Shading Tomatoes
My tomatoes are in a raised bed that gets intense sun all day long. They are under stress. Blossoms are shriveling up and falling off before they set fruit. Some are even falling off before they open. The tomatoes don't seem to be growing much at all. I assume the plants are going into a survival mode. Everything in that bed is stressed out. I started shading my tomatoes today. How long can I expect for them to take to recover?
Shading will help. You may have to water them more than once a day. At midday if you can put the system on a timer mist them for a couple of minutes. It isn't for watering, more for cooling them down. Mulch to help conserve water and a drip system waters deep and slow.
You did not say what kind of tomatoes you planted, but it is better in hot climates to plant heat resistant tomatoes
Arkansas Traveller, HeatwaveII, Sun leaper, Sun chaser, Heatmaster, solar fire, Creole, Big Beef, Porter Pink, Sioux, red cherry, supersweet 100, fourth of July, sun gold, early girl, and Homestead are a few.
How long it takes to recover, really depends on how badly damaged they are. Shading and misting will help mitigate the heat but cannot by themselves revive the plants. If they are to recover, you just have to support them and wait.
It is better to plant at the right time so that the plants can set before the hottest weather sets in. Select early varieties and start indoors if you have to so they mature on time. If you know it is going to be hot. Select a location where they can get morning sun or provide shading for the hottest part of the day.
https://bonnieplants.com/library/how-to- ... t-weather/
You did not say what kind of tomatoes you planted, but it is better in hot climates to plant heat resistant tomatoes
Arkansas Traveller, HeatwaveII, Sun leaper, Sun chaser, Heatmaster, solar fire, Creole, Big Beef, Porter Pink, Sioux, red cherry, supersweet 100, fourth of July, sun gold, early girl, and Homestead are a few.
How long it takes to recover, really depends on how badly damaged they are. Shading and misting will help mitigate the heat but cannot by themselves revive the plants. If they are to recover, you just have to support them and wait.
It is better to plant at the right time so that the plants can set before the hottest weather sets in. Select early varieties and start indoors if you have to so they mature on time. If you know it is going to be hot. Select a location where they can get morning sun or provide shading for the hottest part of the day.
https://bonnieplants.com/library/how-to- ... t-weather/
Yellow pear usually does o.k. in the heat. Floridade should also be heat tolerant. Maybe you need to have hardened them off slower. Tomatoes are the exception to the rule, they need to have the lower leaves taken off leaving just the terminal 4 leaves and planted deep up to two inches from the lowest leaves.
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Gary350
- Super Green Thumb
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- Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
- Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.
Tomatoes like their roots to be in a stable cool moist soil be sure to keep the soil moist. Shade will help. I bought a black sun screen 8'x16' to put over my tomatoes. I put up 6 poles with ropes between the poles with sun shade pulled up on the poles and ropes. My shade blocks about 50% of the sun. Buy a water mister connect it to your garden hose and let it run all day it will keep the plants cooler.