Thread: Fruitset!!
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Old April 10, 2009   #48
Dewayne mater
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Join Date: May 2008
Location: DFW, Texas
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Jenna, I'm still pretty new at this hobby, but this Spring I've had 3 occassions since planting out in early March where I've covered every plant in thick clear plastic for 24-48 hours to endure temps in the 32-35 degree range. I followed moderator Suzanne's advice and put the plastic on around 5 p.m. after the day's sunshine to trap whatever heat I could and either that worked or I got lucky as all plants are healthy and most are blooming.

On the other end of the spectrum, in DFW it gets over 90 and it stays there (it actually goes up to 100 or more with frequency throughout the summer) starting in mid May or so typically. Once we're at 92+ and given the humidity which keeps the night time temps from falling much below 80, fruit set is over for me. I keep what I have alive long enough to get every tom harvested and then pull the plants. Last year I tried a fall crop starting on August 1 with transplants. This year I will start the fall crop in July to extend the fall season, hopefully. Good luck.
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