Hot weather - what's likely to happen?

[tam91]

Picturing the looks I am going to get from all these men where the garden is

[Direct Sunlight]

Nasty heat wave here-- it was 106 officially, 108 at my house yesterday. The day before it was 104 I think. I've had one of the tomato seedlings die each day, & will probably lose a couple of others despite watering twice a day. I have a makeshift shade, made of opaque glass from old shower doors that we've taken down. It cuts about 1/3 of the sunlight out, judging from the amount of shade underneath and the cooler feeling of the ground below. Still, I decided to move it back toward the house a couple of feet, will provide shade from the building about an hour sooner. Fall gardens I've heard are great if you can get them started.

No idea on how to protect the plants once I set them out, other than to put sections of newspaper or cardboard around them. That idea came from an old gardening book I found on the Kindle.

The one good sized plant I've got in shade all but a few hours a day has made a bunch of flowers. It's a riesentraube. The odds of it setting fruit in this weather are low, but it's encouraging just the same.

[tam91]

Well when I watered them today, they look delighted. Quite a bit of wind, should help with pollination. No blossom drop so far - so fingers crossed.

[Ruth_10]

Forecast here for the next five days is about 105 +/-2 deg. The soil is bone dry. No rain in the forecast.

I'm only worried about my tomatoes because I've got them mulched with newspaper and straw (peppers as well), but the rest of the garden--I'm really worried. We've had 1.25 inches of rain since late May. Watering just isn't the same as a good rain.

I have one tomato plant (Lime Green Salad with a number of fruits) in a container and I've just moved it to the deck so it gets shade during the peak sun hours.

I really feel for people who make their living from growing things for market--this kind of weather has to just suck the life out of them.

[PA_Julia]

Yes if the blooms are drying up obviously the toothbrush method is of no use.
I'm sorry to hear this.


Julia

[lakelady]

Its plenty hot, no doubt. I'm just hoping the tomato plants survive this heat because so far, we made it through the last heat wave, but number 2 could be the one that kills the blossoms. I too, feel sorry for the farmers who need these crops for their living, it must be like living on eggshells praying for good weather and water.

[nctomatoman]

Well, the heat came to Raleigh as well, of course - 106 today (105 at the airport, so didn't set the all time record - meaning highest temp ever recorded) - but we are due for 107 tomorrow. so that will do it.

Planting my tomatoes in early-mid May did the trick - plants are 6-7 feet tall (Dwarfs 3-4 feet tall) and loaded - I mean loaded - with fruit, so it is about keeping the plants sufficiently watered so as to avoid BER.

My regimen - water at around 9 deeply - do a spot check/top up the tomatoes at around 2-3 - then if needed, more around 5-6. today that wasn't needed - and the eggplant and peppers did well with just the morning watering.

Took about 1 hour to water everything - back deck/back yard flowers, big side garden (beans, squash, etc), and driveway (600 pots). And only about 20 min to do the mid afternoon tomato rewater. Everything is looking fine - and harvest is just around the corner.

Big concern - if things start ripening now, what will the plants be producing on July 28 (Tomatopalooza)? Things are being pushed hard.

[Skaggydog]

Seems to me Tomatovillians just love to complain. Last week it was too much rain and too cold, now it's no rain and too hot. You just got to go with the flow. Where I'm from you used to have to throw up some shade, hook up a mister and put some ice in with the mulch each morning to get tomatoes. Now, with Global Warming, we're getting a brake in the heat with a little bit of moisture in the air. Summer rain? Never seen any until a couple of years ago, again thanks to Global warming it's getting a little nicer in this desert.

Electric toothbrush?? We just let the gophers shake the plants.

[tam91]

Interesting, I put my plants in mid May also. The ones at my house in containers are tiny, not growing well. I water them, but they just aren't thrilled. The plants at my extra garden, in the ground, are delighted! They're not real tall - 2 1/2 - 3 feet - but thick stems, bushy, lots of fruit set and some pretty large, and covered in blossoms. Interesting.

[hardwaterbob]

My plants are all outside and all are doing well. I have 3 gardens one gets 100 % sun the other two get shade one gets direct am sun the other gets pm sun. I have mulched with a layer of newspaper and then placed well aged straw around the ground. I collect the rain water when it comes and water every other day in the AM before sunrise or at night so the water won't evaporate during the sunshine and wind. I live 20 miles from Tam and the temps fall off at night to lower to upper 70's. This seems to be perfect growing for tomatoes and peppers and squash and such. I certainly am not having any major issues in fact I have had ripe cherries already and I am planting my second crop of tomatoes.

HWB

I hope your garden gets better. The rain sure was a blessing and more is needed and on the way

[tam91]

Thanks Bob. My second garden (in the ground) is terrific. It's just the container plants that aren't so deleighted.

[livinonfaith]

I'm in the same general area as Craig (central NC, just South of Raleigh) and am also expecting 106-107 today. My goal right now is to keep the plants doing well enough to hold on the the tomatoes (or cukes, or peppers or eggplants) that they have already set.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to water last night, which is what I really like to do with the straw bales and the containers. I wanted them to have all night to soak up that water, so that the plants would go into the day fully hydrated, but without having so much water that the roots are just sitting there steaming.

I ended up giving them a medium amount this morning and will just check them throughout the day. Hopefully, they will be okay until the heat starts to subside this evening and then I'll give them more. I wasn't early enough to really soak them and to be sure they had time to drain well before the heat hit.

Setting more fruit at this heat isn't going to happen, so I've let that dream go for the moment.

[nctomatoman]

Well, it was inevitable! So many plants, so much time keeping them watered that I've been remiss in really disciplined pruning and topping....and tying (the dwarfs are growing very vigorously and are getting heavy with fruit). So.....

Last night we escaped heavy T Storms and hail, but some pre-storm gusts must have come through, because I have a bit of a pick up sticks effect. Or, should say, had. My Saturday morning, which was to have been one hour max of watering, turned into 3.5 hours of rearranging, pruning, picking up, tying, topping - then watering!

And the reality is that the next storm that comes through will create another, different - but complicated - pick up sticks arrangement! Glad that things are starting to ripen - one of my annual events is a driveway full of plants lying this way and that. It just may happen sooner than later!

[tam91]

Well I only got 1/2 inch of rain, not enough to create any pick up sticks effect. Sigh. Well 1/2 inch is better than nothing anyway.

[nctomatoman]

We didn't get a drop of rain - it was the gust front that blew in from the storms that were north of us! So we got the mess, but none of the benefit! Dry as a bone here....