Any ideas

[amrkhalido]

HI ,
Am a novice in growing heirloom types of tomatoes as i always grow one type of tomato that is available in Egypt.
And i would like to know wether there is a possibility to grow any other type down here, i think am in zone 10, with summer heat normally reaches 40`s and full sun all day long.
Thanks, Amr

[habitat_gardener]

There have been some threads about tomatoes that grow well in the heat. But 40-45C = 104-113F! That's extreme for tomatoes. I'd guess you'd have to make a shade shelter for them.

[amrkhalido]

ye i though about to plant them in shade, but everyone is saying that tomato plants love sunlight, i think the weather here is likely like southern florida ,, thanks anyway for your reply.

[RinTinTin]

Or, do two crops: one very early, the other, have transplants ready to go into the soil when it begins to cool down. 30*C they should blossom fine, 35+ it gets real "iffy" unless you are growing a variety for the region. Your local seeds would be quite popular with some of the southern growers here if they can sustain that kind of heat...like they had all growing season.

[pinakbet]

I've lost all my tomato plants last summer. temps here reached 40C so the result = heatstroke.

[b54red]

If I were you I would order some seed for Big Beef. It is a hybrid that sets extremely good in the heat. It's not a heirloom but it sets better in the heat than any heirloom I have tried and it is a good tasting tomato with superior disease tolerance. Of the hybrids that have shown the ability to set well in the heat I recommend trying BTD Pink, Bill's Berkley Pink, Indian Stripe, and Druzba. All of these set some fruit in 100 degree weather for me this year. I had others that set a few but those were the standouts. I found that over watering every two to three days once the plants start blooming made a real difference in stopping blossom drop. I think you would also benefit from putting up a shade cloth of some type.
Sounds to me like the best thing you could do is plant much earlier or much later and try to miss the very hottest part of the summers. How cool does it get during the winter season there?

[amrkhalido]

i think winter goes down till maybe 10 degrees Celsius or 6 but just for few days a year ,, but overall from 10 to 20 degrees celsius ,,, and do u think this type is available through seed savers or where can i get it ,, thx u anyway for helping
and thx RinTinTin for your reply ,, and sorry or u pinakbet as i would suffer the same D

[tessa]

hello, amrkhalido....
i live in zone 11...so a bit hotter than you...and i grow many many tomatoes down here. i agree that big beef does well in the heat, so does black krim, many cherry varieties, arkansas traveller, green zebra and really...the list can be endless if you create the right micro climate for yourself and keep the tomatoes from drying out.

i grow my tomatoes in only 4-6 hours of sunlight per day because it is very dry here...and the leaves cannot handle the sun. so i grow in a place where they can have morning sun, or afternoon sun, but not both.
also...i have a problem with sunburn on the tomatoes, so any fruit that is exposed to sun i try to shade by putting a cloth bag over it or tie some of the leafs to it to give it natural shade.

i hope some of this helps.

[dustdevil]

Since most tomatoes don't set blossoms above 95F, you will have to time your growing season well. Shade cloth could be used at times and I hope you live near the fertile Nile. Search past threads on this forum for posts having to do with heat tolerant varieties...members living in the southern USA, where it gets hot, have posted many times on this subject. Good Luck.

[OddBall]

Hello Amr, and welcome to tomatoville

It's my first time to grow tomatoes this year, and I have started a bit early from august, my plants are planted indoors, and I was planing to transfer them outside in late september or early october like our tomato season.

But the weather isn't cooling down like usual, it's swinging around 110F(45C) at afternoons - 85F(30C) at nights these days.

As my daily job in my father's agricultural establishment, I can tell you the following:

For the variates are known to grow over here, we have heard success stories with following Open Pollinated:
- Super Marmande
- Strain B
- Pearson Improved
and others.

As for the hybrids, Petoseeds Monte Carlo F1 was the one widely used, currently it was replaced with different varieties from different companies, but in common they are 170-250 gm, globe shaped, firm fruit, and long shelf life.

hope I helped.

and by the way, what is the name of the variety that you are usually growing?

--- OddBall

[amrkhalido]

thank you tessa and dustdevil ,, i think i will try the shade option as the sun will burn the plant for sure ,, and i will also try to plant either early between march and may or late like now till november ,, it wont get too cold by november.

thank you oddball ,, i cant access these varieties here ,, i know Bahrain's weather is much hotter an drier ,, i can access tomato varieties available in the USA as i buy them online.

and i dont know the name of the variety grown widely here in Egypt as it is just one type and no one really cares about the name ,, lool ,, we do have white tomato also here in Egypt but its totally for export and the seeds are sold for acres not for home growers ,,

anyway thank you all for your help ,, and i will try to grow some beefsteak seeds to see what will go and will inform you ,,,

Amr

[mdvpc]

If you go to tomatogrowers.com, there are heat tolerant varieties there that might work for you. Varieties like sunmaster, solar set, sun leaper. They are not heirlooms, but they might set fruit for you if you put them out at the right time.

http://www.tomatogrowers.com/midseason3.htm

There is also a variety named heatwave.

What I dont know is if these varieties are bred for hot and humid areas. I live in the desert Southwest, and they will set fruit here, and its very dry.

You could also try some cherry varieties-they will set fruit when bigger ones won't.

Also, you might try researching some Israeli varieties, since they do have tomatoes growing there-in fact, quite a lot. I don't know whether the Israeli climate is cooler than yours, never having been to Israel or Egypt.

[DuckCreekFarms]

Porter and Creole come to mind for heat tolerant varieites

[amrkhalido]

i havent been to Israel too ,, but i think that the climate there is cooler in winter but in summer they grow olive as we do here in Egypt ,, i will do a research though to see ,,

and i will check about the Porter ,, it looks nice ,, thanks

[RinTinTin]

I don't know how much space you have in your garden, but an inexpensive sunscreen is to plant a row of large plants in front of your tomatoes. Okra comes to mind, as it grows tall and bushy enough to break the full sun, and okra ONLY grows well in high heat. It is originally from west Africa, so should do well where you are if you water it regularly. It is good fried, or stewed with tomatoes. You will probably be the first in your neighborhood to grow it.