Any cultivars requiring less light?

heirloomdaddy · September 7, 2010

Hey guys.

I've got some less-than-ideal spots in my yard to grow tomatoes. One spot which gets about 3.5-4 hours was home for Japanese Black Trifele last year, and it thrived, pumping out a serious amount of delicious tomatoes. However, this year , a Green Zebra resides there, and is very unhappy. It's growing at a miserable pace and has only set 2 fruit. It's not the soil, as there is excellent organic potting soil in this bed. Same type as last year, just replenished.

So, I hear that many Russian cultivars, or varieties from places with short summers are tolerant of a little shade...This seems to be true for the JBT which is a Russian cultivar. Do you guys have any other suggestions for tomatoes that would do well with only 4 hours of direct sunlight?

b54red · September 7, 2010

I had good luck with Gary O' Sena in a very shady spot in my garden. I also had a Rostova do pretty good right next to it but it succumbed to fusarium wilt, but not before producing fairly good. One of my Linnies Oxhearts did fair in a shady spot also along with Mule Team. My Chapman and one Akers West Virginia did terrible in that area.

September 7, 2010	#1
heirloomdaddy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Los Angeles Z10 Posts: 291	Any cultivars requiring less light? Hey guys. I've got some less-than-ideal spots in my yard to grow tomatoes. One spot which gets about 3.5-4 hours was home for Japanese Black Trifele last year, and it thrived, pumping out a serious amount of delicious tomatoes. However, this year , a Green Zebra resides there, and is very unhappy. It's growing at a miserable pace and has only set 2 fruit. It's not the soil, as there is excellent organic potting soil in this bed. Same type as last year, just replenished. So, I hear that many Russian cultivars, or varieties from places with short summers are tolerant of a little shade...This seems to be true for the JBT which is a Russian cultivar. Do you guys have any other suggestions for tomatoes that would do well with only 4 hours of direct sunlight?

September 7, 2010	#2
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I had good luck with Gary O' Sena in a very shady spot in my garden. I also had a Rostova do pretty good right next to it but it succumbed to fusarium wilt, but not before producing fairly good. One of my Linnies Oxhearts did fair in a shady spot also along with Mule Team. My Chapman and one Akers West Virginia did terrible in that area.