What Varieties Are Doing the Best in this Hot Weather?

[TomatoDon]

I planted over 500 tomatoes this year and had the best crop I ever had. I sold a lot of tomatoes and even had people driving over 90 miles to my house to pick them up. Was very surprised to experience that, but I had several customers drive long distances to buy large quantities of "canning" tomatoes, which are the ones with some small cracks and splits and minor flaws. They are still calling and messaging about wanting more tomatoes, but my crop is just about gone now. I especially hate telling the grocery stores that my tomatoes have dwindled to almost nothing because they are some of my best volume customers. I'm flattered that they are still calling for tomatoes, but I'm equally frustrated that I don't have any more to sell.

The heat finally cooked them. Days of high 90 temps, hot nights, and no rain has stopped production. All of the commercial growers in my area are reporting the same thing. Looks like the summer crop is over.

Most of my tomatoes were Goliath, which did great early. Cherokee Purple was also very productive and very popular. Next year I need more variety and more heat tolerant varieties that still taste good. I've asked people in my area, so now I wanted to ask here at Tomatoville, what are the best hot weather (with good flavor) some of the Southern growers are having success with now.

Thanks in advance, and I look forward to the replies.
DS

[Gardeneer]

I am also in the south ( Southeastern NC) but our weather has not been very hot consistently. Average highs in July was around 90F. We have few 95F too. Night lows mostly around 70F.

With that background, I have not lost a plant due to heat. When there is not enough rain I water my plants. Sure, water bill goes up.
I have pulled some varieties that I did not like because they did not produce enough.


Right now the following varieties are doing ok.
-(*)- Indian Stripe, PL
-(*)- Big Beef
-(*)- Big Rainbow
-(*)- Cuostralee
-- Esterina (cherry )
-(*)- Sungold ( cherry
-- Brandy Boy ( so so )
-(*)- Stupice
-- Juliet
-- Pruden's Purple (so so )
-(*)- German Queen ( late planting from store, ).
Plus I have 2 dark varieties, with seeds from store heirloom. They are are doing fine.

Originally I had 32 varieties but I kept zapping. Now I am down to under 20.

Those marked with (*) are the best producers so far.
I have few second planting (~ 12 , both from cutting and seeds). Some of them have fruits and setting.
Now this is my first season down here and I am not experienced with this climate but I meet my expectation.

[TomatoDon]

I wanted to plant 50+ Big Beef and Indian Stripe but just never did. I hear that Creole is a good hot weather plant, and so are Celebrity, Gulf States, Arkansas Traveler, and some others. Of the 500+ tomatoes I planted, I don't think over 5 didn't make it. I had a good survival rate. They are still living, but not producing. In fact, the sizes got smaller and then they started rotting on the vine. They would just get soft and squishy and sag or fall off. I tried watering more, etc. but nothing worked. Once it started, they all did that.

I could be selling a lot of tomatoes right now if I just had them. I want to identify several hot weather varieties that I can try next year. I'm looking for something 6 ounces and larger, preferably 8-12 ounces, with good flavor, and a variety that keeps right on producing in hot weather....days of temps of 90 and above, and some getting near 100 degrees. It is brutally hot out there his summer.

Thanks for the reply!

[TomatoDon]

What about Amelia and the various strains of the "Mountain" variety; Mountain Pride, etc. ?

[Urbanheirlooms]

We have had weather similar to Gardeneer (I live in SW Virginia just north of Gardeneer). We had a lot of rain in April/May followed by a very hot June/July with little rain. Most of my dark tomatoes - Cherokee Purple, Black Krim, Indian Stripe have withered out and no longer producing. Cosmonault Volkov, Lucid Gem, Chocolate Cherry, Sungold, Indigo Apple and very healthy looking plants and producing great. My Kelloggs Breakfast last year was one of my stronger plants, but this year, they are producing a few HUGE fruits, but the plants are not great looking. Actually one of my healthiest looking plants which is 6 1/2 feet tall and just now producing large 3/4-1 1/2# fruits is a variety in which a Tomatoville member offered seeds called "Grandpa White's". They seem to be later than most varieties, but are nicely shaped with virtually no catfacing or blemishes, large and flavorable. Unfortunately, the groundhogs have beaten me to the best ones and I haven't gotten too many making it ripe. I have been saving seeds and hope to offer them later on. Here is a picture of one after I removed the seeds:



[IMG][/IMG]

[b54red]

I have plants that I set out in mid May along with the surviving ones from March and April plantings. I am still getting regular tomatoes from Delicious that was planted way back in March but most of the rest are only producing a few fruits now and then. From my late April planting Red Barn, Indian Stripe PL, Big Cheef and Bella Rosa are the best producers but those vines are also starting to have trouble from all the diseases that have been prevalent this year. From my mid May plants the one with the most tomatoes on it now is Gary O' Sena and it has actually out produced ISPL. Frank's Large Red, Red Barn, ISPL, Berkeley Tie Dye Pink, Pruden's Purple, Kentucky Wonder and 1884 have all produced well in the heat. I also have a bed planted at the end of June and so far have only gotten one tomato from that newest bed and it was a Pruden's Purple; but so far it looks like Gary O' Sena, ISPL, Pruden's Purple, Berkeley Tie Dye Pink, 1884 and a few others have a lot of fruit on them and will soon be adding to the ripe tomatoes.

After years of growing in the summer heat by staggering my plantings I have come to the conclusion that if you want tomatoes in late July, August, and September in our heat you need to set out some plants in late April and mid May and very early June. The varieties that really pump out the tomatoes from plants set out that time of the year are ISPL, IS, Pruden's Purple, 1884, Arkansas Traveler, Royal Hillbilly, Spudakee, J.Ds Special C Tex, Limbaugh's Legacy and Frank's Large Red. There are others that do well but they are not usually as productive like Red Barn, Couilles de Taureau, Delicious, Brandywine Cowlick's, Neves Azorean Red and Stump of the World.

Every planting that I do for mid and late summer tomatoes I try a few varieties that I am not sure will work and by the fall I will know. I usually find one or two new ones that are okay to good for that time of the year and also a couple that do very poorly. A lot can depend on the weather and how hot and dry it is. The hotter and drier it is the better ISPL does in relation to all the others but Spudakee and Pruden's Purple also excel in those conditions with a bit of mulch and keeping them well watered and fertilized. In summers where a lot of rain falls in July and August you will find that the black varieties do not fare too well so it is best to have some variety. I still remember the summer I planted almost nothing but black varieties for my later plantings and we got terrible rain all through mid and late summer. The black varieties did nothing but get gray mold and split terribly and the few fruits that were spared bursting were tasteless while Pruden's Purple and Arkansas Traveler did fairly well despite the rain.

Bill

[greenthumbomaha]

It was a very hot summer here, extended upper 90 degree temps with no rain. I wouldn't say Creole was among my best tomatoes this year, far from it. However, I only grew one plant, and it was in a container. Perhaps that particular plant or soil was to blame. A small trial may be worth it in your area, but I wouldn't go all out without modest testing first.

- Lisa

Originally Posted by TomatoDon

I wanted to plant 50+ Big Beef and Indian Stripe but just never did. I hear that Creole is a good hot weather plant, and so are Celebrity, Gulf States, Arkansas Traveler, and some others. Of the 500+ tomatoes I planted, I don't think over 5 didn't make it. I had a good survival rate. They are still living, but not producing. In fact, the sizes got smaller and then they started rotting on the vine. They would just get soft and squishy and sag or fall off. I tried watering more, etc. but nothing worked. Once it started, they all did that.

I could be selling a lot of tomatoes right now if I just had them. I want to identify several hot weather varieties that I can try next year. I'm looking for something 6 ounces and larger, preferably 8-12 ounces, with good flavor, and a variety that keeps right on producing in hot weather....days of temps of 90 and above, and some getting near 100 degrees. It is brutally hot out there his summer.

Thanks for the reply!

[b54red]

I was out this morning and late this evening for a little while pruning and spraying my plants. While I was pruning I noticed surprisingly that Crnkovic Yugoslav which was set out in mid June is setting a good amount of fruit which was a surprise to me. Pruden's Purple, Spudakee, Gary O' Sena, ISPL are starting to produce really good in the heat but the fruits are not too large. I am also getting some bigger tomatoes from Limbaugh's Legacy, 1884, Neves Azorean Red, Kentucky Wonder and Red Barn. I am never surprised at ISPL, Spudakee and Pruden's Purple setting good in the heat but I am surprised when some of the others do well. This is the first year I set out a Crnkovic Yugoslav in mid summer. I try to try out at least two or three varieties that I haven't grown this time of the year hoping to find another to add to my late planting list. It isn't hard to find varieties that will do well once the cooler nights of fall get here but finding ones that will do well in the late summer heat as well as fall are much more difficult to find.

Bill

[gdaddybill]

Champion II is smaller than the original Champion but it will produce some 10 oz tomatoes in the early season and it is still producing smaller but sliceable tomatoes now in South Central Texas. It's one of the best tasting reds I've grown this year. My latest blog at arborgate.com is a tomato report with lots of photos. If it's not on the front page, click on blog and go to Bills Blog.

[My Foot Smells]

My experience with the Arkansas Traveler is that the fruit size is smaller at 12 oz. During hot droughts, it does continue to produce - but my memory suggests that the fruit gets smaller during this time. I have grown it multiple times, it can be vigourous and hearty; but not the biggest.

Thus, maybe, it doesn't imitate a sagging water balloon attached to the spigot when hit with heavy periods of rain - like the big ones. It remains rather "perky," when things get murky. I consider it middle of the road in taste, and have bumped in my rotation mainly due to space being an issue. I would rather have one of those wart hogs... but am not remised and likely will grow again.

[b54red]

Originally Posted by My Foot Smells

My experience with the Arkansas Traveler is that the fruit size is smaller at 12 oz. During hot droughts, it does continue to produce - but my memory suggests that the fruit gets smaller during this time. I have grown it multiple times, it can be vigourous and hearty; but not the biggest.

Thus, maybe, it doesn't imitate a sagging water balloon attached to the spigot when hit with heavy periods of rain - like the big ones. It remains rather "perky," when things get murky. I consider it middle of the road in taste, and have bumped in my rotation mainly due to space being an issue. I would rather have one of those wart hogs... but am not remised and likely will grow again.

I agree it is not the largest but during the heat of mid and late summer the varieties that produce the largest tomatoes don't always set many fruits. I listed a few large ones that do fairly well in the heat like 1884, Gary O' Sena, Limbaugh's Legacy, Red Barn, and Couilles de Taureau and I'll add a few more Donskoi, Virginia Sweet, and Kentucky Wonder.

Bill

[b54red]

I set out a new bed of tomatoes this morning very early and then fertilized them and my bed planted on June 19th. I checked to see which tomatoes had set the most fruit from that bed since we have had a lot of days with temps in the upper 90s and a few over 100 despite the frequent rain we have been having. Despite that some of the plants have set very well and only one or two haven't got any fruit set yet but I believe they will.

No surprise that ISPL has set the most fruit followed by Spudakee, IS, Pruden's Purple and JD's Special C Tex. Some of the larger varieties have set a few fruits and naturally they are the largest like Kentucky Wonder, Red Barn and Pruden's Purple. Surprisingly Brandywine Cowlick's has set at least 3 fruits and from the blooms I guess it will set more despite the heat. I believe that ability to set some fruit in extreme heat is the biggest difference between Cowlick's and Sudduth's which struggles to set any fruit in our mid summer heat.

Bill

[oakley]

Not that I have your temps, but close this time of year, 90+, and a neglected garden
being away for a month...water system failed.

Maglia Rosa, Brad's Atomic Grape, most cherries like SunGold, CubanYellowGrape, all
did well with less than the usual tending. B.A.G. and MRosa survived being low and short
and shaded by others. Shade seems the best program for high heat. 6-7 hours sun max.
Or dappled sun. I've not grown many determinates in years past, but under the shade of
indeterminate they are thriving.

90 here and dry in NYC today.

The same way I can keep salads growing all summer by using shade frames to reduce
the sun by half. As long as they get plenty of water.

My Salanova head lettuce from Johnny's, just a trial year this go-around, has been an
amazing heat-tolerant crop. For home gardeners and market growers. I purchased the
sale mixed mix. Gorgeous and easy to start in flats being pelleted. near 100% germination.
Well worth the extra cost, imho.

[BigVanVader]

ISPL, Granadero (for paste, I grew it outside and it seems impervious to everything) Mountain Merit along with any of the Mountain series and Better Boy. These arent the best tasting but they produce great straight through the heat. Prudens Purple can do well also but it is hit or miss.

[My Foot Smells]

guess I can vouch for better boy - even though I don't want to. planted one by mistake this year, had the old switcheroo label. not a big fan and have treated it like a step child. the thing is the best looking plant out of initial 23 spring transplants. I do get some concentric rings on top, but they are uniform and pretty prolific all season. I just don't like the taste, but mixed, make paste.