Growing Tomato Celebrity
in Northeast Florida Vegetable Gardens
Easy to find and easy to grow Celebrity tomatoes are an AAS winner with extremely high pest and disease resistance that holds up to Florida’s heat. Good selection for new tomato growers, celebrity is an all around tomato hybrid that is easy to grow even with no tomato growing experience. Uniform 3.5 inch fruits are near 8 0z each and resistant to cracking, making it an ideal selection for Northeast Florida’s rain prone gardens. Semi Determinate tomato selection will grow to 10 ft but keep producing tomatoes till frost. Matures at 70 -90 days.
Origins, Foliage, Fruit and Use of Tomato Celebrity for Northeast Florida vegetable gardens:
Celebrity tomatoes are an American bred Hybrid, the result of the tomato crossing efforts of Colen Wyatt of Petoseed. And the 1984 winner of the All-American Award Winner.
Uniform fruits sill ripen at 3.5 inches across and weigh approximately 8 oz. Good tomato fruit for cooking. The foliage will form a bush and maximum height is about 10 feet.
Planting Season for Celebrity Tomato in Jacksonville and St. Augustine Florida and the surrounding areas:
Tomatoes are considered a warm season crop, they are frost sensitive and should only be planted in frost free months in Northeast Florida vegetable gardens. However, tomato growing season is split into two seasons in Northeast Florida as tomato production will slow to nearly nothing during the hottest summer months of June and July.
Start your tomato plants in February from seed, and February straight through March and April from S & J Nursery transplants. The second growing season for tomato plants in the Jacksonville and St. Augustine area garden is August and September, Celebrity tomatoes can be planted out again in those months and allowed to fruit up until the first killing frost.
Sun Exposure for Growing Celebrity Tomatoes in Northeast Florida Vegetable Gardens:
Plant your Tomato Celebrity in a full sun or afternoon sun location for the Jacksonville and St. Augustine area garden. Make sure they will receive a minimum of 6 hours of direct sunlight for best results.
Soil Preferences for Tomato Celebrity in the Jacksonville and St. Augustine Florida areas:
Celebrity tomato plants will do best in the Northeast Florida garden when grown in soils that have been generously amended with compost and cow manure. Be sure to plant into well drained soils and not in an are that will have standing water after a hard rain.
Care of Tomato Celebrity in the Northeast Florida Vegetable Garden:
Staking your Celebrity Tomato plant:
Celebrity tomato is a determinate variety that will grow to 10 ft and requires no pruning. A large store bought tomato cage should suffice.
Watering your Celebrity Tomato Plants:
Newly planted tomato plants will require watering daily for the first few days to a week after being planted from seed or transplanted from an S & J Nursery container.
Once the tomato plants are established and growing, be sure to keep the soil moist by watering at least twice per week if rainfall is scarce. Container grown tomato plants will need watered 3 to 4 times per week, or every time the top two inches of soil is dry to the touch.
Mulching your Celebrity Tomato plants:
For maximum growth potential, mulching plants generously, this will help conserve moisture.
Fertilizing Your Celebrity Tomato plants:
Feed every two to three weeks with an all purpose fertilizer like 6-6-6.
Or for an organic approach, try fertilizing with a mixture of fish emulsions and seaweed (kelp) at one ounce each per gallon of water. Apply semi weekly as a foliar spray.
If your vegetable plants look like they could use a boost, give them a good watering with homemade compost tea as soon as the top few inches of soil around your plant is dry to the touch!
Harvesting Your Celebrity Tomato in the Northeast Florida Vegetable Garden:
Celebrity tomatoes can be harvested when green and allowed to ripen indoors if needed but best flavor will develop when they are allowed to ripen on the plant and picked when fully red.
Store at room temperature for 2-3 days once picked from the vine. For best results do not refrigerate.
Expect tomatoes to be ready to harvest from your Celebrity tomato plants in 70-90 days from planting.