Its 94 degrees on LI. How do I protect my tomato plants

[Elliot]

I reas that Tomato plants won't form fruit if the temperature is too high. Is there anything I can do to beat this heat wave?

[SmokyOkie]

No. They will, however produce well when temperatures moderate.

[Elliot]

What is strange is that tomatoes on one hand, love hot weather but not too hot

[meadowyck]

If their in containers, bring them inside. How long is your heat wave suppose to last?

[b54red]

Just make sure to give them plenty of water. A few days of high temps shouldn't stop them from setting fruit if they aren't stressed too much by lack of water.

[lakelady]

I had posted similar about the heat wave too, there are some good tips in that thread.

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=23477

[babice]

I went home at lunch to water my container toms and to see if I should push them into the shade. It's friggin hotter than blazes out there! Currently 94. We've had this heat wave since this past weekend so my container toms have been enduring mid-90 temps for about 5 days now. They look just fine, though! So I decided not to push the toms into the shade. Plus it's supp'd to cool off overnight and the heatwave should be over for a while for us. But I would have pushed them into the shade if I this was going to last longer than the 5 days they've already been through this.

Elliott - one thing to consider is, are temps getting to 70 or lower overnight? If so, they're getting the chance to cool off and that's great. Wasn't getting that low for us during this heat wave so I was wondering how that would affect mine but they're growing like weeds. But, if you're concerned that's it's not getting cool enough at night and your heat wave will last a long time, water them generously and mulch them heavily. And push them into the shade, if you can, until it passes.

I think of anything in the 90's as warm weather and my tomatoes do fine. When it reaches the 100's, I think of the weather as hot.

One year, I placed some misters around my tomato plants to see if it would help keep them cool. I placed an outside thermometer on one of the plants and it was about ten degrees cooler than outside of the misted area. The mist would however form condensate on some of the plants. Every leaf with condensate would shrivel up and die. It cooled the area, but severely damaged the plants.

I also used shade cloth on some plants last year and it did help protect the plants. They didn't seem to mind the temps much, but the strong sunlight was a killer for those plants not shaded.

I think plenty of water and a good mulch probably works best. It helps keep the roots moist and cool.

Ted

[Dewayne mater]

94 is what tomato plants in places like Ok, La, Tx, Az, etc. consider a break! ;-) Seriously, they will be fine as long as they don't run out of water in a container. If this was a constant condition (and/or much hotter than that) then sun shade cloth is an essential tool. 95 in 50% shade is not bad whereas in direct sunlight, it feels like you are going to burst into flames. I imagine plants have a similar feeling. To give you one more ray of sunshine I believe tomatoes that ripen in hot temps have much more concentrated flavors. I've had heirlooms grown in cool places that I had also grown in N. Texas and found the cool weather ones rather bland, almost watery and disappointing flavor wise. The same plant in a hot place may quit producing during the heat, but, those that make it have flavors like a punch in the mouth. So, really a little heat might be a good thing, imo.

Dewayne mater

[duderubble]

Interesting thought dewayne, I know peppers get more intense with dry and hot weather. I never thought about tomatoes.

[SmokyOkie]

95° is a good temp for growing plants and making fruit, but most plants just don't like ot make fruit when ti gets that hot. My experience is that while a few will continue to set, for the most part, production is hugely reduced. I have found that some hybrids do better than others and that pretty well all hybrids do better than heirlooms when it comes to heat. Brandywine seems to do better for me in heat that any of the other heirlooms.

I see several people advising to water frequently because of the heat. If they are in a container and wilt daily, then you have no choice, but ......the more you water, the more cracking you will have in the fruit that is near ripe, and the more you will dilute the flavor of the mater. The fellow that ran the local Co-op for years told me abotu that fact and I have found it to be bona fide. He learned it by the fact that he never got to plant until late because he was busy selling plants. this left him with tall leggy plants. the only realisitic way fro him to plant them was with a post hole digger as some of the plants were 2' tall and taller. He found that by planting this deep, he rarely needed to water and the result was a much more flavorful fruit.

Since this lesson, I only water when the plants are showing signs of wilt, and the flavor is much more intense. Early fruit that produces while it is still raining often isn't near as tasty.

[babice]

Oh yes, Smokie Okie. I agree. I should clarify is that my recommendation to water is to be sure to very deeply water once (and anytime you water) and then get them mulched -- but I mean if you haven't done these things already. Even with containers, I wouldn't water daily unless, as you said, they're wilting.

So, Smokie Okie, do you think any affect of heat causing them to not produce fruit is permanent? Do you think they would start producing fruit again when the temps lower or is that a permanent affect? And, in your opinion, does afternoon shade help them during those high temp days?

[SmokyOkie]

Last summer was the hottest on record in Oklahoma. Daytime highs were pretty much over 100° all summer and over 110° frequently. To make matters worse, we went straight from overnight lows in the 40s to those daytime highs. 30 plants set about 10 tomatoes and that was all, then most of them got sun burnt. In August, we had a week that dropped below 90° with overnights in the low 70s and these plants went crazy setting fruit.

So no, this is not permanent IMHO. when it cools back down, which I would assume it will, they should really start setting fruit.

IMHO, afternoon shade will keep your fruit from sunburn and that is about all. 94° is 94°, sun or shade.

Just my $.02. Try me and see if I'm true to form. I'm not college educated on growing these things but I have been growing them for 35 years or more.

[zabby17]

babice,

It's not a permanent effect. The flowers that are open on the really hot days may not set fruit, but your plant will make more flowers on another day! I suppose if you had determinate plants, which tend to flower heavily over a short period, and happened to have a really terrible heat wave over that whole period, you might have your production ruined.

But for most situations in zone 5, I wouldn't stay up nights worrying that the heat will prevent tomatoes. A cool, wet summer is more often a bad tomato season than what passes for a hot, dry one in the northern half of the U.S. or all of Canada.

Tomatoes originated in South America. A few 95-degree days aren't going to do permanent damage.

Z

[feldon30]

There's no golden rule on this, but I've noticed that up North, folks aren't always impressed by purple/black tomatoes. But in Houston, they are sweet, meaty, and have an amazing flavor profile, at least for me. I have to think the heat concentrates the flavors. 95 degrees for a few days will shut down any pollination or fruit production, but the fruit you've already got may get better.