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Old January 20, 2008   #1
botanikk
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Default tomatoes on hot Sardinian Terrace

Hello everyone. I thought I'd post a message here and see what advice people can give me. I'm an American living in Sardinia, and have tried to grow tomatoes on my terrace with very limited success, even though I've read about growing them in containers, etc. The summers here are quite hot, and the climate in general seems to resemble that of the Napa valley in CA. The problem is that I get very little fruit set, problems with blossom end rot (which I know is caused my a calcium imbalance from cycles of dry and wet). In the summer, tomatoes decline rapidly, at least mine in containers. if you go outside the city, you see plenty of fields of tomatoes thriving in the hot dry Sardinian summer,with lots of fruits. I've tried varieties more suited to hot climates, but it doesn't seem to make much of a difference. I assume that I need to provide some afternoon shade and water even more frequently, but would love to hear from container gardeners in similar climates for some advice.
thanks,
Aaron in Sassari, Sardinia
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Old January 20, 2008   #2
FlipTX
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I don't have a dry climate, so I can't help you with that part, but I do have a a lot of heat in the summer. I have grown tomatoes in containers on a hot, concrete patio. For me, the best thing was to have light-colored containers, that were well insulated. I bought styrofoam containers and spray-painted them a light yellow so that they didn't degrade in the sunlight. Then I mulch with hay so that no dark soil is exposed. Also, cherry tomatoes seem to do better in this set-up than larger fruited types.
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Old January 21, 2008   #3
amideutch
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Hello Aaron, glad to see you took my advice and joined. Welcome to the land of tomatoes and maybe some others from Texas (suze) and others from down south that have 2 seasons can help you out. Great bunch of folks here at Tville and enjoy your stay.
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Old January 21, 2008   #4
dice
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Earthbox? (Has it's own water supply, as long as you check
it often enough to keep it from running dry.)

Earl posted a good description here of how to build one,
with pictures:

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...hbox#post47966

Someone in Australia if I recall correctly put a little float
in the fill-up tube, attached to a little pole with a flag on
the end that would go up and down as the water supply
was filled and then used up. When the flag disappeared,
it was time to refill the water resorvoir in the Earthbox.

You do actually need to have some calcium in your container
mix (or in your water), too. Gypsum is a good choice if they
have it around there at farm supplies or garden centers.
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Old January 21, 2008   #5
Suze
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Aaron, how hot is "quite hot"? What are your hottest months there, and what are the highs in F? Timing is important in hot climates, and a common mistake is to put the plants out too late. Could that be part of the problem? For example, here in Texas, putting the plants out even 2 weeks late can make all the difference between getting a good crop and a poor one.

I think a good first step might be to get your hands on historical monthly temps for your area (both highs and lows), if you can. Then we can determine when the best times are to grow tomatoes based on that information. I did try to do a search on that for you, but this is the closest I could come up with:

http://www.wunderground.com/NORMS/Di...520&Units=both

(anyone else care to see if you can come up w/more specific information?)

Since this is for Alghero, it may not be quite applicable. Alghero is closer to the coast, and so might have cooler summers, and warmer winters (I suspect).

Another piece of advice would be to find out when folks that grow successfully in your area start their seeds, set out their plants, etc. Perhaps easier said than done, but ask around and see what you can find out.

As for general container growing advice, I use large, light colored containers and straw mulch. Ten gallon minimum for indet plants, usually larger. I also use a soilless mix that is peat/vermiculite/perlite based. To that, I add a little slow release fertilizer and dolomitic lime. Some also use finely shredded bark as part of their mix. I've found it can be difficult to keep the moisture level even with heavier mixes (topsoil, poor quality potting mix), which can lead to BER. In containers, it's important not to let the soil dry out.

In short, water frequently, and use a light, free draining mix. I usually stick my finger into the container, and if the soil is dry a couple of inches down, I water. This may very likely translate to every day, or at the least, every other day in a hot climate. And yes, some afternoon shading can be helpful.

Another thing I'd add is overfeeding can contribute to BER and blossom drop -- specifically, too much nitrogen. Less of a possibility in containers because one is watering the containers so much, excess fertilizer tends to run out the bottom.

As dice pointed out, an earthbox setup might also be helpful in your case.

Variety selection can matter a bit, but I will say I've successfully grown all sorts of varieties in containers. Cherry types do tend to set fruit better in the heat, and they are also much less likely to have BER problems.

Hope this gives you some ideas.
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Old January 21, 2008   #6
botanikk
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great idea, the insulation and mulch. I haven't tried mulch, but it would serve two purposes, i.e., keep in moisture and keep out the sun. thanks.
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Old January 21, 2008   #7
botanikk
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thanks for inviting me amideutch.
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Old January 21, 2008   #8
botanikk
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Thanks Suze and everyone. Everyone here is so friendly and helpful! I'm glad I joined. You can get a good idea of averages if you go to weather.com and type in Sassari. I'm very close to Alghero (about 25 minutes away), but since Alghero is right on the coast, it tends to be a bit cooler in the summer than here. I actually have an Olpaka hanging on outside even now, although it isn't growing and did horribly last year; I didn't even get one mature fruit. However, at least it grew and flowered. (Legend and Black Krim did horribly) The temps in summer vary, with occaisional heat waves and then cooler weather. 95F is common in July and August. I have a feeling that I need to do several things based on my experience and all of your friendly advice. First of all, it does seem that cherries do better here, even based on the limited success I've had. I also think my containers might be too small (approx 5 gallons), and I need to water more to stop blossom end rot (i've noticed them droopy at times, which means that the cycles of wet and dry certainly doesn't help). I have to use a mulch as well. I also think that some shade is essential in the afternoon; I've had plants that are supposed to be very heat tolerant fry in the afternoon heat. If the official temperature is 95, on my terra cotta terrace in the afternoon sun, it can easily be 110 I'm sure on those really hot days in July and August. I water usually everyday in the summer, and spray all the leaves (usually in the evening). I'll use these suggestions and others and let you know. I currently have two seedlings of Gold Nugget growing. I put them outside on nice days (and yes, to the envy of many in America, we can nice days even in January, in fact, I was tanning the other day!) Otherwise, they are in a window, where I add supplemental light to prolong the day. I'll start others soon, take your collective advice and see how it goes this year. Any suggestions for shading that don't involve hiring a contractor? If it would help I could post a photo of the terrace. Thanks again,
Aaron
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Old January 21, 2008   #9
amideutch
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Aaron, see if you can get some shadecloth. Or the stuff they use for a windscreen is about the same. I know when I was in Crete it was hard to find stuff like that. Some times you can go to a place that sells plants and they might be able to help. Do you have to rely on the local postal system or do you have access to the MPS. Ami
PS Thanks suze and all for jumping in.
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Old January 21, 2008   #10
dice
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Note that a lot of places around the Mediterannean have
calcium-rich water. Even if they have iron-rich, low pH clay
soils on top, well water has drained through rock layers which
include a lot of limestone.

If that is the case in your part of Sardinia, your plants should
be getting plenty of calcium in the water, and it is mainly
a matter of keeping the container mix evenly moist to prevent
BER.

That is where an earthbox-type container would help.
The container mix simply wicks up water from the reservoir
as it evaporates out the top or is transpired by the plants.
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Old January 22, 2008   #11
robin303
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I build and design custom decks and many times I incorporate planters for customers here in Central Texas and they usually have good results if they water properly.



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Old January 22, 2008   #12
dice
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One other idea: people that grow in containers often
put a drainage layer of shards of broken pottery or
tile, rocks, etc in the bottom, just like one would
for any houseplant. If you use regular containers and
do that for tomatoes, and if you live in an area where
limestone is common in the surface geology and can
thus be found in local rock outcroppings, as stones along
roads and in fields, and so on, using chunks of limestone
for that drainage layer would help assure your tomato
plants of a steady supply of calcium once the roots had
reached the bottom of the pot (whether the local water
supply is hard-water-filtered or not).
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Old January 22, 2008   #13
Zana
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Thanks for that tip, Dice. I've got a ready supply of limestone rocks up at the lake cottage. I'll have to drag some back for the containers.
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Old January 22, 2008   #14
dice
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(quoting myself)
Quote:
.... using chunks of limestone for that drainage layer ....
I bet chunks of drywall would work, too. (Probably
want to avoid "greenwall" for this, that stuff treated
with who knows what for walls in wet environments.)
They dissolve over time, but the chunks would hold together
well enough for a couple of years to not seal off drainage
holes in the bottom of the container.
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Last edited by dice; January 23, 2008 at 02:23 AM. Reason: clarity
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Old January 22, 2008   #15
troad
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Aaron,
Just what do you mean when you say your tomatoes decline? Perhaps heat isn't all of your problem.
Did anyone else notice in Aaron's second post that he sprays the leaves with water "especially in the evening" ?
I know nothing of the climate in Sardinia but maybe Aaron's tomatoes decline has some to do with wet leaves all night long? Generally accepted is to water early in the day so plants have an opportunity to dry off during the day. Just a thought.
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