year round. I will put a solar heater in, if the house I purchase doesn't have one. Jenny where are you from. I originally grew up near the fingerlakes and the water there would reach an invigorating 55 degrees in August!
Once when I was swimming down about 35' I thought I saw Phelps swim by - maybe it was his sister. LOL He really is a fish!

[JennySquirrel]

Big House~ Phelps would have had on his snappy laser suit probably with a heater in it LOL

I'm from Ohio. I HATE IT! I always have. I have zero patience for snow, blizzards, ice storms,etc. When I leave I will never look back. I can't wait to get out of here.

We're going to rent for the first year or so to make sure we are in the right area for us. If all goes as planned, we will be down there in about 6 weeks. Just in time for me to plant my tomatoes!

[Alphaman]

Like others have stated Oct-may is the best time for tomatoes but they do have a few heat resistant varieties you can grow in the summer so you can have year round tomatoes.

Some off the top of my head are heat wave and solar set they do well in the summer here.

The cooler season you can grow the other like beefsteak and the likes.

You can swim year round but after some adjustment you will think the winter months are too cold unless you have a solar heated pool then you can.