Hight heat versus Sunlight- North Texas

[Jeff_M]

Howdy,
I live in Dallas and have my tomatoes started in 5 gallon buckets.

Right now they are in the middle of my yard with full sunlight all day, but the weather is cool.
Soon I will have to setup some supports and need to find my permanent location.

Problem I ran into last year is: (I thought) when it got hot my plants seem to suffer in the top afternoon temperatures (100+). I moved them to a fence line that gave them shade in the afternoon from ~1:00PM on.

I read that tomatoes need full sunlight 8+ hours and was worried that if I move my current crop to this location they will only get ~8:00AM-1:00PM sunlight.

Should I just let them get full sunlight during the summer?
How much heat is too much heat and where is the heat vs sunlight tradeoff?

Thanks!

[Jeff_M]

Bump
Any suggestions?

[Jeff_M]

Any suggestions?
*sorry if doublepost happens..my account just got activated and not sure if my other posts will pop up*

[Tracydr]

We use shade cloth when temp starts hitting 95 degrees. Most in AZ do.

[Jeff_M]

Thanks.
Does the shadecloth and my fenceline accomplish the same thing?
The fence line will give them shade in the afternoon after around 2PM.

[jmhammRN]

My thinking is that if you could just block a few hours at midday, noon to 3 or 4, that might help. Even though it gets hotter later in the day the sun is blaring straight down at high noon which might cause more trauma to the plant and fruit. No expert here just trying to help the discussion.


Justin

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[ddsack]

The 8+ hours is just an ideal, and more of a goal for northern growers that have shorter seasons and sun that is not as hot and at a lower angle than in the far south. Even so, many people do grow tomatoes in as few as 4 or 5 hours of direct sun, working with what they have. I think your 8AM-1:00 time slot should be just fine. Sounds like you did the right thing last year.

[decherdt]

Most of mine get 5-8 hours and they do okay, but more light would help. When the July heat comes on the tomatoes stop anyway

[Dewayne mater]

You will start to notice drop off below 8 hours, still pretty good with at least 7. Below 7, plants don't grow as well or full, below 6 the plants get spindly and the fruit you get is mealy textured and low flavored.

Yes to afternoon shade when it is hot. A fence works well. Afternoon shading has worked very well for me growing in earthtainers. I start them in the spring in a full sun area and when it hits 90's plus daily, I move them to a place where they are shaded by the house starting at 3 p.m. That has resulted in plants that survive the Texas heat all summer. If they don't make it, it is because I grew weary of spraying and tending to them in the shut down times of July/August waiting for more hospital temps in the fall.

Do remember that as the earth moves into summer patterns, your shade patterns will change a good bit from where they are right now, so your ideal spot now may not be in June. Containers have an issue with over heating, and the smaller they are, the more that is the case. Because of that, after this next week of relatively cooler temps, start watching the heating effect closely. Too hot in the root zones can result in a major case of B.E.R. on your fruit because it inhibits the uptake of calcium. In addition to shade, I'd do my best to avoid locating buckets on concrete surfaces as they get very hot in the sun. Good luck.

Dewayne Mater

[Jeff_M]

Thanks very much for the help.

I guess my goal will be to keep them full sun (middle of yard) until it starts staying really hot all day.
Then I will move the buckets to the fence line to get them some shade afternoon.

Any concerns moving such a large plant? Last year they grew huge and I am now worried about breaking branches.

Thanks again!

[Cole_Robbie]

Just put up shade cloth. It's a lot easier to move the cloth than to move the plants. They make shade cloth in different percentages of light transmission. Some people use an old bed sheet. Tomatoes don't need 100% of the blazing summer sun.

[Dewayne mater]

If you go shade cloth, which I do for those I've planted in dirt, I'd go 50% sun block. That is still plenty of sunshine for them and when you walk under it, the ambient air temp feels substantially cooler!

Any time you move plant beyond a foot tall, there is a very real danger of breakage. If you are using cages or some other support, that'll help a good bit.

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

Just put up shade cloth. It's a lot easier to move the cloth than to move the plants. They make shade cloth in different percentages of light transmission. Some people use an old bed sheet. Tomatoes don't need 100% of the blazing summer sun.

No kidding! I use t-posts with PVC pipe on top to extend them, then just make a tent out of shade cloth. The first year I just used old bed sheets!
I found that Harber a freight has great deals on shade cloth. Huge sizes for about $30, enough to do my 8X16 gardens.
The plants will tell you when they start needing shade. Mine usually do fine until it's close to 100 degrees. The year I planted potatoes, they needed shade very early, when temps were bumping 90. They only made it through April but I still got a bucket full of small new potatoes.

[Kazfam]

Let your plants tell you. If they look overly stressed - move them or use shade cloth for some relief - 100 degrees is hot.

90's are returning to South Carolina later this week - yuck.

[feldon30]

Originally Posted by Kazfam

90's are returning to South Carolina later this week - yuck.

Hopefully the 3 days of cool weather was enough to get a flush of fruit setting. My plants look ready to take off.