Shade Cloth Over Tomatoes

GoDawgs · May 25, 2021

Two years ago was the first time growing tomatoes in the main garden in buckets set on pallets due to wilt in the soil. They really suffered in the all day summer heat and performed poorly.

Last year I moved them to where I thought they'd get afternoon shade during the hottest part of the day. Geez! Waaaay too shady. They made some tomatoes but really needed more sun. This year they were moved to another part of the garden where they'd get some shade but I misjudged the sun angle and there's not enough shade. But Santa brought me some 50% shade cloth. Time to deploy it!

I first had to put the second cages on as two plants are already just above the top of theirs. It was time.

Pickles helped me get the shade cloth stretched along the sunny side of the tomatoes but at 1:00 the sun was hot and still right over head so nothing got shaded. 3:00 wasn't much better. The cloth was wide enough that we were able to raise it so that it hung down to the tops of the buckets, not the ground. That gave some excess, allowing us to drape that over the top of the sunny side cages. It was enough to throw some shade the other side too.

Right now the cloth is attached to the cages with clothespins but that will have to change as the plants get bigger and start growing through the cage sides. Wind usually blows from the sunny side and so will push the cloth against the cages.

This is the view from the shady side:

This will have to do for now. Around 7pm last night I rolled up the cloth and secured it at the top of the cages. It will get dropped into place around 2pm today as it's supposed to hit 98. I still might do a version of something I did years ago with lightweight white row cover only use the shade cloth this time. It was 2012 in the sweet days before bacterial wilt and nematodes. We were going though a hellacious summer with streaks of upper 90's-low 100's. You do what you gotta do! Funny what you can do with sticks and old cheap tennis balls. The double cages might be a problem for that though. More thinking necessary. Any suggestions would be welcomed.

hl2601 · May 25, 2021

Gosh that is inventive! You deserve some great maters!! I hope it works for you.

Milan HP · May 25, 2021

Hello, GoDawgs,
I am afraid the key to the problem lies somewhere a bit else.
The plants suffered because the pots got too hot, that is the temps of the soil mixture prevented them from gaining enough nutrients through the roots. The green parts of the plants can tolerate quite high temps and block excessive sunshine. After all, they come from Mexico, don't they? And they get the same "barrage" of sunshine in your patches without as much as an "eye wink".
In my humble opinion, you'd be better off if you shaded or insulated the pots and the soil surface. That may not be enough if the air itself is far too hot, say, over 100°F. In that case, some additional "cooling" measures would help: watering them more often and before the hottest part of the day.

Milan HP

slugworth · May 25, 2021

Even here last year the container soil temps were 87 F
Way too hot for tomatoes.The plants were dead in 1 month.

Milan HP · May 25, 2021

Yeah, the deadly soil temp is believed to be about over 30°C/86°F. That's exactly what has to be prevented. It can reach that much or a bit over on condition it's not more or less long-lasting.
Milan HP

slugworth · May 26, 2021

A neighbor has a raised bed that is waist high,at the end of the season he always has
the best looking plants due to the natural shading from the amount of plants he puffs in.
I believe a lot of end of season plant woes are due to soil temp too high.
My stacked cement blocks have a garden hose snaked through that I can pump cool water.
In the spring I pump warm rain water from the barrel and back into the barrel.

Salsacharley · May 26, 2021

I put my containers in white garbage bags to keep the containers cooler. I think that has helped along with shade cloth.

slugworth · May 26, 2021

I put plants in an old insulated cooler with holes drilled in the bottom.
Recycle and save.

Gardeneer · May 30, 2021

I am also planning on installing shade structure.
All i need is to order 50/50 cloth and work on the structure.
Since i just have one row of 30ft, i will install single pole row system.

But that is for plants top. For soil/root system i do heavy mulching .
I have 5 containers(half plastic drums). I paint them white to reflect light and heat better. Black/grey color is heat magnet. It wont cool off even during night hours.

GoDawgs · May 31, 2021

Quote:

Originally Posted by Milan HP

Hello, GoDawgs,
I am afraid the key to the problem lies somewhere a bit else.
The plants suffered because the pots got too hot, that is the temps of the soil mixture prevented them from gaining enough nutrients through the roots. The green parts of the plants can tolerate quite high temps and block excessive sunshine. After all, they come from Mexico, don't they? And they get the same "barrage" of sunshine in your patches without as much as an "eye wink".
In my humble opinion, you'd be better off if you shaded or insulated the pots and the soil surface. That may not be enough if the air itself is far too hot, say, over 100°F. In that case, some additional "cooling" measures would help: watering them more often and before the hottest part of the day.

Milan HP

Thanks so much for that input, Milan! I will have to put my soil thermometer in one of those buckets to see what's what. A can of white paint would also be a good investment. Meanwhile I can probably run some shade material along the pots on the sunny side of the row. Thankfully the weather has turned and it's a lot cooler. Blessed relief!

GoDawgs · May 31, 2021

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gardeneer

I am also planning on installing shade structure.
All i need is to order 50/50 cloth and work on the structure.
Since i just have one row of 30ft, i will install single pole row system.

But that is for plants top. For soil/root system i do heavy mulching .
I have 5 containers(half plastic drums). I paint them white to reflect light and heat better. Black/grey color is heat magnet. It wont cool off even during night hours.

This is where Santa got my shade cloth. It's the version without grommets but is available with but came with a pack of clips for attachment to a run of wire. This company is currently having a sale.

https://www.agfabric.com/collections...b50-shadecloth

GoDawgs · May 31, 2021

Thinking about the tomato shade cloth, I realized that with it hanging flat against the cages, it will prevent branches from the tomatoes from pushing out of the cages. The tomatoes need elbow room. So the idea came yesterday to fashion some "outriggers" to hold the cloth away from the cages. Just some poles with old tennis balls on to to protect the cloth, 8" outside the pallets. The wind was a bear yesterday, blowing all day and often gusting to 15-17 mph. It blew the shade cloth right against the cages and pushed the outrigger poles inward a bit. I need to fix that today but I think that in general the concept will work.

These are the tomatoes up by the house. This was taken at 4:15 and the shade is creeping in. That's ok as they've had sun all day and are now getting some relief. Perfect.

On the bottom end there are two kinds of eggplant, some dill and a bucket of zinnias.

slugworth · May 31, 2021

Why I need coverage this year.

My 1st almost ripe tomato of the season.

zeuspaul · May 31, 2021

I lose tomatoes to critters if I leave them on the plant with a lot of color. If I pick them when they first show signs of ripening I lose a lot less. Ripened on the counter the flavor is the same for most.

slugworth · May 31, 2021

That one took forever on the plant green.
I put it outdoors beginning of april and it just started turning now.
It's one of those 180 day tomatoes,waiting that long it should slice itself and leap into my mouth.

May 25, 2021	#1
GoDawgs Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Augusta area, Georgia, 8a/7b Posts: 1,685	Shade Cloth Over Tomatoes Two years ago was the first time growing tomatoes in the main garden in buckets set on pallets due to wilt in the soil. They really suffered in the all day summer heat and performed poorly. Last year I moved them to where I thought they'd get afternoon shade during the hottest part of the day. Geez! Waaaay too shady. They made some tomatoes but really needed more sun. This year they were moved to another part of the garden where they'd get some shade but I misjudged the sun angle and there's not enough shade. But Santa brought me some 50% shade cloth. Time to deploy it! I first had to put the second cages on as two plants are already just above the top of theirs. It was time. Pickles helped me get the shade cloth stretched along the sunny side of the tomatoes but at 1:00 the sun was hot and still right over head so nothing got shaded. 3:00 wasn't much better. The cloth was wide enough that we were able to raise it so that it hung down to the tops of the buckets, not the ground. That gave some excess, allowing us to drape that over the top of the sunny side cages. It was enough to throw some shade the other side too. Right now the cloth is attached to the cages with clothespins but that will have to change as the plants get bigger and start growing through the cage sides. Wind usually blows from the sunny side and so will push the cloth against the cages. This is the view from the shady side: This will have to do for now. Around 7pm last night I rolled up the cloth and secured it at the top of the cages. It will get dropped into place around 2pm today as it's supposed to hit 98. I still might do a version of something I did years ago with lightweight white row cover only use the shade cloth this time. It was 2012 in the sweet days before bacterial wilt and nematodes. We were going though a hellacious summer with streaks of upper 90's-low 100's. You do what you gotta do! Funny what you can do with sticks and old cheap tennis balls. The double cages might be a problem for that though. More thinking necessary. Any suggestions would be welcomed. Last edited by GoDawgs; May 25, 2021 at 12:11 PM.

May 25, 2021	#3
Milan HP Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: Ústí nad Labem in the north of the Czech Republic Posts: 332	Hello, GoDawgs, I am afraid the key to the problem lies somewhere a bit else. The plants suffered because the pots got too hot, that is the temps of the soil mixture prevented them from gaining enough nutrients through the roots. The green parts of the plants can tolerate quite high temps and block excessive sunshine. After all, they come from Mexico, don't they? And they get the same "barrage" of sunshine in your patches without as much as an "eye wink". In my humble opinion, you'd be better off if you shaded or insulated the pots and the soil surface. That may not be enough if the air itself is far too hot, say, over 100°F. In that case, some additional "cooling" measures would help: watering them more often and before the hottest part of the day. Milan HP Last edited by Milan HP; May 25, 2021 at 04:56 PM.

May 30, 2021	#9
Gardeneer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7 Posts: 4,912	I am also planning on installing shade structure. All i need is to order 50/50 cloth and work on the structure. Since i just have one row of 30ft, i will install single pole row system. But that is for plants top. For soil/root system i do heavy mulching . I have 5 containers(half plastic drums). I paint them white to reflect light and heat better. Black/grey color is heat magnet. It wont cool off even during night hours. __________________ Gardeneer Happy Gardening !

May 25, 2021	#2
hl2601 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: Metro Denver Posts: 760	Gosh that is inventive! You deserve some great maters!! I hope it works for you.

May 25, 2021	#4
slugworth Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: connecticut,usa Posts: 1,150	Even here last year the container soil temps were 87 F Way too hot for tomatoes.The plants were dead in 1 month.

May 26, 2021	#6
slugworth Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: connecticut,usa Posts: 1,150	A neighbor has a raised bed that is waist high,at the end of the season he always has the best looking plants due to the natural shading from the amount of plants he puffs in. I believe a lot of end of season plant woes are due to soil temp too high. My stacked cement blocks have a garden hose snaked through that I can pump cool water. In the spring I pump warm rain water from the barrel and back into the barrel.

May 26, 2021	#7
Salsacharley Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: New Mexico Posts: 2,052	I put my containers in white garbage bags to keep the containers cooler. I think that has helped along with shade cloth.

May 31, 2021	#12
GoDawgs Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Augusta area, Georgia, 8a/7b Posts: 1,685	Thinking about the tomato shade cloth, I realized that with it hanging flat against the cages, it will prevent branches from the tomatoes from pushing out of the cages. The tomatoes need elbow room. So the idea came yesterday to fashion some "outriggers" to hold the cloth away from the cages. Just some poles with old tennis balls on to to protect the cloth, 8" outside the pallets. The wind was a bear yesterday, blowing all day and often gusting to 15-17 mph. It blew the shade cloth right against the cages and pushed the outrigger poles inward a bit. I need to fix that today but I think that in general the concept will work. These are the tomatoes up by the house. This was taken at 4:15 and the shade is creeping in. That's ok as they've had sun all day and are now getting some relief. Perfect. On the bottom end there are two kinds of eggplant, some dill and a bucket of zinnias.

May 31, 2021	#14
zeuspaul Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2007 Location: North County, San Diego Posts: 419	I lose tomatoes to critters if I leave them on the plant with a lot of color. If I pick them when they first show signs of ripening I lose a lot less. Ripened on the counter the flavor is the same for most.