[Arid_gardener] Specifc Hot Weather Tomato list

[Dick]

I'm by no means a tomato expert but from personal experience, I believe all tomatoes will do fairly well in the Salt River Basin with the proper care. Cherries of several varieties flourish here. Beef steaks exposed to direct sun struggle with sunburn. To prevent that, I've sprayed the exposed fruit with a mixture of water and baking soda--the water evaporates and the white powder reflects the sun. Fruit within the foliage will experience safe windows of direct sun without burn. I try to push foliage by using as much nitrogen fertilizer, 21-0-0, as I dare.

See what the local retail nurseries are carrying. Other varieties may be okay in your yard but the plant nurseries aren't likely, knowingly, to stock anything marginal on their shelves.

Keep in mind, however, that tomato pollen is not viable, that means it is dead, over about 90 degrees F ambient. Covering with shade cloth may extend the set a few days but don't forget that it is the temperature that kills the pollen, not the sun itself.  Get your plants in the ground as early as possible so that the "set" is in well before reaching that critical temperature. Fruit already set is likely to ripen and an occasional fruit may sneak through the 90 degree mark. It may help to gamble with the last frost but be prepared to cover your plants if the weatherman issues a late-spring frost warning. 

Tomatoes like warm soil and transplanting the seedlings too soon may, I've noticed, retard growth.

You should have hearty seedlings ready to transplant as soon as it is safe, like right now! Use tomato caps if you can find them, or make your own, until the seedlings are established and vigorously growing in their new environment.

Dick Gross, Master Gardener Volunteer
University of Arizona 
Maricopa County Cooperative Extension  
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Dusty Trails 
  To: arid_gardener at Ag.arizona.edu 
  Sent: Friday, January 25, 2008 10:44 PM
  Subject: [Arid_gardener] Specifc Hot Weather Tomato list


  Please publish a list of the best available HOT weather tomato varieties.
  Are there draught resistant varieties, that tolerate the high temps that can dry the ground out within hours.

  Dusty Trails
  That man is the richest whose pleasures are the cheapest.
      Henry David Thoreau


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