It should be too hot!

[beninla]

The weather has been nice for now in Los Angeles for tomatoes; daytimes are around 80. Because of the cold and rainy winter I planted my tomatoes much later than usual this year, and the first fruit are starting to ripen, but unfortunately rats already ate the very first ones.

Bill, can you please share what varieties are setting fruit for you in such heat? I am also wondering when do you plant your last batch of tomatoes and what varieties do you plant for the fall?

Thank you,
Ben

[b54red]

Originally Posted by beninla

The weather has been nice for now in Los Angeles for tomatoes; daytimes are around 80. Because of the cold and rainy winter I planted my tomatoes much later than usual this year, and the first fruit are starting to ripen, but unfortunately rats already ate the very first ones.

Bill, can you please share what varieties are setting fruit for you in such heat? I am also wondering when do you plant your last batch of tomatoes and what varieties do you plant for the fall?

Thank you,
Ben

The absolute best at setting fruit in the hottest weather and I mean really hot is Indian Stripe PL. Others that set well in the heat are Pruden's Purple, Spudakee, Gary O' Sena, JD"s Special C Tex and Arkansas Traveler. Others that will set fairly well if kept watered and well cared for in hot weather are Limbaugh's Legacy, Brandywine Cowlick's, Delicious, Neves Azorean Red, Crynkovic Yugoslavian and Berkley Tie Dye Pink. I'm sure there are others that slip my mind right now but those are some of the better ones.

This year I planted my last batch of tomatoes on June 11th and don't plan on setting any more out for fall. It has just been too hot to use the greenhouse for the past month to do any more grafting and with my fusarium and nematode problems it is usually not worth the trouble to plant any heirlooms that aren't grafted. Usually I set out my last planting for my fall and late summer tomatoes in late July but sometimes will set out a few well into August but the heat this year has just made it too difficult so I am going to try to keep some of them alive long enough to get a few tomatoes in the fall.

The varieties that really stand out as fall tomatoes for me are Spudakee, Limbaugh's Legacy, and Arkansas Traveler. If I could only pick one it would be Arkansas Traveler because it has been the most consistent producer in the fall. Others that do fairly well in the fall are BTDP, Brandywine Cowlick's, Neves Azorean Red, and Red Siberian. Fall tomatoes are tricky because sometimes it remains really hot here very late into the fall and only the varieties that set great in the hottest weather will do much and other times if cool nights move in you need a tomato that ripens better in cooler weather so I usually plant a mix of the two types. One year and only one year Brandywine Sudduth's did great in the fall but we had a long slightly cool fall with decent rainfall which is unusual down here. Usually our falls are dry, dry and hot then suddenly the cool nights move in and that is when a tomato like Arkansas Traveler really shines. My best advice for fall tomatoe is plant a variety every year and sometimes you will be surprised by what works and what doesn't.

Bill

[ScottinAtlanta]

I would add Cherokee Purple to the list of those who like hot weather.

[beninla]

Bill, thank you so much for all your valuable advice. I will try planting many of the varieties you mentioned next summer.

Scott, thank you for recommending Cherokee Purple.

I actually have 2 Cherokee Purple plants and also a Crnkovic Yugoslavian plant growing right now, so hopefully they will continue setting fruit when the hot weather starts.

[b54red]

Originally Posted by ScottinAtlanta

I would add Cherokee Purple to the list of those who like hot weather.

Spudakee is the potato leaf version of Cherokee Purple and it has been more productive and a bit more resilient than CP for me.

Bill