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Mon, Nov 18, 13 at 13:47
| Hello everybody. I have a question about growing roma tomatoes in hot weather. During the summer, temps can be in the 100s for several days in a row. Last summer the soil was always dried out even when I watered daily. By about July the plants just stopped producing all together. Should I be using a shade cloth over the garden area and how often should I be watering? |
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| Probably your fellow Californians with similar climate can help you in specifics. But, in general, most tomatoes will shut down at 95F and above. But if you keep the plant healthy and going, it may resume fruiting after it cools down. It also depends on the amount of direct sun. Shading may also help. The other option is to start later in the season so by the time your mato is about to flower, the temperatures have cooled down to 90F or lower. |
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- Posted by bmoser z6PA (b2m2@moserproduce.com) on Tue, Nov 19, 13 at 9:23
| Based on this past year using shade cloth on two greenhouse structures and running circulation fans during the daytime heat my tomatoes (planted under structures in the ground) handled the heat better than previous years. Temps within the structures did reach over 100*F at times and during those periods I had a flush of ripening fruit followed by a lag 8 weeks later. Some varieties will handle the heat better in setting fruit so you might look for those. I thought that Plum Regal, a roma determinate variety bred for moderate Late Blight resistance, seemed to set fruit well in higher heat. Such a variety might handle fungal disease pressure better in allowing you to overhead mist plants to keep them cool. Try to keep plants well watered during high heat periods and use a white plastic mulch to cool the soil and retain moisture but if you notice the growing tips wilting the plants are not handling the heat well. You may just need to grow your tomato crops split on both sides of the hot period if the plants are set back too much by the heat. |
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| I grow romas every year here in Arizona. Summer temp starting in July Avg Temp 95 Aug over 100. 1. Started in April by seed after all frost- July plants are about 2'/3' high. 2. I cover the raised beds with about 2/3" of cedar wood mulch. Cheapest I can find, usually $2.00 a bag. (takes two bags for a 4'x8' bed)Keeps in the moisture and bugs don't like cedar. 3. Deep water every 3 days. Throw the hose in the bed and turn it on as low as it will go(dribble) move it around. 4. I have tomatoes thru the summer until Nov. 5. Pull the entire plant/root before freeze in Nov and hang upside down in the garage to finish ripening the green ones. I have tomatoes in there right now that are red. Growing tomatoes in heat can been done, without a cover. Just mulch a lot. In fact here in Arizona I mulch just about everything. PS if you talk to any gardener here in AZ, no matter what they grow, they will tell you to mulch, mulch, mulch. |
This post was edited by campv on Thu, Nov 21, 13 at 16:01
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| Good info from campv - many of us have hot weather like your to deal with but what jumps out of you original post is "daily watering". Unless these plants are in a container there is no reason they should require daily watering? Daily watering equals shallow watering and shallow rooting and so stressed plants that simply can't tolerate heat. Less frequent but very deep watering and the use of heavy mulch works for many of us. Consider that approach. Dave |
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