Recs for cool nights / hot days?

[habitat_gardener]

I've been told that this summer was not as hot as usual here (central Calif.) because we had fewer than the usual number of 100F+ days. It's a new climate for me, though, and I'm looking for outstanding varieties that will produce well with 90s-100s in the daytime and 50s at night.

In my garden, Pink Marmande has been a standout. Once it started, it produced a fairly steady crop of beautiful medium-large tomatoes that are perfect for tomato sandwiches. I got only a few other sandwich-size tomatoes from my other plants
-- zero from quite a few plants!! -- surprisingly few cherry tomatoes, and many saladette size (Dragon's Eye, Early Girl, etc). The plants are healthy and vigorous, though I don't use fertilizer (only homemade compost and some alfalfa pellets). About 30-40 plants -- roughly 10x as many as other people in my comunity garden who grow tomatoes. One neighbor said she spent years trying to find productive heirlooms and experimenting with different planting times before giving up and planting only hybrids!

I planted everything late, because I got a community garden plot full of weeds and junk, and it took time and effort to get it in shape. So next year I will be able to get a head start.

This area grows thousands of acres of processing tomatoes, so you'd think it would be a good place to grow other types of tomatoes!

On the bright side, I've had bumper crops of eggplant, peppers, and summer squash.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by habitat_gardener

I've been told that this summer was not as hot as usual here (central Calif.) because we had fewer than the usual number of 100F+ days. It's a new climate for me, though, and I'm looking for outstanding varieties that will produce well with 90s-100s in the daytime and 50s at night.

In my garden, Pink Marmande has been a standout. Once it started, it produced a fairly steady crop of beautiful medium-large tomatoes that are perfect for tomato sandwiches. I got only a few other sandwich-size tomatoes from my other plants
-- zero from quite a few plants!! -- surprisingly few cherry tomatoes, and many saladette size (Dragon's Eye, Early Girl, etc). The plants are healthy and vigorous, though I don't use fertilizer (only homemade compost and some alfalfa pellets). About 30-40 plants -- roughly 10x as many as other people in my comunity garden who grow tomatoes. One neighbor said she spent years trying to find productive heirlooms and experimenting with different planting times before giving up and planting only hybrids!

I planted everything late, because I got a community garden plot full of weeds and junk, and it took time and effort to get it in shape. So next year I will be able to get a head start.

This area grows thousands of acres of processing tomatoes, so you'd think it would be a good place to grow other types of tomatoes!

On the bright side, I've had bumper crops of eggplant, peppers, and summer squash.

I see no one has tried to answer so I'll try.

First,it depends on how long a spell of temps close to 100 F lasts as to how ANY variety will grow, commercial or F1, and what the humidity is like.

I'm trying to go in order of what you posted. You then posted about Pink Marmande, and I answered you about that elsewhere and made some suggestions,but you haven't answered.

Eggplants and also summers squash are also tolerant of high temps as well,so why those were Ok when others were not is a bit of a mystery to me..

I'm also trying to remember those in CA who breed OP tomatoes,and those would include Fred Hempel for sure, a very active member here at Tville, and then all the tomato festivals that are held in SCA as well with mostly OP varieties, I know one is in Long Beach.

Suggestions?

No two seasons anywhere are the same for growing tomatoes, since other factors include elevation, wind speed and prevailing wind direction.

Where I am now is only about 100 miles N of where I used to grow so many tomatoes and yes the same varieties can be grown here at home and down along rt 153 and experiences differ.

There are many at Tville who have moved from places in the northern states such as NY,PA,OH,WI,MN,etc,.to the south and many say they had to learn all over again which varieties would do best in most years.

Are your experiences in the community garden the same or different from others who have their plots to grow on for I would think that kind of information might be very valuable.

Carolyn,who suggests that one years experience with what you are growing may say little about what might happen at all next year.

[habitat_gardener]

Low humidity, and no rain from about May/June to October.

I will, of course, plant early with protection next spring, as gardeners do in the south, but I was also wondering about the effect of cool nights, when daytime temperatures reach 90-100F.

California has lots of microclimates and mountain/valley as well as ocean/bay influences. It occurred to me that Brad Gates' farm is within 50 miles, but probably does not get as hot as it does here. At the heirloom festival last month, his trusses of medium size tomatoes were astounding. Fred Hempel's farm is yet a different area, and farther away.