Tomatoes in Texas

I'm waiting to see if most of my plants start producing new growth from the lower part of the plants as they do most years. If they do, I will trim the plants back to the new growth and I will be set for a fall garden. Since this year has been so crazy, they may all simply die when the real heat arrives which means I will remove all of them and replant new fall plants. I may even rework my beds between removing the old plants and planting the new plants. For some reason, something has seemed different about my beds this year in addition to the crazy weather. I haven't been able to identify the difference which has slowed the growth of other plants like squash and cucumbers, but allowed the tomato plants to flourish. I have to admit, I've had a good tomato harvest; but some plants produced very well while others haven't produced a single tomato. A few varieties like Stump Of The World have no tomatoes and are usually very good producers of large tomatoes. 2013 will be recorded in my record book as strange.

Ted

[Cindyb1969]

Well, I solved my rabbit and bird problem with panty hose covering all exposed tomatoes and twirling sparkly wind things from Dollar Tree. Now I'm getting them instead of the critters. I'm using some bird netting, but I hate that stuff! Everything gets tangled in it!!!

In past years, set was finished by July 4 except for a few varieties. I added shade cloth 50%) and I'm still having tomatoes set! Crazy!!! But I'm also making sure everything has good water too.

Best producers are still Hawaiian Currant and Dr. Caroline plus Romas. Mortgage Lifter and Homestead 24 starting to really take off though. Carbon is doing pretty well. Cherokee Purple and Amana Orange - not so great.

[unless]

in the upper 90s or 100s every day. humid. the only thing producing prolifically are those dayum'd yellow pears. they don't taste much but it's something.

there is plenty of new green growth on all the vines and i am debating whether or not to try to coddle them until things cool off, which won't happen 'til october. october was when i wanted to clear everything out and put the winter stuff in (i have limited space), so i guess what i would have to do is delay that until late november to accommodate a potential fall tomato harvest.

*sigh* spending an hour every two days just on watering is not much fun. relentless summer. i just want to curl up in a ball in the refrigerator and hibernate until fall when the gardening gets easier

[Rockporter]

If you can keep them through the heat and humidity and not have a problem with spider mites and fungus I would say go for it but in my experience it isn't worth the time, effort and money it takes to keep them alive.

[feldon30]

It's the 2nd week of July. No point in keeping them alive any longer, in my opinion. Tomato season in S.E. and Central Texas lasts 4 months at the outside.

[unless]

Originally Posted by Rockporter

If you can keep them through the heat and humidity and not have a problem with spider mites and fungus I would say go for it but in my experience it isn't worth the time, effort and money it takes to keep them alive.

Originally Posted by feldon30

It's the 2nd week of July. No point in keeping them alive any longer, in my opinion. Tomato season in S.E. and Central Texas lasts 4 months at the outside.

but they are so tall and bushy and i don't know if i can bring myself to kill them...they were my little babies once

[tlintx]

All of my Spring tomato plants are done except Reisentraube and Red Fig. Red Fig doesn't seem to realize it's 100 degrees out there... wonder what it would look like if it were watered occasionally.

BTW, the komatsuna I planted in SIPs is doing really well. No germination issues. I also have collards, kale, two kinds of turnips (for greens not bulbs), and some mustard growing. Was kind of hit and miss when they were very small but I expect to harvest the first baby leaves any day now.

[ChristinaJo]

Well, I am clearing my beds out, and getting ready for fall. May be too late,but I started tomato suckers that have rooted in water and will plant this coming week when the cooler temps arrive. I will shade them when it goes back up. Deciding what I want to plant for fall. I only get out in the morning and evening, this heat!

[Keger]

Originally Posted by Rockporter

If you can keep them through the heat and humidity and not have a problem with spider mites and fungus I would say go for it but in my experience it isn't worth the time, effort and money it takes to keep them alive.

I agree, and as we had no winter last year the insects are worse than ever.

[coastal bend]

I will pull the last 2 plants Monday. They are Arkansas Traveler and they made a lot of tomatoes in the heat. Taste not that great but not bad. Starting seedling cherry tomatoes for fall now.

We have also been in the 100's but surprisingly, many of my plants are still blooming and setting fruit. Most of them are over six feet tall with many over eight feet tall. The majority have lost most of their leaves four feet up from the soil. Even my Moravsky Div is doing well with both ripe fruit on the vine and new tomatoes and blooms on the top. The MD is growing in semi shade under a tree. My cherry tomatoes are doing well with new growth and new fruit. The Blush variety looks like it will die any day and has lost most of it's leaves. Juliet, Porters Improved, and Cherry Roma are producing like crazy. The top two feet of the Juliet variety are loaded with new tomatoes. Most of my container tomatoes are almost dead and will soon be replaced with new plants from the farm store.

I will soon trim most of my tomato plants back to new growth sprouting lower on the vines. By doing that, all of the energy in the plants will be directed into the new growth for fall tomatoes. If I leave the tall growing tips on the vines, they usually make a few small fall tomatoes. If I direct the energy to the new growth, my fall tomatoes are almost as large as my summer tomatoes.

When I noticed the soil shrinking away from the frames of my raised beds, I increased the time my watering system delivers moisture three times per day. I believe the additional moisture has made a huge difference for my tomato plants.

All five or six of my pepper varieties were planted in large containers this year. I also put shade cloth over them before the weather became really hot. The shade cloth has made a huge difference. This is the first year I can remember my Bell peppers, green, red, orange, and yellow; surviving and producing this late into the high summer heat. My Jalapeno peppers (three varieties). Poblano peppers (two varieties), sweet peppers (four varieties) and three varieties of eggplant love the heat and the direct sun.

I harvested all my onions and garlic last month and I have planted carrots which have sprouted and will plant some collard greens tomorrow or early next week. I'm trying to think of some other veggies I can plant in the hot summer where my onions were growing. I wonder if beets will germinate and grow in the heat.

My summer squash and cucumbers did not perform well this year simply refusing to grow and produce. The on again, off again cold spring delayed their growth into months they should have been fully grown and producing. I have replanted summer squash seed and expect to have a good late crop. I usually replant cucumber seed, but rarely have any success with late cucumbers. They germinate fine, but normally perish from damping off when still very small. If I have cucumber plants surviving into late summer, aphids usually kill them in August. Most years, I only have success with early spring planted cucumbers and I expect them to die in the high summer heat.

This time of year, I am always tempted to let everything in my garden simply die and spend the remainder of the summer in air conditioned comfort. I suppose my curiosity keeps me replanting and trying different things to extend my garden to the first freeze. Normally, the first freeze is my signal to start planning my planting for germination for next years garden. I'm already working on next years tomato grow list and I have a lot of seed to locate.

Ted

[unless]

excited because highs will only be in the upper 80s this week with lows in the lower 70s, which means potential blossom set!

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by unless

excited because highs will only be in the upper 80s this week with lows in the lower 70s, which means potential blossom set!

Yep! The cold front hit here today. Very hopeful

[Vespertino]

While humid, I can't complain about the temps. My patio has finally gotten a break from constant 100+ temps for the past month (radiant heat island effect). I could have sworn I saw the green fruits grow a little on my stressed brandywine today.

[Dewayne mater]

It is possible to keep them alive even through a long hot Texas summer. If you do, the rewards can be large plants that kick back into action in the fall season. I didn't think you could do that, but sunshade cloth and remaining vigilant about disease has proved to me it can be done. This year, I've got a few plants that disease will beat soon, but, most are still salvageable and this break in the heat may do wonder for their viability.

PS Whatever is eating my tomatoes has now eaten 2 dozen big beefs - seems to be its favorite - and many others. So far, my trapping efforts, fencing, and deterring efforts have failed miserably. If I don't figure it out soon, I'll have no crop left to worry about. Quite frustrating to have such a late year, but with a bountiful harvest ready to come in and lose out to something. But, that's the topic of another thread.

If you don't have replacement plants growing well that you can plant now, why not try to nurse your plants through August, cut them back then and see what they do for fall?