So this seems to happen every year we start hitting 100 degree days. I go from beautiful golf ball size cherry tomatoes, to marble size or smaller. They are turning red at this marble size.
Is this a survival technique to stay away from the heat? Or is this a lack of a mineral? They were planted with tons of homemade compost in the Spring, and I've done a liquid fertilizer about once a month.
Thanks for any advice?
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
You know what, tomatoes just don't do well when the temps get over 90, much less 100 degrees. They have trouble setting fruit, because the pollen breaks down, they have trouble ripening fruit because the lycopenes and other things that make it red break down. You are cooking them on the vine!
You can try to limp your plants along just keeping them alive until the weather breaks. Or you can plant new seeds now to have fresh plants ready to produce well through the fall. Then you can plant seed again in late Feb (or earlier if you start it indoors) to have plants for the early season. Your tomato seasons are fall into winter and winter into spring, unlike us northerners who have summer tomatoes.
It will help if you grow heat resistant varieties and it will help if you give them afternoon shade, but I think basically mid summer is just not tomato season for you. Look for posts by our moderator Marlingardener who is also in TX.
Here's one e.g. https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... hp?t=48072
You can try to limp your plants along just keeping them alive until the weather breaks. Or you can plant new seeds now to have fresh plants ready to produce well through the fall. Then you can plant seed again in late Feb (or earlier if you start it indoors) to have plants for the early season. Your tomato seasons are fall into winter and winter into spring, unlike us northerners who have summer tomatoes.
It will help if you grow heat resistant varieties and it will help if you give them afternoon shade, but I think basically mid summer is just not tomato season for you. Look for posts by our moderator Marlingardener who is also in TX.
Here's one e.g. https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... hp?t=48072
Augh, I'm afraid you are right rainbowgardner. I was hoping for some miracle fix!
We usually can keep tomatoes going until the real brunt of summer in late July. This spring has been great here and them BAM we had days of 102+
I cant even keep my okra from not getting too hot. Not even really producing and all about 1' tall.
Thanks! Going to just keep alive until the Fall!
We usually can keep tomatoes going until the real brunt of summer in late July. This spring has been great here and them BAM we had days of 102+
I cant even keep my okra from not getting too hot. Not even really producing and all about 1' tall.
Thanks! Going to just keep alive until the Fall!
I plant heat tolerant tomatoes and they do stop producing in the hottest weather. I just keep them watered and fed and wait for them to produce again. It also helps to provide some shading in the hottest summer areas and mist at midday to cool them off a bit.
Tomatoes here are perennial until disease kills them.
Tomatoes here are perennial until disease kills them.