Floradade

Floradade tomato seeds grow into determinate plants reaching 49–60 in, bearing red fruit about 5–7 oz. This slicing tomato is especially suited to fresh slicing, humid southern gardens, cooking, and tested canning recipes. Maturity is 70-79 Days from transplanting.

About Floradade

Floradade is a slicing tomato grown as Solanum lycopersicum L. Plants have a determinate habit and reach 49–60 in; support is listed as cage. The principal mature or market color is Red, with fruit described as about 5–7 oz. Reproductive classification: Open-Pollinated (OP). Maturity: 70-79 Days. Names associated with this variety include Tomato, Tomato Seeds - Determinate - Floradade Tomato, Flora-Dade.

• Scientific name:Solanum lycopersicum L.
• Life cycle:Annual
• Planting season:Spring
• Growth habit:Determinate
• Plant height:49–60 in
• Sunlight:Full sun
• Seed depth:1/8 in
• Germination:6–12 Days at 75–90 °F
• Spacing:24 in between plants; 36 in between rows
• Soil:Loamy; pH 6.0–6.5
• Water:Moderate
• Support:Cage
• Reproductive type:Open-Pollinated (OP)
• Fruit:Red; About 5–7 oz

History and seedkeeping context

Floradade, also recorded as Flora-Dade, is a determinate tomato adapted to humid southern conditions. Floradade belongs to the modern tradition of tomatoes selected for performance in warm, humid production regions. It should be judged by heat-season fruit set, disease response, and harvest quality under local conditions rather than by romanticized origin claims.

Floradade is maintained in this catalog as an open-pollinated (op) slicing tomato. Published records support the cultivar name and the observable fruit and plant traits used on this page. Where the available documentation does not preserve a complete breeder, family, or community chain, Species-level tomato domestication in Andean South America is kept separate from the later history of this named cultivar, which may involve farmers, public breeders, gardeners, market growers, and seedkeepers in other regions.

The listed heritage classification is Non-GMO; it describes the catalog classification and does not prove an undocumented origin story.

Fruit, flavor, and kitchen use

Floradade is best for fresh slicing, humid southern gardens, cooking, and tested canning recipes. The expected flavor is classic sweet-tart tomato flavor with juicy flesh and balanced acidity. Fruit is described as red and about 5–7 oz. Use a tested current recipe for home canning; cultivar name alone does not establish safe acidity. Floradade is especially useful for fresh slicing, humid southern gardens, cooking, and tested canning recipes. Flavor and eating quality are described as classic sweet-tart tomato flavor with juicy flesh and balanced acidity. For home canning, use a tested current recipe; cultivar name, color, or perceived sweetness does not establish safe acidity.

How to grow Floradade

Start Floradade indoors about 6 to 8 weeks before the last expected frost. Sow 1/8 in deep in a warm, evenly moist seed-starting mix; expect 6–12 Days near 75–90 °F. Give seedlings strong light, move them into larger cells before they become root-bound, and harden them gradually before planting outside after frost danger.

Plant in full sun with loamy soil near pH 6.0–6.5. Space plants 24 in apart and rows 36 in apart. Maintain moderate moisture, mulch after the soil warms, and keep foliage off wet soil where possible. Set up cage at transplanting. The determinate plant reaches 49–60 in.

Season care

• Give Floradade strong light from emergence so seedlings remain stocky rather than stretched. • Install cage when transplanting; adding support after vines are large can damage roots and stems. • Water at the soil line and maintain even moisture to reduce cracking, blossom-end rot risk, and stress-related fruit problems. • Harvest when the fruit has reached its cultivar-specific color and gives slightly to gentle pressure; color alone can be misleading on green, purple, or striped varieties. • Use 70-79 Days as a planning range rather than a guaranteed calendar date; weather and transplant stress can shift first harvest.

Harvest and maturity

70-79 Days from transplanting under suitable conditions. Harvest when the cultivar-specific color has developed and the fruit gives slightly to gentle pressure; green-ripe, striped, purple, and dark cultivars require more than a simple red-color test.

Saving seed

Tomatoes are primarily self-pollinating, but occasional crossing can occur. To maintain Floradade, save seed from several healthy true-to-type plants and bag unopened flower clusters when extra isolation is needed. Allow labeled fruit to ripen fully, squeeze the seed and gel into a container, ferment briefly until the gel releases, rinse clean, and dry the seed in a thin labeled layer. Store the finished lot cool and dry with the year, source, plant count, and isolation notes.

Common questions