Now I'm no expert here, but I have heard that Black Krim didn't do too well in hot climates. I could be wrong, though...

I usually stick to Better Boy, Sweet 100, Early Girl, Big Boy, Beefsteak, and Roma, which always do well and I enjoy (Except for early girl, which isn't all that, I just love to have an early tomato)
This year I ventured off, and am trying Brandywine(which I've heard, doesn't do too well in hot climates, but I really wanted to try it.), Park's Whopper, Celebrity, and German Queen.
I'm not sure how those do in hot climates, but they were recommended to me...

I do have relatives in the Okatie/Jasper County area that do Better Boy every year and always have success, so I'm not sure what you tried last year.

Not much. ;) Most tomatoes just won't set fruit at those temps. It's the nature of the beast.

From the FAQ:

Tomatoes, peppers and beans are especially picky about the air temps when it comes time to set fruit. If the night temps fall below 55 or rise above 75 or if the day temps are above 90, the pollen becomes tacky and non-viable. Pollination cannot occur. If the bloom isn't pollinated, the bloom dies and falls off.

To get around that problem we plant early to get fruit set before the heat sets in then just baby the plants trough the heat until the weather breaks and they kick into production again.

Sometimes an early morning bloom brushing or a cage rattling walk through the plants before the temps rise helps get some fruit set. Some cherry varieties seem more heat tolerant than larger fruit varieties.

We have tried many of the so-called heat tolerant varieties over the years and while some like Sunmaster, SunKing, Sunfire, etc. will set fruit, the taste isn't worth waiting for or wasting garden space on IMO.

Providing shade for the plants in the heat of the day can also help - good for maybe 10 degrees. So does mulching. But once the heat and humidity reach their peak the pollen just isn't viable so no fruit.

Dave

I am trying Better Boys and am also going to give Brandywine a try this year. I am also going to try some Super Sioux midsummer for late summer/fall harvest. I heard they do well in heat.
The spreadsheet that is available on the tomato thread gives an indication of which varieties are heat tolerant.
I planted on March 7th and have protected on cool nights with milk jugs then larger items and they are doing well. I'm hoping for some production before the inevitable heatwave sets in. Best of luck.

I mulched KBX with 6in. of wheat straw and had toms until frost.

I've grown all kinds of toms that are supposed to heat tolerant, but tolerant is a thin line..
Most if not all tomato's blossoms become sterile once the low temps hit 75 and the highs hit 95 +..high humidity causes the pollen to become sticky and hampers pollination.

Last year my Black Krim well, until the mid June heat set in..as did the Florida 91 (not best in flavor but acceptable), which was one of the best heat tolerant I have ever grown, but it too turned over..all of my other determinate toms gave up the ghost by late July..as is their design..they produce then die back..the Black Krim had died off but still showing green, so I cut off the browned areas and sure as fitting as an indeterminate does, it came came back and I started showing more blossoms once the temps cooled in early late September..
and produced until the freeze in Mid December..

Happy gardening

This is actually a frequent question here, below is a link to previous answers.
And to clarify on what Dave/Digdirt quoted above, it's not actually true that "pollination cannot occur" when temperatures are above 90 degrees, at least not in California, because I get tomatoes all summer long, and our summers have long spells above 100 degrees. I think it is more DIFFICULT when temps are high and some tomatoes produce better than others when it's hot, but I think the bigger factor is HUMIDITY. Perhaps the person who wrote that FAQ answer lives where it's humid in the summer?
And of course it may be the correct answer for the original poster, because her name implies she lives in South Carolina, which I believe is pretty humid. But I don't want all the newbie Californians on this board to think nobody in our state gets any tomatoes all summer, because if that were true, Sacramento wouldn't be the epicenter of the tomato canning industry that it is!

Carla in Sac (who all summer long dodges tomatoes falling off the cannery trucks on the freeways)

Here is a link that might be useful: Hot weather tomatoes

I think here in hot & humid SC, we may just have to accept that our plants my stop/slow production for a time this summer. Our climate has the double whammy, excessive heat and excessive humidity. We do have the advantage of a later frost which may make up for our plants' "summer break". You never know though. You may luck out and one or two may be the exception. I'm just going to care for them and not worry about production during the heat's peak. Who really wants to be outside that much that time of year anyways?

Last summer my tomatoes that were in a shadier area did much better than full sun. (In Fla summer full sun is laser-like).

I did well with cherry tomatoes: Dr. Carolyn and Black Cherry.

This year I'm trying Sun King and Solar Set to see if I can get a summer slicing tomato. They will be in the shade of a palm tree facing south.

Denise

im in bakersfield and i plant early girls.i just do it real early in the year.this year it was the first week of feburary.as long as there is no more frost mornings,you can plant.i usually get tomatoes through july.then in august the plants start to die.

I grew Ramapo tomatoes last summer here in Sacramento, it gets over 100 degrees on a regular basis. I grew four plants and had tomatoes coming out the wazoo all summer.

Here is a link that might be useful: Midnight Gardener Forum

Hi okatie,
Cherry tomato plants will just consistently yield better in the heat. We all wish it weren't so.

Carla, you have a list? Where is it?

Here in Tucson, we have two summers. The first is May-June. We usually get our first 100 degree day in mid to late May. June is our hottest month, with 100+ degree days at least half of the month. This first summer is hot and quite dry. I love it. Our second summer is July through mid-September known as Monsoon. It is still very hot but the humidity increases and heavy rains are normal. So here, we have both kinds of heat throughout the summer months.

This summer is my biggest "test" summer. I believe last count was 23 plants in my back yard garden. (And Jan, I'm not divorced yet!), and I will take careful notes and report on the results.

First casualties of the extremely low humidity and strong desert winds this Spring are Pruden's Purple and Aunt Mary's German Green--both dried and shriveled. Green had begun setting a couple of fruits, but it was clear that this one wasn't going to make it. Both were pulled and replaced.

I won't bore everyone with the whole list, but some varieties I'm interested in watching closely are Goose Creek (said to be heat and cold tolerant), Super Sioux (going like gangbusters so far), Hawaiian Tropic, Mule Team, Mrs. Maxwell's Big Italian, Heartland, some cherries and a few of the heat set determinates developed for Florida. Oh, and my steady standby, Stupice. I have two of 'em and they'll be with me until December.

I am constantly searching to learn about heat tolerant varieties. I heard about Mexico too late to try it this year, although I am growing it as a possible replacement plant. I am extremely curious about two varieties known as Gary'O Sena and Dora that I recently discovered, said to do very well in humid heat. If anyone has experience with these varieties, or others that produce in ridiculous heat, I'd love to hear from you.

My Roma's did quite well here last summer in our sometimes 100+ temperature summers here in TN.

I'm in NC and always grow some Arkansas Travelers. I think you'll be happy with them. Slow to get started but very reliable in hot weather and very productive. Oh, and they taste great too.

The List, for those who are too worn out from doing taxes to click through the above links:

Large varieties for hot weather (above 100 degrees):
Mexico, Giant Belgium, Stump of the World, Marianna's Peace, Big Beef, Brandy Boy, Boondocks

Medium/paste varieties: Stupice, Jetsetter, Arkansas Traveler, Burgundy Traveler, Manalucie, Moskvich, Orange Russian 117 (altough these can grow to beefsteak size), Peron, Jubilee, Heidi, Italian Gold

and

just about all cherry/grape tomatoes.

:)

Carla in Sac

Thanks for all the interesting feedback.

Yes it is extremely humid as well as hot here in the summer and I imagine not much like California.

I did have some cherries that produced until November.
I'm very interested to see how the Arkansas Travelers do, and I do also have a couple of Goose Creek in the mix -- of course that is a "local" tomato here in coastal SC and the lore around it is interesting. Some of the others, such as the "Mexico" I've never heard of ... maybe next year.

I'm also going to put a few in the shade and see if they tolerate the midsummer sun better. I've never tried planting a second crop midsummer before, but I've seen in mentioned on the Clemson U. Extention website, so I might try that this summer too.

Does extreme humidity cancel out some of those varieties that do well in the heat? What I'm asking is humidity a whole separate subject, because even if it isn't over 90 degrees here, the humidity is unbelievable. 4 steps out of the house and your shirt is stuck to you.

Hate to bring up this thread, but I thought I would update on how my tom's did last year.

Surprisingly, my number one producer was Park's Whopper, then Celebrity, and (of course) Sweet 100.
I am planting this week, and I am trying Arkansas Traveler and Talladega, but sticking with Parks Whopper, Celebrity, and Better Boy.

Okatie- How did Goose Creek do? I would like to try that this year!

Happy Gardening!