Quote:
Originally Posted by JerryHaskins
Thanks everybody for the input.
I went ahead and cut most of my tomato plants way back. They were looking bad anyway.
If they die as a result or get done in by frost before they make ripe tomatoes, they had a good life . . . and there is always next year.  |
I don't know where you are in Mississippi but you are probably a bit early for topping down here; but since your plants looked bad it will work. If your plants have stopped producing and setting new fruit then you really needed to do something to get them back before fall. I recommend from past experience to water the heck out of them for a few days after topping in this heat and to give them a good dose of fertilizer. It will surprise you how fast a plant can come back in this heat. You also need to spray them with fungicide and watch closely for mites.
I planted a bed of nearly 20 new tomato plants just this past week in hopes of having more good fall tomatoes. The new plants are suffering some in this near 100 degree heat we are having every day despite forecasts of high 80s or low 90s. Yesterday it was forecast to hit 88 but instead it got to 100 and that is the way it has been for the past week or more. This kind of heat is an invitation to spider mites.
Bill