Brief example of how "meaningless" DTM info can be

[ContainerTed]

Craig, I agree with the pots being warmer early on. In my case, I think the shade that I must endure slows things and may balance out. Anyhow, this year is the best yet.

I'm also doing an experiment on how much direct sunlight affects the plants. Nothing real scientific, but had the opportunity to conduct a comparison.

I have two each of rugose leaf Golden Dwarf Champion, a regular leaf Mini Gold, and a potato leaf Stump OTW. One of each is in my area that gets "Shade - Sun - Shade - Sun" each day. The others get "Shade-Sun". The first group gets about 8 hours of total direct sunlight with a three hour break in the middle. The second group gets direct sunlight beginning at 10 AM and that continues until sunset - about 10-11 hours with no break.

So far, it seems like the first group has more bloom sets in this 90+ heat. The second group fattens up set tomatoes faster than the shade group. No hard data here, but my gut tells me that the toms with more shade are less stressed. The idea for this comparison came from last year when I kept Siberian and Sub-Arctic Plenty going in the "Hot-lanta" drought period by utilizing shade and giving the plants a "cool drink" just before the direct sun got to them. I'm convinced that kept the roots from cooking.

We'll see if production and plant heights, etc bear out any other data that might be significant. Right now, though, it really looks like shade has a definite use in this heat. My only concern with my shade is whether or not the plants can get enough photosynthesis accomplished to give full flavored toms.

Ted