Hi all!

Hope you are all managing to stay well-hydrated and cheerful in spite of the extreme temps.

I've been traveling a lot for my job lately, so it's been difficult to tend to my garden as much. Unfortunately, my monster tomato plant has shown signs of succumbing to the harsh reality of desert life. Lots of crisp, crunchy, deep-fried leaves; stunted, pruned green fruit; and leaves folded inward as if bracing themselves for the onslaught.

I tried to create a makeshift shade structure of bedsheets and shepherd's hooks but the wind seems to be in cahoots with the heat.

So, my questions are:

1) For plants in general, I'm assuming that just like in the winter, it's best to keep the dead/crisp leaves in tact because they protect/insulate the plant from more damage?

2) Should I just pluck the remaining green fruit off of my tomato plant now...will that help the plant deal with the heat a little better?

3) How much shade is enough? My shade structure will protect the plant from about 3:30pm on...but if it needs more than that I'm going to need to do some more work.

4) Should I just let the tomato plant die? Will it produce again this fall if I keep it alive?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks as always!