Questions about blossom drop

[hasshoes]

So I'm thinking a need to get my plants some shade, but what about a giant fan on them- would that help?

I planted insanely late, and need to get some green maters forming ASAP.

What does the nighttime temp need to be to set fruit? I know I've read this somewhere but I can't find it. :0). Thank you!

[Timmah!]

Seventy degrees Farenheit is the upper desired limit for nightime temperature from what I understand. Mid sixties would be nice. However, along with the all-time record setting hottest June, we are now approaching the longest streak for consecutive nights at 70 degrees or better for the month of July. http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display...55682&source=0

Netting for protection from the noonday sun would probably help with your fruitset.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by hasshoes

So I'm thinking a need to get my plants some shade, but what about a giant fan on them- would that help?

I planted insanely late, and need to get some green maters forming ASAP.

What does the nighttime temp need to be to set fruit? I know I've read this somewhere but I can't find it. :0). Thank you!

YOur weather is essentially my weather so I sure do know the problems with this heat and humidity.

All a fan will do is blow the hot humid air around and trying to shade them isn't going to help either with the temps and humidity we're having and it looks like it will continue this next week as well.

I've seen some say they spray cold water on the blossoms but all that does is to clump the pollen.

Freda put out my first 26 plants the end of May and then 10 more mid-June when I received them and last Wednesday when she went through them yelling back which ones had blossoms, which ones had fruits, about half of them still didn't have blossoms and there was ONE tiny fruit on ONE plant.

I'm getting very worried b'c several years ago we had two years in a row where the first killing frost was Sept 7 and then Sept 9, not that I remember dates well or anything, and although first killing frost usually doesn't hit until the end of Sept into Oct, it can happen earlier.

[hasshoes]

Did you end up getting tomatoes last year Caroline? Lately it seems like if it's not one thing it's another. I'm trying out containers this year, maybe I should just drag them into my house for a few weeks.

[piegirl]

Heather - several times when we have had (like last 2 wks) high heat and extremely high humidity I split old thrift store sheets the long way and clothes pin them across the tops of the cages - of course now the tommies are going thru the tops of the CRW cages and it wouldn't work. Depending for how you grow yours and if you want your yard to look like a really bad garage sale ! But seemed to keep them from wilting down and they kept setting. piegirl